Banking executive Colin Robertson is the executive vice president of Northern Trust in Chicago, Illinois. From his Chicago office, Colin Robertson manages all the firm’s fixed income investments, evaluating market performances every quarter to inform investment decisions.
The last market quarter (Q2 of 2020) was particularly better for investors than Q1 as asset classes posted a recovery from their previous declines. While overall the returns for most equity markets were down year-to-date, US growth and technology stocks moved toward positive territory. The gains were propelled by easing of lockdown measures, loose monetary policy by the Federal Reserve, and a reduction in weekly claims for unemployment insurance.
In the fixed income market, US 10-year yields saw little change, staying near record lows and channeling the effects of weak economic activity and quantitative easing measures. Fixed income assets more sensitive to risk, however, saw their yields decline.
Corporate bonds performed strongly in the quarter, far outpacing their government counterparts. High yield bonds that were more speculative returned 11 percent while investment-grade bonds returned 7.9 percent. Overall, US energy companies performed well across both.
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