Bonds: Total Market
According to the results of a recent survey, fixed-income investors want more ESG data than what is currently available. A survey of 111 senior buy-side fixed-income investors, which was conducted by analytics firm Coalition Greenwich, found that 90% believe ESG is important to decision-making, but only a third have fully integrated ESG into their risk analysis. The reason for the large difference is a lack of ESG data. Coalition Greenwich’s senior analyst Stephen Bruel stated “It boils down to risk management. If you don’t have reliable ESG data about an issuer or issuance, then it’s harder to calculate what the negative consequences might be.” More than half of the respondents said it was “important to incorporate ESG in fixed-income portfolios to perpetuate corporate values,” but there’s a “gap between where the survey participants want the industry to be and where it actually is.” Data was listed as the largest obstacle to achieving these ESG goals. The concerns about ESG data quality included greenwashing and inconsistent ratings. Essentially, if the data isn’t reliable, then quantifying risk becomes harder, which could open up investors to sizeable losses. This is especially true with the calculation of climate risk, which would certainly benefit from more data.
Finsum: Based on the results of a recent survey, fixed-income professionals believe ESG is important, but a lack of data is preventing more of them from implementing an ESG strategy.
According to fund managers, investors are pouring money back into U.S. corporate credit due to a combination of higher yields and attractive valuations. Salim Ramji, global head of exchange-traded funds and index investments at BlackRock told the Reuters Global Markets Forum, "We are at the beginning of a rotation as investors come back into credit. With the rapid move in front-end rates, the curve has repriced credit to attractive levels." This has benefited fixed-income ETFs such as the iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) and the iShares High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG), which are on track for quarterly gains in the fourth quarter after falling 20% and 14% respectively this year. Jim Leaviss, chief investment officer for public fixed income at M&G Investments added "We don't know exactly when the peak in inflation will be, but I think that's not a million miles away. If we're at this turning point then the entry-level you get by buying investment-grade credit in the (United) States looks really attractive." Ramji also said that “The jump in bond yields has also made corporate credit more attractive to investors looking for income after years of low-interest rates.”
Finsum:A combination of attractive valuations and higher yields has made U.S. corporate credit ETFs more enticing for investors.
Bond. James B….. Well, no, not exactly. However, for the first time in 10 years, investors are gaining value in bonds, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Bob Michele, as quoted on Bloomberg, reported zacks.com. That’s unfolding in the light of higher interest rates making fixed income more of a financial boon.
“Every wealth-management platform in JPMorgan, every institutional client -- they’re coming to us, they’re putting money in bonds,” Michele told host David Westin. “Bonds are back.” iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY Quick QuoteSHY – Free is off 5.2% this year while the S&P 500 has lost about 17.2%.
Someone say double duty? They address steepling interest rates as well as yielding healthy current income. In the midst of a tumultuous year, this ETF’s proven relatively resilient.
For those who feast on bonds, a handful of potentially winning ETF strategies are highlighted below:
- High-yield interest-hedged ETFs
- ProShares High Yield-Interest Rate Hedged ETF
- Convertible Bond ETFs
- First Trust SSI Strategic Convertible Securities ETF
- Senior Loan ETFs
- TIPS ETFs
- Floating Rate Bond ETFs
- Short-Term Cash-Like ETFs
Meantime, for the period concluding November 30, 2022, the distribution amounts per security (the "Distributions") for certain of its exchange traded funds, recently was announced by Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc., according to finance.yahoo.com.
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T. Rowe Price added to its active ETF lineup with the launch of the T. Rowe Price Floating Rate ETF (TFLR). This follows the firm’s launch of the T. Rowe Price High Yield ETF last month. TFLR invests primarily in floating-rate loans and other floating-rate debt securities. The manager, Paul Massaro, will focus on investing in BB and B-rated loans, which he believes are likely to keep volatility at below-market rates over time. He will take a disciplined approach to credit selection, featuring rigorous proprietary research and strict risk control, similar to the mutual fund version of the fund. Massaro had this to say about the launch, "Floating rate bank loans hold a unique position across the broad fixed income landscape given their combination of a floating rate coupon and elevated placement in a company's capital structure – an important risk management attribute. Historically, bank loans have provided a partial hedge against rising rates as well as low return correlations with other asset classes, making them a solid portfolio diversifier.” TFLR trades on the NYSE Arca and has an expense ratio of 0.61%.
Finsum:T. Rowe Price brings its active ETF stable to ten with the recent launch of the T. Rowe Price Floating Rate ETF.
After listing three new equity sustainability ETFs earlier this month, Dimensional Fund Advisors launched a new bond sustainability fund, the Dimensional Global Sustainability Fixed Income ETF (DFSB). The fund, which trades on the NYSE Arca, invests in a broad portfolio of investment-grade debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. corporate and government issuers, including mortgage-backed securities. DFSB will also take into account the impact that companies may have on environmental and sustainability considerations to lower carbon footprint exposure. More specifically, the fund will exclude companies that the manager considers to have high greenhouse gas emissions intensity or fossil fuel reserves relative to other issuers. DFSB has an expense ratio of 0.24% and is benchmarked against the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index. The new fund brings DFA’s ETF lineup to 28 with over $64 billion in assets.
Finsum:DFA adds to its ETF lineup with a bond sustainability fund that aims to lower carbon footprint exposure.
While politics have made ESG a controversial topic recently, there’s no denying the fact that its popularity is still soaring. That was made abundantly clear with the release of the Index Industry Association’s (IIA) sixth annual global benchmark survey, showing a surge in ESG benchmarks worldwide. According to the survey, the total number of indexes climbed internationally by 4.43% over the prior year, with ESG indexes worldwide increasing by 55%. However, the bigger news was that fixed-income ESG indexes surpassed equity ESG indexes for the first time. In fact, fixed-income ESG indexes increased by an unprecedented 95.8%. This breaks the previous record of 61.09% last year. While equity ESG index growth was slower, it still grew at a high rate of 24.15 percent. Muni indexes had the strongest year for non-ESG fixed income, rising 10.86%. Rick Redding, IIA’s CEO, said the following concerning the survey: “The index industry continues to meet the needs of the marketplace by creating innovative solutions. Highlighted again this year by record growth in ESG, index providers are empowering investors with the ability to define, track and better understand an ever-broadening range of financial markets, sectors, investment styles, and asset classes.”
Finsum:A recent index survey revealed that fixed-income ESG indexes have surpassed equity ESG indexes for the first time.