Please find access to the replays of our most recent events below.
One of our favoured fixed income sectors for 2021 is financials where we believe banks and insurance bonds can offer investors credit spread contraction and overall relative value opportunities.
As we have previously mentioned, our belief was that banks would have to prove their resilience through a whole economic cycle before investors would start to become fully comfortable with the asset class. Following the onset of the pandemic this now being illustrated and the recent regulatory curtailment of equity distribution has only added to the value that we think bank capital bonds can currently offer. Despite these factors, most bonds in the subordinated banking sector continue to trade at a premium, which we believe will gradually erode as the economic recovery continues over the medium term.
Similarly, the insurance sector is viewed with a degree of wariness by some investors, given the cyclical nature and high level of fixed income assets held on insurance company balance sheets, resulting in the sector typically showing a relatively high level of volatility in periods of economic stress. Despite robust balance sheets and relatively high credit ratings this sub-sector still frequently offers a credit spread premium compared to other fixed income corporate sectors of similar rating quality.
In this virtual session, Partners & Portfolio Managers Gary Kirk & Gordon Shannon will share their views on the current opportunities within financials. The session will be structured around a number of topics, including:
Interest in ESG strategies has grown rapidly in recent years as investors have looked for ways to ensure their investments can have a positive societal impact. While fixed income ESG investing has traditionally lagged behind the equity market, demand has increased recently as investors have recognised the importance bond markets can also have in helping to promote sustainability and how they can influence a company’s overall cost of capital.
In this virtual session, Chris Bowie (Partner & Portfolio Manager) introduces our sustainable, short duration credit fund; ‘Vontobel Fund - TwentyFour Sustainable Short Term Bond Income’. Launched in January 2020 and now GBP 80m in size, the Fund is designed for investors looking for low volatility income with a focus on sustainability. Chris describes the quantitative work carried out ahead of launch, provides examples of ‘Observatory’ - our proprietary ESG scoring and engagement database and takes a look at portfolio positioning.
Interest in ESG strategies has grown rapidly in recent years as investors have looked for ways to ensure their investments can have a positive societal impact. Within fixed income, much of the focus has been on the ‘green’ credentials of government and corporate bond issuers, but we believe the natural ESG advantages of asset-backed securities (ABS) have so far been overlooked.
In this virtual session, Ben Hayward (Partner & Portfolio Manager) and Elena Rinaldi (Portfolio Manager) explain why ABS may offer an attractive alternative for investors looking for ESG-friendly options within fixed income. Ben and Elena outline the team’s approach to ESG risks in ABS, and explain how engagement with issuers over ESG issues such as lending standards and treatment of borrowers is an integral part of their investment process. Moving one step further, Ben and Elena then discuss how they score ABS bonds from an ESG perspective and the positive screening they undertake for our sustainable ABS fund.
With investor sentiment holding firm on the prospect of COVID-19 vaccines allowing a more normal economic environment in 2021, we’ve seen credit spreads continue to tighten and expect European ABS spreads to make up more ground on mainstream markets, having missed out on some of the 2020 rally due largely to a lack of direct central bank support.
In this update, TwentyFour Partner and Portfolio Manager Ben Hayward addressed some of the key reasons he thinks investors should consider allocating to ABS sooner rather than later. From inflation to lower-than-expected default rates, Ben dives into the effect these developments have had on ABS and explains how the asset class can be used to look for yield opportunities and embrace pro-cyclicality.
After a tumultuous 2020 which nonetheless delivered strong returns in many asset classes, fixed income investors are expecting a more normalised trading environment in 2021.
In this global investor update on January 7, TwentyFour CEO and portfolio manager, Mark Holman, presented his outlook for the global bond markets in 2021 before taking questions from viewers.
Among other topics, Mark explained why he sees credit spreads in both investment grade and high yield markets making new lows against government bonds early in 2021, and why he likes sectors such as corporate hybrids, subordinated financials and European CLOs. He also discussed his bearish outlook for the major government bond curves and the prospect of global stimulus efforts feeding through to increased inflation in 2021, as well as giving his views on emerging markets and the growth of green bonds.
Partner and Portfolio Manager Gary Kirk and George Curtis from the Multi-Sector Bond portfolio management team provide an update on the TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund.
Partner and Portfolio Manager Aza Teeuwen and Elena Rinaldi from the ABS portfolio management team provide an update on the TwentyFour Income fund.
Our 2020 Fixed Income Festival was an exclusive virtual conference featuring a series of short live sessions, interactive Q&A's and a huge library of on-demand content. Mark Holman headlined the main stage where he was joined by Ian Shepherdson, Founder and Chief US Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. This was followed by live interactive TwentyFour Breakout sessions across our ABS Stage, IG Stage, MSB Stage and ESG tent where the portfolio managers provided detailed updates on portfolio performance and market outlooks. On-demand links to each of the sessions can be found below.