Fixed Income

After a week that saw 10-year Japanese government bonds (JGBs) hit yields not seen since the late 1990’s (and record highs for 30-year and 40-year maturities), alongside one of the most interesting Davos conferences in years, which was held in the shadow of the latest push by President Trump to “acquire” Greenland, it is helpful to take stock of where this leaves the global geopolitical landscape and financial markets.

This week we have seen the continuation of a remarkably strong technical in the credit markets. At the time when S&P 500 index was selling off by nearly 2% on the day, while government bonds were also in the red, spreads in Additional Tier 1s (AT1s), which always represent a higher beta product in the corporate bond universe, were barely changed.

With spreads well below long term averages and government bond curves pricing in what central banks are likely to do in the next few quarters, opportunities for capital gains through spread compression or sustained rallies in government bonds appear to be limited.

Historically, one of the key sources of stability in European ABS has been ratings. The market has long seen upgrades consistently outnumber downgrades, even during periods of stress, most recently during Covid-19.

On Monday, risk markets opened on the front foot after largely shrugging off the weekend’s geopolitical news. Stock markets rallied, led by large-cap energy companies that stand to benefit from the "opening" of Venezuelan oil markets, while credit spreads were tighter across the board, continuing the positive trend seen at the end of last year.

The new year has begun with a jolt for market participants after the US carried out a military operation in Caracas over the weekend, capturing Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

European ABS investors saw just the second solar loan-backed deal price recently, a German offering titled Golden Ray 2. The transaction marks a further incremental development towards sustainable financing in the European securitisation market. It also comes at a time when the much larger and established US solar market has encountered headwinds.

As we approach the end of 2025, we have been taking stock of the key themes of the year and any lessons we can take from them. It has been a strong year for European high yield (HY) credit, with solid performance for the index as a whole and average yields compressed by around 40bp over the course of the year.

Nothing beats an 11-hour flight back to London for evaluating the outlook for collateralised loan obligations (CLOs), having attended the Opal CLO conference in California.

As we approach the end of a year that has seen risk assets shrug off US tariffs and mounting concerns over AI-driven tech valuations, TwentyFour Asset Management’s portfolio management team selects the seven key questions that they believe will define 2026 for fixed income investors.

The terms private credit and life insurance have appeared together in multiple negative headlines in recent weeks, and to casual observers the link between the two may not be immediately obvious.

The wait is over. UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her much anticipated November Budget on Wednesday, ending weeks of rumours and leaks that had created a general feeling that all measures were on the table – now investors, businesses and taxpayers alike can fill in the empty cells on their spreadsheets and calculate what’s left.