Bond funds

The $10.1 billion fund’s star manager, well known for his contrarian investments, held on to a short position against U.S. Treasurys even as bonds rallied.

Data reported by the Investment Company Institute.

More than $1 trillion is invested in bond ETFs, with trading leaping 41% in 2018 from a year earlier, according to research.

The five-month-old fund from Tabula Investment Management just became one of the largest of its kind after taking in $68 million last week.

The underperformance is a rarity for the fund, which has beaten the benchmark for nine of the past 10 years.

Nearly all bested the broader market at roughly a third the price of the average fixed income product.

Data reported by the Investment Company Institute.

Some of the same features that led to their unpopularity may also be what uncorrelated them from their peers, an expert says.

While bond investor anxiety previously focused on how the funds respond to abrupt withdrawals, skeptics are now homing in on secondary trading.

Fixed-income products designed to minimize interest rate risk are among the leaders.

With markets near certain that the Fed will lower rates this month, debate has shifted to the size of the cut and its impact.

Investors wary of an intensifying trade war have piled into the firm's bond products, boosting net flows to $151 billion, according to the company.

The decision marks a shift for firm, which has largely ridden its equity-fund offerings.

Expense ratios associated with the new products range from 0.05% to 0.07%.

A new report asks whether the products have the potential to spark another crisis despite being created at the urging of the SEC to reduce risk.

Outstanding options riding the world’s most heavily traded government debt product are near the highest level this year.

Ukraine, Nigeria and Kazakhstan offer opportunities because local developments dominate the direction of their markets, the M&G fund manager said.

Many relatively straightforward products have boosted their holdings of lower-rated bonds and emerging markets to juice returns.

Real estate, communications, utilities and consumer staples funds have seen the most appetite, with every other sector experiencing outflows.

Geopolitical risk, dovish central banks and an aging business cycle are reinforcing bullish moorings in global debt.