Sterling corporate debt winds down

Fund manager's comment

Sterling corporate debt, the darling of the fixed interest market for the past year, appears to have...

Sterling corporate debt, the darling of the fixed interest market for the past year, appears to have run out of steam. After an impressive performance throughout 2003, investment grade bonds have struggled this year. Much of this has clearly been the result of rising interest rates removing the attraction of bonds as an asset class, but the sector has also underperformed conventional gilts during the past two months. Such disappointing performance begs the question whether this marks the end of the rally in corporate bonds that began in late 2002. Is the party really over? The average ...