Bonds

Aberdeen is the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 after a double acquisition that CEO Martin Gilbert said does not alter the group's "very cautious" strategy.

Aberdeen has hit the acquisition trail with two new deals, agreeing to buy US asset manager Artio Global Investors and taking a majority stake in private equity fund of funds business SVG.

Old Mutual Global Investors' (OMGI) Stewart Cowley believes the so called ‘great rotation' out of fixed income and into equities has as yet failed to occur.

EMD

Andy Brown, investment director at Prudential's Portfolio Management Group, believes there is great value in the corporate bond market and that noise to the contrary is overdone.

The Bank of England is close to announcing a further bout of asset purchasing, particularly as gilt yields continue to soar, Kames Capital's Iain Buckle has predicted.

First State Investments has launched a Global Credit Income fund for the UK market, targeting wealth managers and discretionary investors.

Germany's AAA credit rating will come under increasing scrutiny this year as investors shift their focus, according to Cosimo Marasciulo, head of government bonds and FX at Pioneer Investments.

Natixis Global Asset Management has launched its first offering under a newly set up OEIC umbrella, the Loomis Sayles Strategic Income fund, as part of the group's plans to make more funds available to the UK retail market.

GLG's strategic bond fund manager Jon Mawby has warned investors to be wary of exposing their cash to interest-rate sensitive bonds such as gilts amid a surge in demand for protection.