Junk Bonds
Sources: Yahoo Finance (Treasuries), ICE Data Services (investment grade and junk bonds), Fannie Mae (MBS), S&P Global Ratings (CLOs)
And yet … “Fixed income still has a core role,” said Matt Daly, managing director of corporate and municipal teams at Conning. And, occasionally, sharp managers can zero in on gems, he added. “Bonds issued in March and April,” he said, referring to when fixed income was in a tailspin last year, “have appreciated a lot.”
Despite their diminished capacity, bonds have fulfilled their duty as a portfolio ballast in recent years. In the scary days of 2008, when the S&P 500 plunged 38.5%, the Agg was up 5.2%. In 2018, when rising rates pushed stocks to a 6.2% loss, the Agg was flat.
Special Report: How Private Credit, Subject of Scary Forecasts, Came Out a Winner
Institutional investors like Arizona’s pension plan have done pretty well with this newly popular asset class.
Forsaken by major commercial banks after the 2008-09 financial crisis, small businesses turned to private lenders for financing. Qualms were rife that this non-bank lending, which unlike traditional bankers enjoys no federal backstop, would founder in the next downturn.
That didn’t happen to the asset class. And plenty of institutional investors that have since added private debt to their portfolios are reaping the rewards. Not blowout, Tesla-style gains, certainly, but solid, mid-single digits in a low-interest time, with some hitting the low teens.
Provided by Dow Jones
By Anna Hirtenstein and Alexander Osipovich U.S. stocks climbed as Janet Yellen endorsed higher coronavirus relief spending and some of the country s biggest banks beat expectations for fourth-quarter earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 116 points, or 0.4%, as of the 4 p.m. close of trading Tuesday in New York. The S&P 500 advanced 0.8%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5%. The gains came as U.S. markets reopened after a long holiday weekend, marking an upbeat start to the week, after all three major indexes posted declines last week. Ms. Yellen backed major fiscal stimulus to help workers and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic as she testified before the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote on her nomination for Treasury secretary. In prepared remarks, she said the U.S. risks a longer, more painful recession unless Congress approves more aid, and encouraged lawmak
Provided by Dow Jones
By Anna Hirtenstein and Alexander Osipovich U.S. stocks climbed as Janet Yellen endorsed higher coronavirus relief spending and some of the country s biggest banks beat expectations for fourth-quarter earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 116.26 points, or 0.4%, to 30930.52. The S&P 500 advanced 30.66 points, or 0.8%, to 3798.91. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 198.68 points, or 1.5%, to 13197.18. The gains marked an upbeat start to the week, following a long holiday weekend with markets closed on Monday, after all three indexes fell last week. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all within 1% of record highs set earlier this month.
[NEW YORK] The British pound rose on Thursday as Britain and the European Union clinched a free trade deal, while a global gauge of stocks edged upward amid investor optimism toward economic growth. Read more at The Business Times.