Market Update

Johnathan Owen, Portfolio Management, defines the second quarter of 2024 as another interesting period for financial markets, marked by the first rate cut from the European Central Bank (ECB) in June and President Macron's snap election announcement in France. He outlines what these meant for the Investment Grade (IG) team.

A member of our Multi-Sector Bond team takes us on a journey through market sentiment. He highlights its strength in Q1, the reversal in Q2, and the pivotal role of upcoming data as the main driver of risk sentiment moving forward.

Elena Rinaldi, Portfolio Management, wraps up the second quarter of 2024 for the Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) team. She notes that while financial markets experienced mixed performance and broader volatility, the ABS market remained relatively resilient and delivered strong performance.

TwentyFour Asset Management’s Chris Bowie, takes a closer look at how he is thinking about duration within fixed income portfolios and shows how following conventional wisdom on duration might prove costly for some investors this year.

George Curtis, Portfolio Management, discusses the Multi-Sector Bond team's performance in Q1 2024, highlighting the improved clarity in deciphering central bank actions. With an anticipated central bank rate cut as the next move, the team remain confident in navigating the market's developments.

Douglas Charleston, Partner & Portfolio Management, concludes the first quarter in 2024 for the Asset-Backed Securities team, noting that while major economies remain resilient, the rates markets have undergone significant shifts, with central banks reassessing their rate cut expectations.

Following the aggressive rates rally at the end of 2023, Q1 saw notable gains, with inflation surpassing expectations. Johnathan Owen, Portfolio Management, highlights a more promising inflation outlook and its implications for the Investment Grade team. 

Corporate hybrids are bonds issued by companies that combine characteristics of both debt and equity.

Despite the cost-of-living crisis and inflation crunch on consumers, they have proven exceptionally hardy, with their financial health remaining remarkably strong during a very difficult period.

Income has returned. After a couple of barren years, yields in high-quality bonds that were not too long ago returning just 2% or 3% are now set to bring in 7% to 8%. And this jump in yields looks to be a game changer for investors.

A member from our Multi-Sector Bond team provides an update on the recent events which occurred during Q4 2023, highlighting the volatility in the treasury market which dominated the beginning of the fourth quarter, and the turnaround in November, which saw US inflation fall below expectations and labour data weaken.

After a tumultuous year for fixed income, government bond markets were finally delivering a story of falling inflation in Q4 2023. In our Investment Grade quarterly update, Gordon Shannon reflects on Q4, and in particular the month of December which proved to be one of the strongest months of the year, as hopes of multiple rate cuts in 2024 were accelerated.