Yahoo Finance Fixed Income ETFs: Where Should You Invest Now?
(1:45) - What Should Investors Expect From Interest Rates For The Rest of 2024?
(8:00) - Is Now The Time To Step Away From Cash And Invest Into Stocks and Bonds?
(12:15) - Where Are The Investment Opportunities Within The Fixed Income Market?
(20:10) - Should You Revaluate Your 60/40 Portfolio?
(24:05) - What Is Driving The Flows Into Bond ETFs
(28:20) - BlackRock Flexible Income ETF: BINC
(33:10) - Episode Roundup: HYDB, ISGB, STIP
Podcast@Zacks.com
In this episode of ETF Spotlight, I speak with Dhruv Nagrath, Director of Fixed-Income Strategy at BlackRock, about attractive opportunities in the bond ETF space in the current "higher-for-longer" rate environment. The world’s largest asset manager offers 128 fixed income ETFs in the US markets, across a variety of strategies.
Last week’s hotter-than-expected CPI report raised doubts about when the Fed will be able to start cutting interest rates. Expectations for a rate cut by June fell from about 57% on Tuesday to about 24% now. The market is now pricing in fewer than two cuts this year, compared to six or seven at the beginning of the year.
Money-market fund assets rose to an all-time high recently on expectations that short-term rates will remain elevated. However, investors should remember the opportunity cost of holding too much cash.
According to BlackRock, investors should look at attractive opportunities in the intermediate part of the yield curve and lock in yields in preparation for the possibility of the Fed cutting rates later this year. ETFs like the iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF IGSB are worth a look.
If the Fed is able to engineer a soft landing, high-yield bonds could also continue to outperform. The iShares High Yield Systematic Bond ETF HYDB focuses on issuers with healthy balance sheets and attractive valuations. It seeks to mitigate risks while providing enhanced income.
As inflation is proving stickier than expected, investors might consider adding some inflation hedges to their portfolios. The iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF STIP holds short-term U.S. TIPS as it seeks to minimize interest rate risk.
Bonds are not providing the same diversification benefits to equities as in previous decades. Should investors reevaluate the 60/40 portfolio model?
One of the significant themes this year is the rise of active ETFs, which have received an outsized portion of inflows this year. The actively managed BlackRock Flexible Income ETF BINC offers multisector fixed-income exposure that seeks to maximize income.
Tune in to the podcast to learn more.
Make sure to be on the lookout for the next edition of the ETF Spotlight and remember to subscribe! If you have any comments or questions, please email podcast@zacks.com.
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iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF (STIP): ETF Research Reports
iShares High Yield Systematic Bond ETF (HYDB): ETF Research Reports
iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (IGSB): ETF Research Reports
BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC): ETF Research Reports
