Investment Grade Quarterly

09 Jul 2022

2022 Q2 Investment Grade Quarterly

The second quarter was another extraordinarily difficult period of performance for investment grade corporate credit. Treasury yields continued to march higher and credit spreads moved wider. The option adjusted spread (OAS) on the Bloomberg US Corporate Bond Index widened by 39 basis points to 155 after having opened the quarter at an OAS of 116. [...]
READ POST
11 Apr 2022

2022 Q1 Investment Grade Quarterly

It was an extremely painful start to the year for credit markets as performance suffered due to wider spreads and higher interest rates. During the first quarter, the option adjusted spread (OAS) on the Bloomberg US Corporate Bond Index widened by 24 basis points to 116 after having opened the year at an OAS of [...]
READ POST
11 Jan 2022

2021 Q4 Investment Grade Quarterly

Investment grade corporate credit spreads finished the year little changed. For the full year 2021, the option adjusted spread (OAS) on the Bloomberg US Corporate Bond Index tightened by 4 basis points to 92 after having opened the year at an OAS of 96. The 4th quarter saw more movement, with the spread on the [...]
READ POST
15 Oct 2021

2021 Q3 Investment Grade Quarterly

Investment grade corporate credit finished the third quarter little changed from where it began the period. The option adjusted spread (OAS) on the Bloomberg Barclays US Corporate Bond Index ended the third quarter at 84 just modestly wider from where it started at a spread of 80. Treasuries finished the quarter nearly unchanged as well. [...]
READ POST
11 Jul 2021

2021 Q2 Investment Grade Quarterly

Investment grade corporate credit experienced positive performance during the quarter with a one-two punch of lower Treasury rates and tighter credit spreads. As a result, investors were able to claw back some of the losses that were incurred during the first quarter of 2021. The option adjusted spread (OAS) on the Bloomberg Barclays US Corporate [...]
READ POST
09 Apr 2021

2021 Q1 Investment Grade Quarterly

It was a challenging first quarter for corporate bonds as rising interest rates were a headwind for performance across the fixed income universe. Investment grade credit spreads were a bright spot, having shown resiliency during the quarter, but tighter spreads could not overcome volatile interest rates. The option adjusted spread (OAS) on the Bloomberg Barclays [...]
READ POST
08 Jan 2021

Q4 2020 INVESTMENT GRADE COMMENTARY

Investment grade corporate bonds rode a roller coaster in 2020 so it should be no surprise that, after peaks and valleys, spreads finished the year nearly right where they started. The option adjusted spread (OAS) on the Bloomberg Barclays US Corporate Bond Index opened the year at 93, but soon thereafter, pandemic induced uncertainty gave [...]
READ POST
08 Oct 2020

2020 Q3 Investment Grade Commentary

Corporate credit turned in a solid performance during the third quarter. Spreads were tighter, with the option adjusted spread on the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate Index opening the quarter at 150 and closing the quarter at 136. Treasuries were almost unchanged on the quarter with the 10yr Treasury opening at 0.66% and closing at 0.68%, [...]
READ POST
12 Jul 2020

2020 Q2 INVESTMENT GRADE COMMENTARY

What a difference a quarter makes. The investment grade credit market has experienced a reversal of fortune since the dark days of late March, with both spreads and returns rebounding smartly from the levels seen earlier this year. The resumption of risk appetite led to a sharp tightening in spreads for the Bloomberg Barclays Corporate [...]
READ POST
06 Apr 2020

2020 Q1 Investment Grade Commentary

Investment grade credit just endured one of the most volatile quarters in the history of its existence. Most market participants would agree that only the 2007-2008 global financial crisis can compare to what we have experienced the past month. Spreads were humming along for the first two months of the year before they spiked to [...]
READ POST