Market Insights

Inflation can have a broad impact on an economy, whether it is driving consumer decisions or cutting corporate profit margins. Market participants are interested in how policy decisions can strike the right balance to address elevated inflation and the impact these decisions will have on bonds.

Our proprietary software (SANTA) helps identify attractive securities and assist with optimal trade execution. Read more about an example of how this enables us to act quickly and effectively.

In an environment of low yields and compressed credit spreads, there is considerable value in dynamically allocating capital across different geographical markets. Each of our portfolios has a significant component of corporate bonds issued outside of Canada, which gives us a wider menu of investments. In this article, we discuss some of the opportunities we are taking advantage of in our strategies.

During the first quarter of this year, the “main event” was an increase in long-term interest rates and a steepening of yield curves. We are cautious with A-rated corporate bonds given the incentives for management to sacrifice this rating. We continue to balance defensive investments with exposure to areas of the market where credit spreads have not fully re-traced to pre-COVID levels.

Warren Buffett commented "Bonds are Dead" in his annual Berkshire Hathaway newsletter. We do not believe "Bonds are Dead" but the traditional approach to bonds must adapt to new investor needs.

The travel sector was arguably the hardest hit sector by COVID-19, and as an online travel agency (OTA), Expedia’s business was severely impacted. Here is an update on one of our high conviction positions – Expedia – as the company returns to the debt markets, this time to repurchase debt and issue it.

Having a disciplined and selective approach is very important as global credit markets continue to adapt and evolve. One question remains - how will corporations manage all the liquidity they raised last year?

How social media influenced the market and what this means for corporate bonds and the future.

Corporations are better positioned to deal with this round of COVID-lockdowns.  But what will they do with all the cash they have stockpiled as economies start to re-open?

Positive news from three pharmaceutical companies on vaccine treatments drove market sentiment through most of November. Investors are focusing on the “light at the end of the tunnel” despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

A Biden victory and new vaccine information have given the corporate bond market a boost, but what does it mean for credit longer term?

September was a welcome reminder of the valuable role credit can play in dampening portfolio volatility. Despite a strong market during the summer, elevated dispersion means plenty of attractive opportunities in global corporate bonds.

Financial markets ended the summer on a high note but are pricing volatility ahead. We are focused on the November election and the implications across sectors and issuers we own in the portfolios – with a focus on balancing exposures for a Trump or Biden win.

Financial markets continued to recover with strong performance in corporate bonds. The focus continues to be conservative core positioning with selective exposure to areas of the market where the Federal Reserve is not an active participant

After markets delivered better returns in Q2, we review how our portfolios re-positioned against a different market backdrop. We also highlight two sectors where we are seeing interesting opportunities: aircraft leasing and real estate.

Positive performance continued in May as markets looked past short-term pain to the gradual re-opening of the economy. While there are many roads on the path to recovery, we continue to think a Federal Reserve backstop, income and further spread compression make credit an ideal asset class versus equities.

Corporate bonds bounced back in April - but there was significant dispersion in performance across sectors and companies. We believe this represents an opportunity for us in the coming weeks and months.

After a violent repricing of markets, Central banks have acted quickly to backstop credit markets in an unlimited fashion. This has created a unique opportunity for us to invest in quality, defensive businesses that will exist post-COVID-19 at levels not seen in over a decade.

In February, we saw heightened uncertainty as COVID-19 cases spread beyond China, and dramatically repriced risk across all asset classes in the market. Through this volatile time, we continue to reduce risk in the portfolios while also finding selective opportunities.

As ESG factors become increasingly important to investment decisions, the focus has moved away from the binary distinction between brown and green bonds, to concentrating on incentivizing the transition from brown to green at the company level.