Consistent returns putting spotlight oncorporate bonds

Faced with dire losses from equity markets investors have turned to the stability, transparency and liquidity of the corporate bond market

Rarely has there been such intense and sustained interest in the corporate bond market. There are many reasons for this but perhaps the most compelling is investment returns, and very consistent returns at that. The performance of the corporate bond sector is not mere statistical fluke aided and flattered by the extreme volatility of global equity markets and the dramatic slump in share values. Indeed, despite the lurid headlines accompanying the large-scale corporate disasters at WorldCom and Enron this year, and, closer to home and for different reasons, Railtrack and Marconi, corpor...