The March issue of our Bond Fund Intelligence, which was sent to subscribers Friday morning, features the lead story, "ICI Says Bond Fund Outflows Measured; No Need for Regs," which quotes from a Viewpoints piece written by Chief Economist Sean Collins; and "BIS Examines Bond ETF Arbitrage; Pros and Cons," which highlights a bond ETF chapter in the Bank For International Settlements' recent Quarterly Review. BFI also recaps the latest Bond Fund News and includes our Crane BFI Indexes, which show that bond fund returns and yields fell in February. We excerpt from the new issue below. (Contact us if you'd like to see our Bond Fund Intelligence and BFI XLS spreadsheet, or our Bond Fund Portfolio Holdings data, and see below for more on our upcoming Bond Fund Symposium Online, March 25-26.)
BFI's "ICI: Bond Funds" piece reads, "ICI tackles the topic of runs on bond mutual funds in a new paper, 'Bond Mutual Fund Outflows: A Measured Investor Response to a Massive Shock.' Written by Chief Economist Sean Collins, the piece explains, 'In recent months, we have seen many high-profile analyses arguing that bond mutual funds amplified stresses in financial markets during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. These analyses conclude that bond mutual funds therefore may require structural regulatory reforms. But as the information in this ICI Viewpoints and others to follow indicates, policymakers should not jump to that hasty conclusion.'"
BFI quotes ICI, "In a series of posts, we will demonstrate that the evidence about what happened to financial markets in March 2020 is still far too mixed and preliminary to conclude that new regulation is appropriate for bond mutual funds. Given the importance of bond mutual funds to retail investors and to the US and global economies, it is critical that we have all the data and insights—measured and applied correctly—before regulators start considering policy recommendations to reform these funds."
Our BIS Bond ETF article explains, "The Bank For International Settlements' latest BIS Quarterly Review includes a chapter on 'The anatomy of bond ETF arbitrage,' which discusses the differences between bond and stock ETFs and the challenges and risks involved. BIS summarizes, 'Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) allow a wide range of investors to gain exposure to a variety of asset classes. They rely on authorised participants (APs) to perform arbitrage, ie align ETFs’ share prices with the value of the underlying asset holdings. For bond ETFs, prominent albeit understudied features of the arbitrage mechanism are systematic differences between the baskets of bonds used to create and redeem ETF shares, and a low overlap between these baskets and actual asset holdings. These features could reflect the illiquid nature of bond trading, ETFs’ portfolio management and APs' incentives. The decoupling of baskets from holdings weakens arbitrage forces but allows ETFs to absorb shocks on the bond market.'"
The BIS explains, "Recent trends and market developments call for a closer analysis of bond ETFs. First, bond ETFs have been growing steadily over the past few years and now manage more than $1.2 trillion of assets across the globe.... Second, the Federal Reserve's corporate bond purchase programme launched in 2020 involves interventions in the bond market through ETFs. Third, the difference between ETF share prices and [NAVs] of the underlying holdings ... fluctuated more strongly for bond than for equity ETFs during March-April 2020. This highlighted that features specific to the bond market can have an impact on the pricing of bond ETFs."
A News brief, "Returns and Yields Fall in February," tells readers, "Bond fund yields were mostly lower and returns were down last month. Our BFI Total Index fell 0.65% over 1-month but increased 2.74% over 12 months. The BFI 100 fell 0.75% in Feb. but rose 3.16% over 1 year. Our BFI Conservative Ultra-Short Index returned 0.04% over 1-mo and 1.01% over 1-yr; Ultra-Shorts averaged 0.05% in Feb. and 1.20% over 12 mos. Short-Term returned 0.01% and 2.86%, and Intm-Term plunged 1.07% last month but rose 3.06% over 1-year. BFI's Long-Term Index returned -1.66% in Feb. and 3.06% over 1-year. Our High Yield Index gained 0.38% in Feb. and 6.65% over 1-yr."
Another News brief quotes Investment News', "Vanguard's first active bond ETF has 'disruption' written all over it." They tell us, "The upcoming launch of the Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF ... represents a disruptive new competitor in the area of cash-alternative ETFs. The new fund, which is expected to be available within the next four months, is an ETF version of the $16.8 billion Vanguard Ultra-Short-Term Bond Admiral mutual fund (VUSFX), which launched in 2015."
In a third News update, the WSJ writes, "Treasury Rout Pushes Bond Funds Into Risker Assets." They comment, "Optimism about economic recovery has triggered a selloff in U.S. Treasurys that is pushing fixed-income investors to run for cover in some unlikely havens. Fund managers are bulking up on junk bonds, corporate loans, equity-linked bonds and even stocks ... while selling assets that trade more in line with government debt."
Finally, BFI says in a sidebar, "Fidelity Launches Two New Active Bond ETFs." It begins, "Fidelity Expands Active ETF Lineup with Launch of Two Active Bond ETFs,' says a press release. The announcement explains, 'Fidelity Investments today announced the launch of two new active bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) -- Fidelity Investment Grade Bond ETF (FIGB) and Fidelity Investment Grade Securitized ETF (FSEC). Both funds are available commission-free for individual investors and financial advisors through Fidelity’s online brokerage platforms. The new actively-managed bond ETFs are competitively priced with total expense ratios of 0.36%. With this launch, Fidelity now manages 39 ETFs with more than $25 billion in assets.'"
As a reminder, please join us for Crane's Bond Fund Symposium 2021 (Online), which will be hosted virtually the afternoons of March 25-26, 2021. Bond Fund Symposium offers a concentrated and affordable educational experience for bond fund and fixed-income professionals with a focus on the ultra-short sector of the market. Registrations are $250 and "comp" and sponsor tickets are also available. (Ask us if you'd like more information.)
See the latest agenda and details here. Portfolio managers, analysts, investors, issuers, service providers, and anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of bond funds and fixed-income investing will benefit from our comprehensive program. E-mail us for the brochure and more details. Also, mark your calendars for our "big show," Money Fund Symposium, which has been pushed back to Sept. 21-23, 2021, in Philadelphia.
