Professional Pensions assembled a panel of four industry experts to talk about the outlook for fixed income investments.
The high-level roundtable was chaired by Professional Pensions editor Jonathan Stapleton and included Madeline Forrester, head of UK institutional sales at AXA IM; Charles McKenzie, head of global fixed income at JP Morgan Asset Management; Peter Schuld, senior portfolio manager at LGIM; and Trevor Walsh, fund manager at Aviva Investors.
The Conjecture debate looked at the outlook for fixed income investments over the coming year and the opportunities schemes have for diversifying their portfolios.
It also assessed the downsides of holding bonds in such uncertain times and look at risk management within portfolios.
In particular, the debate asked the following:
1. What is the outlook for fixed income over the coming year? What sectors and geographies will do well and what areas will do less well?
2. How are low gilt yields affecting scheme fixed income portfolios? To what extent will these portfolios protect against
3. To what extent should schemes diversify their fixed income portfolio into higher yielding sectors such as emerging market debt and high yield? To what extent could allocations to these sectors improve risk-adjusted returns - and are there potential problems with this approach?
4. How can schemes manage risks within fixed income portfolios to ensure they remain consistent with their strategies and goals?
