Fixed Income

Bank bonds have been amongst the best performing asset classes in fixed income over the last few months, doing their bit in proving their strength.

Luc D’hooge and Wouter Van Overfelt review the developments of the Vontobel Fund – Emerging Markets Debt and Vontobel Fund – Emerging Markets Corporate Bond and share their forecast for the remainder of 2023.

What level of risk are investors willing to take? As central bank rates hike and a soft landing narrative makes its way into analysts’ forecasts, Eoin Walsh takes a look at what affects this has on investment risk and reinvestment risk.

Jack Daley takes a look into the economic events that have influenced the investment grade markets in Q2. He then goes on to explain why he believes investment grade fixed income offers the most attractive risk-adjusted returns currently available.

Douglas Charleston believes European ABS has once again provided a rare bright spot for fixed income. He explains how, from Q1 to Q2, focuses have shifted, and delves into different macro-economic variables affecting the ABS market.

In our MSB update, a member of the Multi-Sector Bond team reflects on the banking turmoil that occurred in Q2, as well as happenings around the US debt ceiling and global inflation. She then goes on to discuss the ways the MSB team have responded to Q2 events.

What sort of landing will the global economy experience? With the recent release of the US CPI report, inflation has been on a downward trend and the resilient activity data has continued to surprise many. This report has acted as a trigger of sorts for increasing calls for a soft landing.

After a tumultuous decade, the stars may be set to favor emerging market local currency bonds again. Portfolio manager Carl Vermassen says there are good reasons to believe their outperformance so far this year isn’t just a one-off lucky shot.

Last year's bond market disappointments now seem far behind us and investors tell us they are once again bullish on fixed income.

As the US Federal Reserve meets this week, what should investors brace for? Our Head of Corporate Credit Mondher Bettaieb Loriot suggests Fed officials are likely to hit the pause button on rate hikes as inflation and growth keep trending down. Across the Atlantic, however, the European Central Bank might not be ready to apply the brakes just yet.

What can we expect from central banks this week? Felipe Villarroel looks at how recent CPI prints in the Eurozone and in the United States are expected to influence upcoming central bank monetary policy decisions.

What have we learnt from the ECB’s Consumer Expectations Survey? Felipe Villarroel discusses how latest changes in the consumer’s expectations of the economy reflect that the ECB’s monetary policy is actually working.