Marion Le Morhedec is global head of fixed income at AXA Investment Management. For this edition of IO’s Portfolio Update she spoke with Investment Officer’s Max Severijns.
Markets are focusing too much on monetary policy and too little on factors that will really affect bonds this year, she said. “Obviously, macro data and central bank policies are important for bond traders, but the change in the way bonds are traded will be especially decisive.”
Liquidity will be impacted by a rise in global fixed-income ETFs, she said. “Due to the large cash flows involved in ETF trading, it is important for issuing parties to be part of an index. Only then can parties benefit from the money flows taking place in that market.”
There will also be more and more electronic trading, Le Morhedec noted, pointing that the rise of electronic trading makes intermediaries redundant within bond trading, at least partly.