All insights

The first two trading weeks of the year are coming to an end and unlike previous years they have been packed with activity.

After an interesting start to the year that has already brought large moves in rates markets and kept inflation in the headlines, Eoin Walsh looked at the major headwinds facing fixed income investors and laid out the reasons why we are positive on the asset class in 2022.

TwentyFour Asset Management, the London and New York-based specialist fixed income investor, has announced the appointment of a new partner from within its portfolio management team.

As we enter the third year of the pandemic, most market participants are asking themselves (once again) if this will be the year when supply chain issues finally abate.

Given the swiftness of the Fed’s pivot we think risks are tilted towards the central bank doing more and not less. We wouldn’t even rule out a 50bp rate hike at some point.

As we enter the New Year, we say goodbye to an old “friend” that has accompanied us (for better and for worse) since the inception of the UK ABS market in the late 1980s – Sterling LIBOR.

As bondholders, we are comforted by all the banks passing such a severe test.

Jerome Powell’s recent testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, in which he said the Fed would discuss a faster taper of its asset purchases at December’s FOMC meeting, has led to intense speculation that we could see a move this week.

Against a backdrop of 4.20% year-on-year UK consumer price inflation (CPI), if you got your timing right, linkers (inflation-linked UK government bonds) will certainly have outperformed conventional Gilts by some margin.

The labour market in the US shows little sign of weakening, despite the huge number of jobs already created this year.

TwentyFour Asset Management, the London- and New York-based fixed income fund manager and boutique of the Switzerland-based Vontobel Group, has appointed Ben Hayward to chief executive officer.

Markets have clearly experienced some periods of volatility this year, and while European CLOs haven’t been immune to this, both fundamentals and prices have been remarkably stable.