Insights

Let’s flash back to March 31 of this year. The planet is in the midst of a highly infectious and dangerous pandemic. Much of the world essentially closes, with the potential for Great Depression era economic statistics to be matched if not surpassed. Yet central banks have sprung into action, with the U.S. Federal Reserve taking the lead in providing liquidity and support to the markets. 

Federal Reserve Chair Powell indicated that they would use whatever tools available to support the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concurrently, Congress and the administration continued to add to their dramatic fiscal response.

In these quarterly pieces, we typically review the events - primarily economic events - of the past three months, their impact on the fixed income markets, and how our portfolios have been positioned. Today, we want to begin by expressing our fervent wish that you, our clients, friends and your families, are healthy and safe. The first three months of 2020 have been like no other.

There has been significant turmoil year-to-date in the financial markets as fear rises over the spreading COVID-19 and its uncertain impact on global economic growth. Equities have fallen at an unprecedented rate, erasing $20 trillion in global wealth over the past three weeks, while U.S. Treasuries have rallied dramatically. Ten-year yields have fallen to record lows (at one point this month hitting 0.32% intraday). Within the bond market, all “risk” has sold off, including corporates, securitized product, and high yield bonds. Until last week, bond market trading remained orderly with only pockets of illiquidity. That changed last Thursday as trading costs of even the current and off-the-run (older issues) U.S. Treasuries rose and have continued to rise at the start of this week.