Insights

Last week UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) announced the sale of its final mortgage loan portfolios, bringing to a close a decade long chapter of state ownership. UKAR was set up in 2010 as a ‘bad bank’ primarily charged with housing mortgage loan portfolios from failed lenders Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley following the global financial crisis. UKAR had assets of £94.7bn at the outset, and has now repaid in full the £48.7bn we understand was borrowed from taxpayers. It is therefore a significant milestone to come full circle from years of scathing headlines in the popular press to the full return of these assets to private hands.

Physically cut off, but more connected than ever – a paradox that is our day-to-day existence now. This trend has performance implications for bonds investing and in this article the Head of Corporate Bonds, Mondher Bettaieb, explains how connectivity and 5G heralds a boon era for corporate bond investors.

In summary things are going quite well, and in this scenario a rise in government bond yields does not necessarily bring about a tightening of financial conditions.

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about Treasuries breaking new ground and the potential for them to go higher as higher inflation expectations gathered pace.

The Bank of England have just added to the debate about how much of the recent surge in savings will be deployed in the form of consumption as we return to ‘normality’.

Our end of year view on the 10 year is 1.50, but we could get there a lot quicker - now is not the time to be brave on Treasuries.

ESG is changing the way investors act. In this article, three experts from the Fixed Income Boutique dispel three prevailing myths around ESG and bond investing.

The last few weeks has seen healthy issuance in the high yield space, including multiple billion pound deals, the most recent of which, Asda, priced on Wednesday. This was an interesting deal for a few reasons, not least because it is the largest sterling high yield deal of all time

With investors eyeing economic recovery and stimulus firmly in place, credit spreads look set to break through previous tights in 2021. But what could happen if they do? TwentyFour Asset Management CEO, Mark Holman, explains why he believes portfolio rebalancing will likely be the key strategic decision for fixed income investors this year, and why now is the time to plan for it.