In our January publication, we stated that 2010 may be the year of duration and have warned clients of the need to manage duration risk. The Barclays Aggregate Index has recently delivered two months of negative returns: -1.56% in December 2009 and -0.12% in March 2010. These negative returns are being driven by duration, as 5 Year Treasury yields have risen 54bps from the end of November to the end of March, while the Barclay’s Corporate Index has actual spreads tightening from 172bps to 150bps over the same period. So, fundamentals matter. This is why we are very attentive to the trend of recent economic data.
In our January publication, we stated that 2010 may be the year of duration and have warned clients of the need to manage duration risk. The Barclays Aggregate Index has recently delivered two months of negative returns: -1.56% in December 2009 and -0.12% in March 2010. These negative returns are being driven by duration, as 5 Year Treasury yields have risen 54bps from the end of November to the end of March, while the Barclay’s Corporate Index has actual spreads tightening from 172bps to 150bps over the same period. So, fundamentals matter. This is why we are very attentive to the trend of recent economic data.