Not just about duration: the benefits of a multi-factor approach to fixed income

18 September 2018
| By partnerarticle |
image
image image
expand image

Duration is a key consideration for bond investors; but it’s far from the whole story, argues James McAlevey, Aviva Investors’ Portfolio Manager, AIMS Fixed Income and Target Return funds.​

All too often, we hear that fixed income investing is ‘all about duration’. Duration – the sensitivity of an asset’s price to movements in interest rates – is certainly an important consideration for anyone investing in the bond markets. But it’s far from being the whole story.

This is a crucial concept for fixed-income investors – especially at a time when duration risks are heightened. In recent years, investors’ appetite for long-dated bonds has driven the overall duration, and subsequent supply, of the bond market to record levels. So, now that the US Federal Reserve has embarked on a rate-hiking cycle and other central banks are retreating from the extraordinary monetary stimulus of the past decade, it’s easy to focus exclusively on the risks posed by rising interest rates. But the bond market is a vast and varied place. It has a multi-factor opportunity set, not just those that hinge on the direction of central-bank policy and thus interest rates.

Read More

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

1 year 8 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

1 year 9 months ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

1 year 9 months ago

AMP has reached an agreement in principle to settle a landmark class action over fees charged to members of its superannuation funds, with $120 million earmarked for affe...

17 hours ago

A ratings firm has placed more prominence on governance in its fund ratings, highlighting that it’s not just about how much money a fund makes today, but whether the peop...

16 hours ago

Australian superannuation funds have slightly lifted their hedge ratios on international equities, reversing a multi-year downward trend. ...

16 hours ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS

ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND