Market updates

The TwentyFour Advent Calendar is a collection of 24 stats telling the story of fixed income and markets this year. The calendar covers everything from interest-rate rises and record bond issuance to falling house prices and disappearing banks.

While bonds are once again finding their feet, investors have found themselves sitting on cash balances of 30% to 50%. This capital preservation trade has made perfect sense, but does it still make sense as we reach terminal rates?

Charlene Malik, Portfolio Management, outlines the significance of active engagement within the ESG process at TwentyFour, and provides some examples of our recent engagements. 

Johnathan Owen, Portfolio Management, discusses the notable improvements seen in ESG disclosures over the past 24 months, categorising them into three main aspects; environmental, social and governance. 

Gordon Shannon, Partner and Portfolio Management, highlights climate change as one of the main topics which gathers a tremendous amount of attention within ESG investing, discussing the Paris Agreement, lack of data and poor transparency. 

Elena Rinaldi, Portfolio Management, discusses how banks have benefited from many years of ultra-cheap financing from central banks – which is now coming to an end and giving way to a more dedicated capital market funding needs - and touches on what the results of these changes are.

Charlene Malik reflects on a tricky quarter for markets, highlighting the behaviour of the US Federal Reserve, the ECB and the Bank of England. Charlene then discusses the ways in which the MSB team have responded to these Q3 events.

In our Investment Grade quarterly update, Gordon Shannon, reflects on government bond yields, which accelerated sharply at the end of Q3, as well as commenting on the behaviour of the European Central Banks over the quarter and the soft-landing 'fairytale' markets had hoped for.

Elena Rinaldi gives an update on the market, highlighting the peak in rates in the quarter, the performance of ABS for the quarter, and delving deeper into the primary issuance activity over the summer months.

Charles Dennis, Portfolio Management, states that through having access to detailed consumer data, the team are able to build a very complete picture of the consumer’s profile. Alongside this, he highlights that inflation across the UK, US and Europe appears to be on its way down, which is a slight pressure ease for central banks, signalling we are at or near peak rates. 

What has the consumer experienced in recent times and what does this slight easing mean for the consumer?

Dillon Lancaster, Portfolio Management, provides an update on European banks and AT1s and the bout of volatility they suffered earlier this year, following the US regional bank crisis and Credit Suisse.

Jack Daley, Portfolio Management, tackles a common question: When is the right time to add duration? This is a topic we frequently explore and debate.