Market View
Bonds: Strengthen Your Core without Hitting the Gym
Adding high-yield and other lower credit-quality securities to a core bond portfolio can potentially increase returns while lowering volatility. Here’s how professional managers can fine-tune that approach for investors.
As we noted in last week’s Market View, interest rates have continued to defy consensus expectations in 2017, grinding lower and driving positive returns for the broader bond market (the representative Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index [“Aggregate Index”] is up 3.4% year to date through September 14). At the same time, funds in the Morningstar Intermediate-Term Bond Category—many of which are “core” products benchmarked to the Aggregate Index—collectively garnered significant net inflows. Through August 31, the category saw an influx of more than $85 billion in net new money, more than any other category tracked by the fund data provider. Many market observers attribute increased interest in high-quality “core” bond funds to signs of low inflation, safe-haven demand amid tensions with North Korea, and a U.S. fiscal agenda that has not played out as anticipated.
When most investors think of “riskier” segments across the bond market, they consider sectors like high-yield corporates, floating-rate loans, or convertible bonds. Many issuers of these instruments are rated below investment grade by nationally recognized credit rating agencies, suggesting that their debt comes with more credit risk than that of, say, the U.S. government. (In addition to a greater level of credit risk, high-yield bonds also tend to be more volatile than investment-grade bonds.) Through the power of diversification, however, adding lower-quality credits actually may reduce the risk of a high-grade bond portfolio, and might even boost returns while doing so. (Remember that no investing strategy, including diversification, can overcome all market volatility or guarantee future results.)
Truly diversified portfolios combine investments with return profiles that have low, negative, or even zero correlation to each other. A portfolio of securities that “zig” when others “zag” (i.e., tend to perform in the opposite manner) or that have no directional relationship at all can, ultimately, mitigate portfolio volatility as a whole. For example, the returns of high-yield bonds demonstrated virtually no correlation with those of U.S. government bonds over the five-year period ended August 31, 2017, according to Morningstar. As a result, while high-yield bonds have been more volatile than government bonds over the last five years on an absolute basis, a strategic blend of these two non-correlated asset classes—60% U.S. government bonds and 40% high yield—would have produced a higher return than government bonds alone, with about the same volatility. (Note that these indexes and strategies may not perform in a similar manner in the future.)
Chart 1. Historically, Combining High-Yield Bonds with Government Bonds Has Increased Return without Adding Volatility
Total return and standard deviation for indicated asset classes, September 1, 2012–August 31, 2017
Source: Morningstar. “60% Government / 40% High Yield” refers to specific blend of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Government Bond Index and the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index.
Performance quoted above is historical. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results. The historical data are for illustrative purposes only, do not represent the performance of any specific portfolio managed by Lord Abbett or any particular investment, and are not intended to predict or depict future results. Investors may experience different results. Due to market volatility, the market may not perform in a similar manner in the future. Asset allocation does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss in declining markets. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment.
What happens when we add high yield to a more diversified basket of U.S. investment-grade bonds? Chart 2 shows the performance impact of adding high-yield bonds in 5% increments to the Aggregate Index over the same five-year period shown in Chart 1. As we begin to add high-yield bonds to the allocation, overall portfolio risk falls, while portfolio return rises. Once we exceed a 10% allocation to high yield, the level of risk begins to increase; however, even with a 25% allocation to high yield, we would have had a much better risk-adjusted experience relative to the Aggregate Index, as the 75%/25% blend delivered higher returns with similar volatility. Since below-investment-grade bonds have a higher standard deviation than the core-bond benchmark, increasing the allocation to high yield beyond 25% results in higher levels of overall portfolio risk relative to the Aggregate Index. However, absolute and risk-adjusted returns (as calculated by Morningstar) increase with each allocation adjustment.
Chart 2. Adding High-Yield Bonds Can Potentially Reduce Portfolio Risk, Increase Return, or Both
Total return and standard deviation for indicated asset classes, September 1, 2012–August 31, 2017
Source: Morningstar. “Aggregate Bond / High Yield” blends referenced in the chart refer to specific combinations of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index.
Performance quoted above is historical. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results. The historical data are for illustrative purposes only, do not represent the performance of any specific portfolio managed by Lord Abbett or any particular investment, and are not intended to predict or depict future results. Investors may experience different results. Due to market volatility, the market may not perform in a similar manner in the future. Investing in the bond market is subject to risks, including market, interest rate, issuer, credit, inflation risk, and liquidity risk. Asset allocation does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss in declining markets. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment.
While some investors may prefer to have no allocation to high-yield bonds in their core portfolio, others recognize the potential risk/reward benefits. How much to add depends, of course, on the investor’s specific risk tolerance and objectives. This is why it is important for asset managers to provide investors with choices when it comes to core bond options.
We’ll offer one more approach to consider: a 60% allocation to the Aggregate Index and a 40% allocation to a blend of credit sectors. This blend broadens the “combo” menu by including investment-grade corporate bonds, high-yield corporates, bank loans, and short-term credit. Chart 3 illustrates the risk/reward benefits of the 60%/40% portfolio relative to the Aggregate Index over the five-year time period depicted earlier, as well as the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Index, an index similar to the Aggregate, but with added credit risk. Again, a strategic combination of high-quality bonds with lower credit-quality securities historically has produced higher return with less volatility than the Aggregate Index.
