Electronic trading of corporate bonds has reached record levels, as credit-trading algorithms get smarter, grab market share, and make it easier for investors to buy and sell corporate bonds without affecting prices too much.

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. has asked banks to hold investor meetings for a potential bond sale, the company’s first.

U.S. investment-grade debt sales have missed Wall Street estimates for two consecutive weeks with issuers choosing to sit on the sidelines instead of braving volatile markets. Bond sales were expected to pick up this week amid a growing backlog, but seven potential issuers opted to stand down amid broad volatility on Monday.

Investors in corporate bonds are bracing for more trouble after getting hammered by rampant inflation and rising yields in the first quarter.

Investors pulled $2.54 billion from investment-grade bond funds for the week ended Oct. 6, marking the biggest withdrawal since April 2020, data from Refinitiv Lipper show.

Concern is mounting in corporate credit markets globally as longer-term Treasury yields continue to rise, leading borrowers from New York to Tokyo to delay bond sales and strategists to warn of trouble ahead.

Austin Russell, the 25-year-old founder and chief executive officer of Luminar Technologies Inc., is set to become one of the youngest self-made billionaires.