Royal London, Jonathan Platt

Royal London's Jonathan Platt feels the increase use of leverage by companies should cause greater focus on covenants

The key macro-economic factor affecting bonds markets at present is increased activity in equities leading to mergers and acquisition, according to Royal London's fixed interest head Jonathan Platt. He feels the knock-on effect of the increased activity is potentially negative as companies become targets for takeovers and are forced to use higher levels of leverage. Platt feels such a situation should cause the bond investor to pay closer attention to covenants. "With all this activity going on, the smart bond investor will be paying more attention to bond covenants that state what the...