Active Fixed Income

CEO Ali Dibadj provides an update on the three macro drivers we believe will shape markets in the second half of 2025 and how Janus Henderson is helping clients position for a brighter investment future.

New strategies, shifting flows, and innovative technologies are driving a more dynamic and diversified marketplace in fixed income ETFs.

The overall U.S. equity market has fully recovered from its April lows, landing in an essentially flat position as of 5/31/2025. However, it’s been a wild ride for many investors.

Despite consumer fears of 1970s-style inflation, actual CPI has cooled to just 2.4%. Jeff Weniger makes the case that we may be living in a Goldilocks scenario, where price trends align with a stable and balanced economic environment.

The fund shines through as a prime option worthy of consideration among the vast alternatives present in the muni market. With their rare combination of credit quality and yield, munis are offering fixed income investors prime benefits in a still-uncertain bond environment.

Bonds hit a headwind in May as rates rose, but year to date, they have helped offset some of the volatility seen in stocks. See Table 2 for bond index returns for May 2025, Q1 2025, and YTD.

Michael Browne, Chief Investment Officer at Martin Currie discusses inflation, energy and the art of the possible.

Lately, the “deficit narrative” has dominated much of the financial media, particularly those channels that are continual “purveyors of doom.” In this post, we will discuss the “deficit narrative,” the likely outcomes, and why the cure for the deficit may be found in Artificial Intelligence.

Tariff policy has clouded expectations for the second half of the year, but there are ways to navigate through the fog.

Fears of an impending recession may be fading, but economists are still expecting tepid GDP growth for the year.

Alex Veroude, Global Head of Fixed Income, believes fixed income investors can prepare for an uncertain journey by recognising trends and diversifying across different assets.

Summer re-runs are popular on TV, but a repeat of last August's "yen-carry" market upheaval isn't likely on the schedule. A shift in positioning by investors is one reason.

With tariff news providing constant equity market fluctuations, the case for bonds becomes more compelling. The added uncertainty also punctuates the need for an active management strategy, which one particular Vanguard ETF offers.

Despite inflation worries, fiscal deficit concerns, and continued geopolitical conflict, equity markets posted strong returns in May on the back of easing tariff tensions, lower probability of recession, and better than expected US Q1 earnings.

The first half of 2025 has been driven by headlines that have caused volatility in both the stock and bond markets. While tariff negotiations have commanded the most attention, we are now pivoting to the federal budget deficit, which feels like a perpetual headline over the last 15 years.

Today, Vanguard released its newest bond fund, the Vanguard Multi-Sector Income Bond ETF (VGMS).

Integrating volatile and illiquid assets into the ETF structure is something to be avoided, Doubleline CEO and CIO Gundlach said.

A new culture of reform at Japanese companies offers exciting potential for equity investors.

With the world order in flux, investors can look to fortify portfolios by diversifying across global markets and capitalizing on attractive, high quality yields.

While the immediate path for tariffs may drift lower, the U.S. legislative branch is hammering out a tax and spending bill that seems to favor tax cuts over lower spending, reviving worries over the U.S. budget deficit and a growing debt burden that cannot be ignored.

The global economy is continually evolving due to inflation, interest rates, and geopolitics. How could these and other factors influence the major asset classes over the coming decade?

If we lived in a world where mobile signals were visible, the sky would shimmer like a storm—layers of frequencies rolling over rooftops, crossing oceans and saturating valleys.

The US housing market remains in a state of inertia. Despite the arrival of the spring selling season, both new and existing home sales continue to underwhelm.

In this video, Chuck Carnevale, Co-Founder of FAST Graphs, aka Mr. Valuation will do a comprehensive analysis of Autoliv Inc (ALV), the world’s largest automotive safety supplier.

Small-cap stocks tend to offer greater growth potential than their large-cap peers, but those returns have yet to materialize consistently. What will it take to turn the tide?

Investors may revisit international exposure in their portfolios amidst reduced market reactions to tariff announcements, uncertain U.S. policy and lagging U.S. stock performance.

Back during the Financial Panic of 2008, clickbait media kept screaming “Hyperinflation.” We consistently pushed back against this theme, and argued inflation would not accelerate.

Increasing investor preference for actively managed strategies continues in this year’s tumultuous environment. With active ETFs taking increasing market share, advisors and investors have ever-expanding choices when looking to augment existing passive exposures.

