Tag Archives: interest rates
Critical Fixed Income Considerations amid RBA’s Swift Policy Moves
In May 2022, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was among the last major central banks to begin raising interest rates during the post-COVID-19 monetary tightening cycle. In Q1 2026, the RBA is not taking any chances with inflation, becoming the first major central bank to implement two consecutive 25 bps rate hikes (in February…
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Diversification across Durations
The S&P 500® surged to a third all-time closing high on Oct. 28, 2025, up 18% YTD. But the ride for U.S. equity investors has not always been a smooth one, with the index recouping sharp losses from earlier in the month on renewed tariff-related concerns and regional bank losses, coupled with AI bubble1 jitters…
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Full Circle: The Resilience of Leveraged Finance
After Q1 2025 began with positive momentum, Q2 has seen some of the largest bouts of volatility in the recent past. The April 2 tariff announcements sent markets on a series of extraordinary swings. On April 8, the S&P 500® was down 15% YTD and VIX® spiked to 52.33.1 However, positive trade developments that followed…
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Duration Distress
We’ve written previously about the traditional sources of excess return for fixed income active managers, one of which is taking on higher term or interest rate risk. 2024 witnessed a sharp reversal in the excess returns from term risk, as long duration tilts that would have rewarded managers in 2023 hurt them in 2024. A…
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Equity Exuberance and Fixed Income Foreshadowing
In the immediate aftermath of the 2024 presidential election, U.S. equities soared on Wednesday, November 6, with the S&P 500® up 3%, while small caps surged even higher, with the S&P SmallCap 600® up a substantial 6%. Subsequently, on Thursday, November 7, the much-anticipated Fed rate cut of 25 bps came to fruition. With two…
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Seeking Shelter in Short-Term Municipals
As has been the case for most of 2023, markets continue to grapple with the notion of whether the Fed will maintain its plan of “higher for longer.” Last week’s release of strong economic data (improved GDP expectations and strong unemployment) exacerbated selling in longer-dated treasuries, sending yields higher. As a result, U.S. Treasury bonds…
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Paying Dividends: Measuring Rising Income against Declining Risks in the iBoxx Fixed Income Indices
With the ZIRP world1 firmly in the rear view, the “income” in fixed income is back. As yields collapsed to record lows, income-starved investors sought alternative sources of income such as dividend strategies, which attracted record flows in related products throughout 2022. Now, with investment grade bond yields hitting as high as 6%, bonds are…
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Examining Equal Weight
In this tumultuous market characterized by Fed rate hikes, elevated inflation and a strong dollar, mega-cap growth companies have suffered heavy losses, paced by recent “Big Tech” earnings disappointments from Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and others. The S&P 500® Top 50 declined by 19% over the past 12 months, underperforming the S&P 500 by 5%….
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Watch Your Weighting Scheme
2022 has witnessed a recalibration across financial markets, as investors have digested the impact of higher interest rates amid elevated inflation. Despite bouts of optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve would take a more dovish stance, and better-than-expected corporate earnings, Exhibit 1 shows that the vast majority of large-, mid- and small-cap indices declined through…
Taking Higher Interest Rates in STRIDE
When it rains, it pours, and there’s no lack of bad news in 2022. The equity market is in solid bear territory, with the S&P 500® down 22% YTD. Inflation is high, and the Federal Reserve has aggressively hiked interest rates in recent months. The latest cycle of rate increases has happened faster than at…
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