A Fixed Income View of 2020: Separating Sentiment from Fact

by Sonal Desai, Ph.D., CIO, Fixed Income, Franklin Templeton Investments

Investors could be in for a bumpy year ahead, according to Franklin Templeton Fixed Income CIO Sonal Desai. She emphasises the importance of separating the facts from the headlines, but also thinks it’s a good time to look to “de-risk” portfolios to some extent, while still remaining invested.

Here are some highlights of Desai’s commentary in our 2020 Global Investment Outlook.

• With so much noise in financial markets and in the media, we believe it’s more important than ever for fixed income investors to focus on the hard data rather than the headlines, and to carefully assess the significant divergence between sentiment indexes and real economic activity.
• Despite persistent trade uncertainty and a contentious political environment, the US economy remains on a steady footing. Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of US economic output, has powered ahead, supported by a strong labor market and healthy household balance sheets.
• Our outlook for the eurozone remains subdued, as economic activity has moderated after four years of growth well above potential. We do not, however, see an additional sharp contraction of the eurozone economy. The contraction of Germany’s manufacturing sector has attracted a lot of attention, but this has been heavily influenced by a temporary slump in car production. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, we would note that the eurozone has never been the main engine of global growth.
• We believe the extremely loose monetary policy of major central banks has exacerbated market distortions, making fixed income assets perceived as safe havens exceedingly expensive and pushing more and more investors toward riskier and less liquid assets. Against this background, heightened political and policy uncertainty sets the stage for higher volatility.

Watch the video below for additional insights.

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What Are the Risks?

All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and  investors may not get back the full amount invested. Bond prices generally move in the opposite direction of interest rates. Thus, as the prices of bonds adjust to a rise in interest rates, the share price may decline. Investments in foreign securities involve special risks including currency fluctuations, economic instability and political developments. Investments in emerging market countries involve heightened risks related to the same factors, in addition to those associated with these markets’ smaller size, lesser liquidity and lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets. Such investments could experience significant price volatility in any given year. High yields reflect the higher credit risk associated with these lower-rated securities and, in some cases, the lower market prices for these instruments. Interest rate movements may affect the share price and yield. Stock prices fluctuate, sometimes rapidly and dramatically, due to factors affecting individual companies, particular industries or sectors, or general market conditions. Treasuries, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value; their interest payments and principal are guaranteed.

This post was first published at the official blog of Franklin Templeton Investments.