How ECB action transformed bond landscape

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Steve Logan, co-manager of the SWIP European High Yield Bond fund, looks at how the peer group defied the odds to produce its 11th consecutive month of positive returns.

The European high yield bond market has now delivered 11 consecutive positive monthly returns to April 2013. In the 15-year history of the asset class, this represents the third-longest winning streak. This is interesting considering just over a year ago investors’ preoccupations included worries of an imminent Greek exit from the eurozone, double-dip recessions in the UK and Europe, and a bailout request from one of Spain’s biggest banks. Alongside the ‘noise’ of a succession of emergency eurozone meetings, it seemed to provide ample reason for giving the asset class a wide berth. ...