Investment Grade

TwentyFour Asset Management’s Gordon Shannon reflects on a quarter shaped by higher energy prices, persistent inflation and government bond volatility.

With two-year UST yields at around 4.7%, we think short end yields are offering an attractive potential hedge against both downside growth catalysts and lower oil prices.

Hyperscaler bond issuance has surged in 2026, with volumes already far exceeding previous years. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle and SpaceX have issued over $180bn of USD-denominated bonds so far this year.

TwentyFour Asset Management’s Gordon Shannon reflects on a quarter shaped by geopolitical tensions, government bond volatility and shifting central bank expectations.

TwentyFour Asset Management’s Jack Daley reflects on a strong start to 2026 for investment grade credit, before geopolitical escalation in the Middle East drove increased volatility later in the quarter and shaped market conditions.

As fixed income investors, our focus is on how the shock ripples through the variables that matter most for bonds: inflation, growth, and how central banks respond.

2026 is already shaping up to be another volatile year for geopolitics, economies and markets. But one pocket stands out as a key beneficiary of the present backdrop.

Recent developments involving Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell have raised fresh questions around central bank independence, the politicisation of monetary policy, and the future of Fed leadership, particularly with his term as Chair due to expire in May 2026.

TwentyFour Asset Management’s Gordon Shannon explains how resilient US economic activity and evolving Federal Reserve dynamics shaped Q4 and why we remain focused on high-quality credit heading into 2026.

It is the nature of financial markets that the trends and risks investors have their eye on at the start of the year are seldom the trends and risks they have their eye on by the end. Below is a selection of charts depicting some key trends we have seen develop in 2025, all of which we believe will have implications for investors heading into 2026.

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.

For much of the past year, the AI story in markets has been one of unrestrained optimism. Firms have been racing to spend on chips, infrastructure, and data centres, and equity valuations have generally rewarded those with the boldest capital expenditure plans.