Aegon Asset Management
Iain Buckle, Investment Manager Fixed Income
Fund: Aegon Ethical Corporate Bond Fund
A Green Light for ESG Bonds?
ESG-labelled bonds are issued to fund projects that have positive environmental, climate and social benefits. It is an increasingly diverse market that includes green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds. 2020 was a record year for new issuance and the market is now worth $1.3 trillion globally. This session will discuss ESG-labelled bonds, why they can be attractive and highlight some issues for investors to be aware of.
AXA Investment Managers
Nick Hayes, Head of Active Fixed Income Allocation and Total Return
Fund:
AXA Global Strategic Bond Fund
Pandemic, Politics and Plenty of QE: Reasons for Optimism in 2021
The size of the economic shock that has impacted upon markets as a result of the pandemic has drastically reshaped investors’ expectations for 2021. However, we believe that an unconstrained fixed income strategy can offer reasons for optimism. Central banks will need to keep interest rates at their historically low levels, and vaccine rollout should allow the gradual reopening of the global economy throughout the year. That said, with many asset classes now looking expensive, an active, diversified approach will be more important than ever in 2021 as the recovery moves into its next stage and we start to see greater differentiation between the “winners" and “losers”.
Baillie Gifford
Robert Baltzer, Head of High Yield
Fund: Baillie Gifford High Yield Bond Fund
High Yield Bonds – Evolution, Sustainability and Outlook
An overview of how the high yield bond market is evolving, the impacts of Covid-19, how companies and investors are thinking about sustainability and where we see opportunities.
Capital Group
Andrew Cormack, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager
Fund: Capital Group Global Total Return Bond Fund (LUX)
Managing Total Return with Disciplined Volatility Management: Capital Group Global Total Return Bond Fund (LUX)
While the global economy looks to be making a recovery, the backdrop remains uncertain, and it’s not clear whether the disinflationary era of the past 40 years is over or not. Capital Group’s Global Total Return Bond Fund (LUX) could benefit investors over the next cycle as it is based on fundamental bottom-up research and diversifies by both geography and asset class within fixed income.
Fidelity
Sajiv Vaid - Portfolio Manager
Fund: Fidelity Short Dated Corporate Bond Fund
The Value in Short Dated Credit
We recognise that today’s low interest rate environment poses a significant challenge for income-seekers. With some investors naturally wary of extending interest rate and/or credit risk to capture yield given the uncertain outlook for markets, the investment case for short dated corporate bonds has arguably never been stronger.
In this presentation, Sajiv Vaid will introduce the Fidelity Short Dated Corporate Bond Fund - now available at just 0.24% OCF - and outline how the fund is set-up to provide a compelling cost-efficient solution for investors who desire capital growth and income in a low risk manner.
Invesco
Wim Vandenhoeck, Senior Portfolio Manager, Invesco
Fund: Invesco Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund
The Return of Global Growth: EM Local, A Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity
Unprecedented and sustained monetary policy support in major developed markets has created a structural performance base that will potentially catalyse EM local market outperformance for the next two-to-three years. A lost decade of near-zero nominal returns in developed markets relative to emerging markets contextualizes a weaker US dollar and will provide a fulsome environment for both alpha and income-generative return opportunities in the EM asset class.
Vontobel Asset Management
Christian Hantel, Senior Portfolio Manager
Fund: Vontobel Fund - Global Corporate Bond Mid Yield
After The Rally: Is There Still Some Juice Left in Global Credit?
Investment grade credit spreads went like a rollercoaster last year: From a five standard deviation widening, then tightening all the way back to where they started. Although we still see potential for continued spread tightening on the back of very strong technical drivers, 2021 is more about carry than compression. We find value in certain industries and segments that are not back yet to their pre-Covid levels. Relative value trades, where you play between issues in various currencies of the same issuer, are also an important performance driver. Selection is everything: It is a bond pickers’ market.
WisdomTree
Lidia Treiber, Director, Research
Fund: WisdomTree European Union Bond UCITS ETF
The Rise of EU Bonds Amid A Global Crisis: Gain Insights on How EU Bonds Will Transform The Fixed Income Space and Learn About the Newly Launched WisdomTree European Union Bonds UCITS ETF
In this session, we will discuss the European Union’s (EU) new stimulus tools amid the pandemic and shed light on the impact that the massive, expected issuance of EU bonds will have in European bond markets. In 2020, the EU took monumental steps towards a more unified Europe in times of crisis and has become the largest social bond issuer in the world. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) bond issuance took off last year and one of the fastest growing sectors within this space are social bonds. We aim to cover some of the key reasons why EU bonds are in demand and provide details on the WisdomTree EU bonds strategy that captures pure exposure to this growing asset class. The session will be follow-up by a Q&A session.