Chart 3. Risk/Reward Benefits of a Blend of Credit Sectors with High-Quality Bonds
Total return and standard deviation for indicated asset classes, September 1, 2012–August 31, 2017
Source: Morningstar. “60% Aggregate Bond / 40% Credit Blend” refers to a specific combination of (1) the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and (2) the following combination of indexes (“Credit Blend”): 25% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. 1-3 Year Credit Bond Index, 25% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate Bond Index, 25% BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Master II Index, and 25% Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index.
Performance quoted above is historical. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results. The historical data are f or illustrative purposes only, do not represent the performance of any specific portfolio managed by Lord Abbett or any particular investment, and are not intended to predict or depict future results. Investors may experience different results. Due to market volatility, the market may not perform in a similar manner in the future. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment.
Summing Up
While assessing the credit quality of individual securities and asset classes is important, it’s essential to view risk at the portfolio level as well. To be sure, an asset class like high yield can display volatility that may be too high for some investors. But adding high yield, or other lower credit-quality securities, to a core bond allocation historically has boosted return without a significant impact on overall portfolio volatility. Potentially, a strategic combination of below-investment-grade securities and core bonds could actually lower the volatility of the portfolio as a whole.
There is no guarantee that markets will perform in a similar manner under similar conditions in the future.
A Note about Risk: The value of an investment in fixed-income securities will change as interest rates fluctuate and in response to market movements. As interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities tend to rise. As rates rise, prices tend to fall. Investing in the bond market is subject to risks, including market, interest rate, issuer, credit, inflation risk, and liquidity risk.
Diversification or asset allocation cannot guarantee a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.
This Market View may contain assumptions that are “forward-looking statements,” which are based on certain assumptions of future events. Actual events are difficult to predict and may differ from those assumed. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will materialize or that actual returns or results will not be materially different from those described here.
This material is provided for general and educational purposes only. The examples provided are hypothetical, are for illustrative purposes only, and are not indicative of any particular investor situation.
Correlation is a statistical measure that describes the strength of relationship between two variables. It can vary from 1.0 to -1.0.
Standard deviation is the measure of dispersion of a set of data from its mean. It measures the absolute variability of a distribution; the higher the dispersion or variability, the greater is the standard deviation and greater will be the magnitude of the deviation of the value from their mean.
Yield is the annual interest received from a bond and is typically expressed as a percentage of the bond's market price.
The BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Master II Index tracks the performance of US dollar denominated below investment grade corporate debt publicly issued in the US domestic market.
Source Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“BofAML”), used with permission. BofAML PERMITS USE OF THE BofAML INDICES AND RELATED DATA ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, MAKES NO WARRANTIES REGARDING SAME, DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE SUITABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, AND/OR COMPLETENESS OF THE BofAML INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED IN, RELATED TO, OR DERIVED THEREFROM, ASSUMES NO LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THE FOREGOING, AND DOES NOT SPONSOR, ENDORSE, OR RECOMMEND LORD, ABBETT & CO. LLC., OR ANY OF ITS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index represents securities that are SEC-registered, taxable, and dollar denominated. The index covers the U.S. investment grade fixed rate bond market, with index components for government and corporate securities, mortgage pass-through securities, and asset-backed securities. Total return comprises price appreciation/depreciation and income as a percentage of the original investment.
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate Bond Index includes all publicly held issued, fixed-rate, nonconvertible investment-grade corporate debt.
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Bond Index is a market value-weighted index which covers the U.S. non-investment grade fixed-rate debt market. The index is composed of U.S. dollar-denominated corporate debt in Industrial, Utility, and Finance sectors with a minimum $150 million par amount outstanding and a maturity greater than 1 year. The index includes reinvestment of income.
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. 1-3 Year Credit Bond Index is the a maturity-specific component of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Credit Bond Index, which represents the U.S. Credit component of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Government/Credit Index.
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Government Bond Index is a market value-weighted index composed of all publicly issued, nonconvertible, domestic debt of the U.S. government or any agency thereof, quasi-federal corporations, or corporate debt guaranteed by the U.S. government. Flower bonds and pass-through issues are excluded. Total return consists of price appreciation/depreciation plus income as a percentage of the original investment. Indexes are rebalanced monthly by market capitalization.
The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Index represents the union of the U.S. Aggregate Index, the U.S. High-Yield Corporate Index, the 144A Index, the Eurodollar Index, the Emerging Markets Index, and the non-ERISA portion of the CMBS Index.
The Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index is designed to mirror the investable universe of the U.S. dollar-denominated leveraged loan market.
Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment.
The credit quality of the securities in a portfolio is assigned by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO), such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, or Fitch, as an indication of an issuer’s creditworthiness. Ratings range from ‘AAA’ (highest) to ‘D’ (lowest). Bonds rated ‘BBB’ or above are considered investment grade. Credit ratings ‘BB’ and below are lower-rated securities (junk bonds). High-yielding, non-investment-grade bonds (junk bonds) involve higher risks than investment grade bonds. Adverse conditions may affect the issuer’s ability to pay interest and principal on these securities.
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