U.S. high-yield bond funds could see an outflow of about $5 billion, the fifth-largest on record, as investors reassess risk after the best returns in a decade.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. credit analysts reported the estimate for the week ended July 1 in a note on Thursday, citing Refinitiv Lipper data. It would be the largest outflow since a $5.1 billion exit for the week ended March 4 when the spreading coronavirus was battering markets globally. The withdrawal would also mark a shift from about three months of inflows following unprecedented support from the Federal Reserve in the wake of the pandemic.
Final Lipper numbers are expected later today and may change.
Investors may be reducing risk after high-yield returned 10.2% in the second quarter, the most since 14.2% in September 2009, according to Bloomberg Barclays index data. Average yields have fallen to just 6.77% as of Wednesday from a peak of 11.69% on March 23, the data show.
“You’ve seen high-yield recover so much during the quarter that it has coaxed some money out of the asset class. Investors who have ridden the wave, and those who bought tactically during the selloff, have an incentive to take some money off the table,” said Scott Kimball, a portfolio manager at BMO Global Asset Management.
The rally has also spurred a surge in corporate borrowing with high-yield issuance reaching a record monthly high of more than $58 billion in June. But much of the outlook depends on how the pandemic impacts the economy in the second half, with some analysts warning that U.S. credit could be susceptible to weakening.
Many riskier high-yield companies are currently exceeding the modest expectations that they had set for investors when the pandemic started to spread earlier this year, said Ken Monaghan, co-head of high yield at Amundi Pioneer Asset Management. If virus cases drop and there’s no second wave, then big parts of the economy can reopen, and junk bonds can surge.
But if cases continue to jump or an accessible vaccine or treatment takes longer than expected, the virus will keep harming the economy and have an impact on riskier credit.
This would be the second consecutive week of outflows from high-yield funds. Leveraged loan funds are forecast to see an exit of about $400 million, the third consecutive week of outflows.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.