Observations & Ideas for a Higher Yield World
Observations & Ideas for a Higher Yield World
With higher yields, easing inflation, and slowing growth, Loomis Sayles’ Portfolio Manager Matt Eagan suggests extending duration and leaning into US credit markets.
Watch the video for these and other insights on bond investing in 2024 from Loomis Sayles:
- Why high yield, embedded in many of today’s bond portfolios, offers a source of income and a cushion to upcoming volatility.
- The above-average risk premium, together with dispersion and low dollar prices, are what Eagan calls ‘a very good bond picking market.’
- Compelling security selection opportunities exist, particularly in the BBB and BB segment of the US credit market.
All investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The views and opinions expressed may change based on market and other conditions. They are subject to change at any time based on market and other conditions. There can be no assurance that developments will transpire as forecasted. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Fixed income securities may carry one or more of the following risks: credit, interest rate (as interest rates rise bond prices usually fall), inflation and liquidity.
Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a fixed-income security may fail to make timely payments of interest or principal or to otherwise honor its obligations.
Interest rate risk is a major risk to all bondholders. As rates rise, existing bonds that offer a lower rate of return decline in value because newly issued bonds that pay higher rates are more attractive to investors.
Duration risk measures a bond's price sensitivity to interest rate changes. Bond funds and individual bonds with a longer duration (a measure of the expected life of a security) tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations.
Risk spread is the additional net yield an investor can earn from a security with more credit risk relative to one with less credit risk.
High yield bonds are rated below BBB/Baa. Ratings are determined by third-party rating agencies such as Standard & Poor's or Moody's and are an indication of a bond's credit quality.
Unlike passive investments, there are no indexes that an active investment attempts to track or replicate. Thus, the ability of an active investment to achieve its objectives will depend on the effectiveness of the investment manager.