Relative value in private markets

This month’s Bond Voyage looks at the Bulk Purchase Annuity (BPA) market in the UK – the quiet market making loud moves.

Asset-based finance is capturing the attention of institutional investors – from pension schemes to insurers – thanks to its diverse risk-return drivers and its growing role as a strategic building block in investors’ portfolios.

In this month’s Bond Voyage, our Solutions team investigates the reasons behind the widening gilt-swap spread and its implications for government bond investors, in particular for insurance companies.

While opportunities in European high yield real estate debt remain, growing competition underscores the need for deep market expertise, a robust underwriting framework, and disciplined deal selection to identify and capture resilient value.

In this article, we explore the different types of carbon credits, the development of the markets on which they are bought and sold, and how institutions can use them to achieve their investment and sustainability goals.

Using proprietary data, our private markets research team compares risk and return across sectors.

European infrastructure debt issuance should pick up as governments look to stimulate their economies and support the energy transition. But with banks keen to fund some of the best opportunities, investors need to maintain their discipline.

Long-term trends like climate change are particularly important for buy-and-maintain investors. How can they integrate climate objectives, such as net zero by 2050, into their portfolios?

David Hedalen and Jonathan Bayfield from our real assets research team highlight data that shows real estate markets in the UK and Europe may be on the brink of an important shift.

In the third part of our liquidity optimisation series, we look at how bespoke liquidity portfolios that take into account the interplay between different assets can suit the needs of insurers.

Do energy-efficient buildings have more pricing power, and what could that mean for those investing in the built environment? We bring together the views of leading capital markets researchers, a valuer and an asset manager for the second part of our deep dive into green premia, analysing the investment implications.

With the focus shifting from interest rate cuts to the likelihood of rates staying higher for longer, Steve Ryder and Daniel Bright assess the possible outcomes and implications of higher rates and monetary policy divergence in debt markets.