UK long-dated credit is 'on the brink of extinction'

J.P. Morgan Asset Management's Andreas Michalitsianos argues the government's pension reforms have driven long-dated sterling corporate bond issuance to the point of extinction.

The manager of the JPMAM Sterling Corporate Bond fund said the landscape of the UK corporate bond market has fundamentally changed, with little issuance of long-dated bonds seen last year.  The main driver of this slowdown has been the pension changes, and resulting blow to the annuities market. "What [the pension reforms] did was take away a natural buyer of long-dated investment grade corporates. The market for annuities was £11bn, and two-thirds of that made its way into the sterling corporate bond market so, in context, that means a significant slowdown," the manager (pictured) sa...