Investment teams

On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a report setting out a number of proposals for simplifying the regulatory framework for banks.

As we approach 2026, Fixed Income markets are shaped by weaker fundamentals, though lower uncertainty may reduce the likelihood of a catastrophic decline. That said, volatility will remain a defining feature. We believe the year ahead holds great potential for active managers who remain steady at the wheel: cautious but nimble.

Looking ahead, we expect continued inflows, rising demand, and reduced supply to support EM hard-currency bonds. For EM local-currency bonds, we believe the current macroeconomic environment remains favorable, despite our conviction in a USD bear market being lower than it was a few months ago.

The surge in AI capex is driving a rapid increase in bond issuance in the investment grade market. High yield bonds are on track to generate solid returns for 2025; we continue to favor telecoms and energy. The Swiss bond market has once again moved to its own rhythm.

In a K-shaped economy, high-income earners and large corporations thrive while low-income groups and small businesses struggle. This divergence challenges the Fed, as its policy decisions traditionally rely on GDP, unemployment rates, and inflation. However, K-shaped dynamics are often hidden behind these aggregate measures.

As we approach the end of a year that has seen risk assets shrug off US tariffs and mounting concerns over AI-driven tech valuations, TwentyFour Asset Management’s portfolio management team selects the seven key questions that they believe will define 2026 for fixed income investors.

AI is expanding what systematic investing can achieve — from unlocking deeper insights in complex data to building more adaptive, responsive portfolios. This piece explores the shift from classical quant to Quant 2.0 and what a more adaptive, data-driven future could look like.

Late last month, the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) published updated migration numbers for the year to June 2025. As we argued here, immigration will be an important variable to monitor when it comes to assessing the health of labour markets.

After solid stress test results from UK insurers last week, on Tuesday it was the banks’ turn as the Bank of England (BoE) published its 2025 stress test results along with December’s Financial Stability Report.