Systematic fixed-income investing is attracting increased attention but needs specialist skills and resources. Would your manager have what it takes?

Research trips are an integral component of our active, fundamental investment process. Our investment teams meet with different companies, attend conferences, and travel to new markets around the world, gaining insights for our clients and a deeper understanding of potential investments.

The ETF market saw a noticeable slowdown of new products launched in May; however, innovation continued to be a driving force.

Bouts of volatility may continue in the second half of 2025 as bond market investors navigate evolving tariff policy, U.S. government debt, and economic uncertainty.

Kristofer Kraus, portfolio manager and co-lead of PIMCO’s asset-based finance business, charts the nuances behind the overall resilience of U.S. consumers – and explains how these insights shape lending and investment strategies.

We remain underweight most developed market stocks as US tariff policy is still unclear but are more enthusiastic about emerging market assets.

Given the large pool of options available to fixed income investors in the bond market, the ideal option given the current economic uncertainty is still Treasuries. With that, Vanguard has three options worthy of consideration for any portfolio.

Early signs of diminishing economic activity and inflation could be a harbinger for bond prices to rise. If so, consider taking advantage of a potential bond rally with a pair of ETFs from Vanguard.

Stocks rallied in May 2025 as trade tensions eased, but investor confidence remains fragile.

Investors may revisit international exposure in their portfolios amidst reduced market reactions to tariff announcements, uncertain U.S. policy and lagging U.S. stock performance.

Passive capitalization-weighted index funds now surpass active management in aggregate investor allocations.

Closed-end funds can offer stable income streams, but also have some benefits over ETFs when it comes to fund structure.

Duration is an often confused term when it comes to financial fixed income investing. After all, in your everyday life, the definition of duration is the length of time it takes for something to occur.

Market leadership is shifting and the once-dominant Magnificent 7 may no longer be so magnificent. Our latest report reveals why broader opportunities are emerging across sectors and regions, with quality, value, and growth converging in unexpected places.

The muted IPO market which has become commonplace in the last few years continued in that fashion through the first five months of 2025. However, the last few weeks has brought a renewed focus to dealmaking after a couple of highly anticipated IPOs began trading, and a cryptocurrency unicorn filed to IPO.

Mortgage rates last week climbed to their highest levels since the beginning of the year on elevated economic risks. With markets still hopeful of at least one interest rate cut in the second half, the real estate sector stands poised to bounce back in a lower rate environment.

This past week, news flow around policy came in hot and heavy, with President Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful’ tax cut bill passing the House of Representatives, and Trump threatening 50% tariffs on the European Union (EU).

Amid a fair amount of market tumult, we wrote two months ago that the best course of action was to stay invested in roughly the same portfolios that we’ve had throughout, and let the market stabilize.

Similar to the equity market’s response to the recently announced tariffs, the bond market responded with a widening of credit spreads. These spreads represent the difference in yield between a U.S. Treasury bond and other bonds of the same maturity but different credit quality.

It doesn’t take much to understand that Ray Dalio, a hedge fund titan, is like every other human being and is prone to error. I will not dismiss Dalio entirely, as his track record of managing money at Bridgewater is nothing to be scoffed at.

Assessment and selection of covered call funds is based on criteria like total return, distribution rate (sometimes referred to as yield), and fees.

Corporate credit spreads, whether investment grade or high yield, can often hint at hiccups in the stock market and the economy. But they tend to keep a low profile.

Many investors have underweighted high yield bond ETF strategies in recent years, satisfied with the opportunities found in other segments of the fixed income market.

Index ETFs have evolved beyond merely providing passive exposure to the market, with a new generation of factor ETFs utilizing complex rules-based methodologies to beat benchmarks.

Residential mortgage-backed securities, or MBS, are a big part of the securitized investment market. Here's what to know about MBS investing.

Mounting concerns regarding growing U.S. government deficits and a volatile tariff policy create a challenging backdrop for U.S. bonds.

Actively managed ETFs pulled in approximately 40% of the industry flows through the first four months of 2025. These ETFs tap into professional expertise, which has been helpful in the volatile market environment. The latest model allocation changes made by BlackRock’s team will help more ETF-minded advisors have greater access to active strategies.