In the latest Strategic Thinking video, Alex Pelteshki, co-manager of the Aegon Strategic Bond strategies, discusses the current market environment with central bankers across both sides of the Atlantic rushing to repeat that the path of their policy rates is exclusively data dependent from here on. Alex also talks about the market reaction and the outlook for fixed income, explaining why the team believe there is room for the US Treasury Yield curve to become steeper by year end, making it one of the biggest opportunities out there.

Since the onset of the year, Chinese authorities have embarked on strategic measures to stabilize the capital market and bolster economic growth. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has taken significant steps, including a 50 basis point cut in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) – the largest since 2021 — followed by a historic 25 basis point decrease in the 5-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR). These policy actions have significantly boosted market sentiment, as reflected in the recent uplift in the Chinese stock market. These measures also align with our expectation of a supportive policy landscape in China for 2024.

In the latest Strategic Thinking video, Colin Finlayson, co-manager of the Aegon Strategic Bond strategies, examines recent dynamics within the fixed income market, particularly the divergent performance between government bonds and corporate bonds. He discusses what’s driving this dynamic, if it’s likely to continue and what this means for the Aegon strategic bond strategies.

Colin Finlayson, Euan McNeil and Thomas Hanson from Aegon Asset Management’s fixed income team take a closer look at the prospects for Sovereign Bonds, Investment Grade Credit and High Yield Credit in 2024.

In the latest Strategic Thinking video, Colin Finlayson, co-manager of the Aegon Strategic Bond strategies reviews what was a very challenging month for global bond markets, but why he believes the peak of the interest rate cycle and falling inflation make the outlook even more attractive. He also gives an update on how we are allocating against this backdrop and discusses why flexibility will be key.

In the latest Strategic Thinking video, Alex Pelteshki, co-manager of the Aegon Strategic Bond strategies, discusses why bonds are back, after years of quantitative and monetary easing causing traditional income asset classes to be squeezed out.

Last week’s announcement by the UK Prime Minister to amend the UK’s net zero strategy, was disappointing from an environmental perspective. Among the changes announced was a delay to the ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine cars and gas boilers until 2035 from 2030. The measures have been widely criticised by climate activists and business leaders alike and must call into question the UK’s position as a global leader on climate change.

In the latest Strategic Thinking video, Colin Finlayson, co-manager of the Aegon Strategic Bond strategies, discusses three things we learned in the last month - UK Inflation is falling again, Central Banks are now ending (and starting) their hiking cycles, and corporate bonds liked this market backdrop. He also reviews how we are allocating against this backdrop and the three core positions within the portfolio.