Revealed: Multi-managers' favourite funds and strategies in volatile Q1

Fixed income 'surprise winner'

Beth Brearley
clock • 2 min read

Managers of income-focused multi-manager funds raised their investment grade bond exposure in the first quarter of 2018, with the average weighting up by 2.9 percentage points to 19.7% - a four-year high.

Research from Harrington Cooper shows that bonds were "a surprise winner" during the three-month period, which saw gilt yields climb on the back of a sell-off in global bonds as investors grew bullish on the world economy and prepared for increasing inflationary pressures and tighter monetary policy.  In mid-February 10-year gilt yields peaked at 1.7% before falling back to 1.4% at the end of March. Allocations to investment grade bonds also reached a four-year high across balanced funds, rising by 1.4% to 12.8%, taking overall fixed income exposure higher.  Justin Urquhart Stewart...

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