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Compare corporate and municipal bonds, including risks, returns, and tax benefits. Learn which bond type fits your investment goals.
We think the Fed has time to assess the impact of tariffs, and we expect it to wait to cut rates until the data show that tariffs are impacting the real economy. So far, there are no signs of recession in the hard data. The tariff pause offers the possibility to avoid worst-case economic scenarios before the damage is crystalized. We believe technical factors will continue to drive market dislocations in spreads and sectors, and that active managers can navigate this more effectively.
It's often said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and that failure to prepare is preparing to fail. Folksy wisdom to be sure, but those sayings remain relevant today and are highly pertinent in the world of investing.
As measured by the widely followed Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index, it's been a solid year for investment-grade corporate debt. Many market observers speculating that more of the same or even better things are in store in 2025.
This Q&A answers key questions about MIG and MBBB ETFs and explains how investment-grade corporate bonds offer higher yields than U.S. Treasuries with limited credit risk, making them a strong core choice.
M&A was almost dormant in 2023. In the US, as a proportion of the market value of the benchmark equity indices, it fell to its lowest level in 20 years, according to McKinsey. Credit investors are not traditionally supposed to be fans of M&A, and it's true we are wary of leveraging M&A, where debt is loaded onto balance sheets to buy competitors. We are seeing a comeback for M&A that we think is likely to continue through 2024.
The widely observed Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index is off 2.43% year-to-date, perhaps reflecting reduced expectations for first-quarter interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Corporate bonds delivered solid gains last year. And market observers expect more of the same in 2024.
Full call transcripts — prepared remarks + analyst Q&A — with speaker-by-speaker formatting and one-click switching across every quarter on file.
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Transcripts source: company-published earnings calls. Speaker attribution and formatting are processed in-app.