Deep Dive: 'Don't write off bonds just yet'

Negative returns are rare

Michiel De Bruin, co-head of the Robeco global fixed income macro team and a senior portfolio manager, dives into fixed income

Many observers have made the point that yields are still at historically low levels and, as inflation is reaching record highs, yields can only rise from here. The implication is that returns - especially for government bonds, where yields are the lowest - are likely to be negative over the coming years.  However, 2021 was a rare year of negative fixed income returns for major government bond indices. For the 12 months to December, the Bloomberg Aggregate US Treasury index lost 2.3% and the euro equivalent yielded -3.5%. Significantly, the amount of negative-yielding debt, according to B...