Bond funds

As liquidity disappeared amid the coronavirus-sparked mayhem, veteran fixed-income portfolio manager Gemma Wright-Casparius saw opportunities.

The central bank plans to make both outright purchases of corporate bonds as well as funds potentially invested in sub-investment grade debt.

Even some of the industry’s cheapest products “may be overpriced” in that they’re “mirroring a passive index,” an expert says.

It’s the latest example of how firms who spent the past decade battling low yields are now raising cash to seize on deep discounts from the coronavirus.

With few corners of the fixed-income industry safe from harm, investors’ faith in managers appears to be intact — for now.

Dubbed Disco III, the fund will target leveraged loans, high-yield bonds and collateralized loan obligations.

Total net assets in Michael Hasenstab's Templeton Global Bond Fund slumped to $22.6 billion as of March 31, public filings show.

Asset managers are targeting massive amounts of capital to benefit from credit market stress as the coronavirus leaves many companies in need of support.

“These funds got an assist from the Fed when they were told they would backstop the higher end of the high-yield credit industry,” an expert says.

The firm expects a second wave of opportunities, particularly in commercial mortgage-backed securities and collateralized loan obligations.

The firm’s chief investment officer spent as much as a third of that on high-yield funds, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

While the central bank’s support may help keep credit flowing amid the coronavirus, “it doesn’t necessarily improve the outlook for bankruptcies.”

“This market environment is a very good one for investors to do a self-awareness check,” an expert says.

“Ideally, you would like clients to try not to make really short-term decisions, however this is an unprecedented situation,” an expert says.

Even when the market was climbing to records earlier this year, John Miller’s risk appetite exceeded that of some of his peers.

The funds are also some of the lowest-duration products in the market.

The central bank’s pledge to buy investment-grade credit and certain funds helped spark a rally in higher-rated debt.

Asset managers may need to reassess the assumption that’s become widely held in recent years: that inflation is dead.

“Recent further Fed action from COVID-19 seems to put another layer on a near-40-year bond bull market,” an expert says.

The relief allows funds to obtain cash infusions through collateralized loans until the end of June.