The entire U.S. fixed income market (municipals, Treasuries, mortgages, corporates, federal agency bonds, money market, and asset back securities) totals over $40 trillion.1  Breakdown of U.S. Fixed Income Asset Class (as of December 31, 2016) Corporate credit (high grade corporate …

Coming off of a spike in total high yield bond default rates in 2016 due to a large number of energy, metals and mining, and other commodity related defaults, the expectation was for defaults to significantly ease heading into 2017.1 …

In the seven months since the election we have seen the 10-year Treasury yield move up to 2.6% in December, hit that level again in March, and we have since seen a steady decline to where we are today with …

Much of the story in the high yield market over the last almost three years now has been energy related.  In the summer of 2014, we were seeing oil prices (WTI) surpass the $100 level.  In the fall of 2014, …

We see demographics as an important factor when considering interest rates and the fixed income market.  We are in the midst of a significant global shift in demographics as the baby boom population ages.  As we look out over the …

The high yield market, also known as the “junk bond market” seems to be considered by many to be a risky and volatile, niche market.  The reality is that there are nearly $2 trillion US dollar, non-investment grade bonds globally.1 …

We are hearing concerns from some about valuations within the high yield market.  Spread levels are one way we assess value within this market and current spread levels are below historical medians and averages.1 We believe this makes sense given …

Currently 23% of the domestic high yield bond market trades at a yield-to-worst under 4%.1  So on nearly a quarter of the market, investors are currently making what they might traditionally expect from investment grade debt.  This is exactly why …

The floating rate bank loan market has been a popular area for investment post the election.  We have seen inflows into the space in 37 of the last 38 weeks, with $30bn coming into the retail loan funds (mutual funds …

When assessing a portfolio and determining their asset class mix, investors often allocate large portion to equities as this is believed to have a much better longer-term investment return profile than fixed income securities (bonds, loans), while fixed income is …