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Fixed income is attractive, but beware of 'fake' yield

by Robert M. Almeida, Jr., Portfolio Manager and Global Investment Strategist

In brief:

  • Soaring policy rates have made cash a competitive asset again, prompting an overdue de-rating of risk assets.
  • But just because yields are higher, that doesn’t mean risk is lower.
  • The recent shift from yield-scarcity to abundancy is exciting, but one that needs to be approached carefully as higher rates make the operating environment more difficult and economic and financial stress comes with the territory.

Years of weak economic growth and quantitative easing caused interest rates to compress, creating a scarcity of yield throughout the 2010s. However, all that was reversed last year as central banks belatedly took action to contain stunningly high levels of global inflation...

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