Sharing our convictions

Let’s not forget that the BoE dropped rates from 0.75% right down to 0.1% at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic back in March 2020, having only managed to put through two hikes in 2017 and 2018. It has changed course sharply before.

Fixed income markets have experienced a reasonable correction over recent weeks and, for higher-yielding indices at least, their first negative period so far this year.

Local know-how goes a long way in emerging markets (EM). Regional e-commerce and consumer companies are increasing market share by adapting to local preferences. Some quality companies are benefiting from this and other EM trends, such as expanding demographics in the online gaming market and rising barriers to entry in semiconductors.

Given the prospect of central bank tapering and ultimately interest rate rises are looming ever larger, it is no surprise dealmakers are trying to take advantage of attractive financing terms while they still exist.

While bank treasurers may have to work a bit harder this year-end to formulate wholesale funding plans, the ABS market that they may be more reliant on going forward is experiencing a strong resurgence, which should ease the process of weaning off central bank funding.

This looks to us like a buy-into-the-dip opportunity, but investors should be wary of taking on too much rate sensitivity as the move in risk-free curves is likely to persist until the rate hike cycle is actually on the way.

In the last month, global government bond curves have had a torrid time, with significant steepening seen across US Treasury, UK Gilt and German Bund yields.

Portfolio Manager Chul Chang discusses valuations, opportunities in technology and industrials, rising debt levels and ESG considerations.

From time to time, Treasury yields actually become the source of risk for financial markets.

On Wednesday, the Fed moved one step closer to tapering and even put quite a clear timeframe for it, while on Thursday, the Bank of England openly talked about rate hikes.

The nature we depend on is bleeding as natural habitat is cleared to support population growth, consumption and waste. Nature, society and the health of our portfolios are interlinked. This blog ties biodiversity hot spots to the impact of individual companies. Get ahead of risk and regulation.

It will take time for this sector to recover and we are likely to see more suppliers collapse in the coming weeks and months.

Our base case is for a continuation of quite high growth and a modest inflation overshoot. For bond investors, positioning for stagflation could be a dangerous trade if that base case bears out

With ample job openings, inflation well ahead of target, financial conditions that are certainly not tight and strong economic growth, the obvious question is what does the Fed need to see to finally start tapering its asset purchases?

Aided by social media and e-commerce, startup brands are increasingly taking share from legacy consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. Meanwhile, retailers are launching far more sophisticated private-label brands. Which CPG companies are adapting to survive these threats? And do CPG stocks still play a role in portfolio construction?

BWIC – or bids wanted in competition – lists, are a unique characteristic of the ABS and CLO markets, where they are widely used in secondary trading when investors are looking to sell bonds.

TwentyFour Asset Management’s portfolio management team offer bond issuers three tips on improving their ESG data disclosure, and explain why companies shouldn’t attempt to fool them.

Graeme Anderson shares five lessons from sustainable bond investing, including how E and S are catching up to G and why Coca-Cola scores higher than Tesla.

In recent months and years we have seen remarkable growth in the number of ESG-focused or sustainable investment strategies being offered by asset managers, a trend that first emerged in the equity market but is now making itself felt in the world of fixed income.

As we rapidly descend upon the fourth quarter of this extraordinary year, we think some of the risks fixed income investors faced back in Q1 will rear their heads again before the end of 2021.

Despite the impressive returns of Euro HY over the last year or so, the backdrop for the asset class continues to suggest there is more upside to come.

This supply surge can be very welcome for those investors with cash to put to work, though it is also eyed with caution.

For bond investors, evidence of rising inflation represents the most resonant market story of 2021. In in his latest article Mark Holman, CEO of TwentyFour Asset Management (a boutique of Vontobel Asset Management), outlines the considerations for bond investors as they navigate credit market during the remainder of 2021.

To many, investing in sustainability is commonsense. To some, it is more of a bureaucratic waste of time with onerous new regulations. To us, it is clear that ESG is an integral part of evaluating business quality because, simply put, sustainability has a material impact on long-term value.