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Re-risk Fixed Income in Institutional Portfolios

A new era of fixed income investing

A watershed moment in bond investing is occurring and the opportunity is profound. For the first time since 2007, more than 80% of fixed income sectors are yielding over 4%.1 Not only has it been true that ‘yields are back’ but the notion of ‘bonds as ballast’ reappeared after going missing in action. The yield environment has also improved the funding ratios of many defined benefit pension schemes and triggered a review of asset allocations. Against this backdrop, institutional investors should consider re-risking their fixed income allocations and strategically position their portfolios to thrive in this new era of fixed income investing.

1Source: LSEG Datastream, Bloomberg and BlackRock Investment Institute. 16 Jan 2024

It's all about the right combination

We believe a holistic approach to managing portfolios will carry greater rewards in this new investment landscape. The conventional reliance on traditional fixed income exposures is no longer effective in this evolved market landscape. Investors must now evolve their exposures– leveraging both private and public markets – across active and index strategies.

Unlock returns in private debt

As traditional lending institutions, particularly banks, face constraints and become more cautious in extending credit, we see a notable shift in the financial landscape towards alternative sources of funding. 

Demand for private credit such as non-bank loans has risen significantly amid rising interest rates and banks’ departure from corporate lending. 

Read more in our paper on private debt: the core middle market below:

A bigger role for active strategies

Dispersion of returns in the bond market allows active investment skill to thrive. Flexibility and granular views help identify divergences arising from these fluctuations and capitalize on selective income opportunities. Despite risk-off sentiment and outflows from high yield and emerging market debt (EMD) in 2023, we see opportunities in these sectors. The European HY market has matured with defaults remaining below historical average and larger issuers. EMD risk should not be underestimated, but we believe investors are being well paid for these risks with a soft-landed global economy and positive tailwinds.

Please find relevant research papers on Emerging Markets below:

Managing duration

Despite developed markets central banks having reached peaks, we continue to see a higher for longer policy rates backdrop. In the U.S., we believe valuations look attractive in the front and belly of U.S. Treasuries and Gilts whilst going long duration in European Government Bonds and EUR Credit.

Unlocking opportunities with ETFs

Institutional investors have been adopting Bond ETFs after observing the efficiency and the deep liquidity of ETFs in highly stressed market conditions relative to their underlying markets. Bond ETFs can act as investment building blocks or be part of highly customized strategies.

Fixed income investing solutions

BlackRock offers a comprehensive fixed income platform, managing assets across the entire Fixed Income spectrum – from public to private, fundamental & systematic, active & index – to help deliver better outcomes for our clients. 

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Private credit

We have the ability to construct customized client solutions across the full private credit and liquid credit spectrum based on client currency, fund structure and risk-return needs. Our team consists of 200+2 investment professionals with cycle-tested experience in deployment, asset management and workouts, combining fundamental credit analysis, macro research and bottom-up expertise from 18 local offices and 19+ industry verticals.

 

Our scale and resources mean we can solve unique client needs through dynamic and bespoke integrated portfolio solutions.

 

2Source: BlackRock as of September 30 2023

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Direct lending

Private loans to performing middle market companies.

Opportunistic

Capital solutions with complexity and liquidity premium.

Venture and growth debt

Operationally flexible loans to innovative high growth companies.

Infrastructure debt

Global platform investing in energy, power, renewables, transport, social and digital assets.

Real estate debt

Our platform combines global reach, industry expertise, and trusted deal execution capabilities.

Flexible debt solutions

Flexible single entry point global solutions across the credit universe.

 

Liability Driven Investing

As defined benefit pension funds embark on their end journey, designing an effective de-risking plan becomes ever more crucial. Our liability-driven investment platform offers defined benefit pension funds the power and flexibility of one of the most comprehensive fixed income businesses in the world, combined with proprietary asset-liability focused technology.

Why BlackRock for LDI?

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Investment expertise
We have over 25 years' experience as an LDI manager & adviser, 40+ investment expert across a range of backgrounds, and derivative documentation with 35+ counterparties.
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Transparency & Technology
Using our industry-leading Aladdin® technology allows for holistic management of all derivative exposures, increasing accuracy in hedging and transparency on the risks faced.
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Partnership
We understand your challenges and will guide you in the best approach to solve them.
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Cost efficient
We leverage our deep counterparty relationships to reduce execution costs - using a full toolkit of gilt repo financing capabilities and dynamic management of repo term.

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