As Fed prepares to cut, time to move away from money markets?
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AS FED PREPARES TO CUT, TIME TO MOVE AWAY FROM MONEY MARKETS?
Daniel Siluk, portfolio manager and head of global short duration & liquidity at Janus Henderson, is making the case for moving funds away from money market strategies into shorter-dated bonds, citing easing inflation and looming rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
He writes in a note that a record level of assets parked in money markets -- roughly $6.4 trillion -- represents an "opportunity cost" for investors, as they would not be able to take advantage of potential capital appreciation within bond markets brought about by falling rates.
With economic risks waning, he says there is real costs associated with maintaining a large cash allocation.
"While having a liquid rainy-day fund has its benefits, we believe the time is ripe for investors to deploy some cash back into capital markets, especially now that bonds once again offer attractive income streams, low volatility, and potential for capital appreciation," Siluk says, citing one- to three-year bonds.
In the two decades before the pandemic, the market value of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate 1-3 Year Index consistently outpaced U.S. money markets' assets under management by a substantial margin. The reason is fairly straightforward, he says. Since 1996, the 1-3 year index's rolling one-year and three-year returns calculated monthly have outperformed money markets 75% and 84%, respectively.
"Even more compelling is that when policy rates are falling, shorter-dated bonds have always outperformed."
Siluk also points out that the inverted yield curve is also compelling reason to favor the front end of the curve.
Typically, one- to three-year Treasuries represent the safest sector of the fixed income market, as investors can more easily evaluate inflation and other factors that may impact a bond's value across a shorter time duration until its maturity.
Yields on this segment of the curve though are typically lower than longer-dated maturities, as investors trade higher returns for lower volatility. That, Siluk says, is no longer the case given the persistent inversion of the yield curve.
With the inverted yield curve, investors generate higher yields on the short end, while being exposed to less interest rate risk, or duration.
The Janus Henderson official also points out that impending rate cuts by the Fed would likely result in shorter-dated bonds being more tethered to policy rates generating a degree of capital appreciation.
In contrast, he says assets held in money markets would likely receive no such benefit – just lower yields on rapidly maturing short-term paper.
(Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss)
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