The Best Bond?

The argument usually comes down to Connery or Craig.  Both highly popular James Bonds brought different styles to the big screen.  The “best” 007 actor, though, maybe more a case of which one best suited the social environment of the time.  For investors, the best bond, similarly, largely depends on the prevailing economic environment.  For example a fixed rate 10 year AAA rated Australian government bond generated a return of around 20% in 2008.  But owning a 10 year bond the next year would have lost you around 6%.  Since then, Australian dollar (A$) fixed rate bonds have provided high returns as yields fell.  That trend, however, may have ended.  It could even reverse.  Right now Spectrum sees floating rate notes in investment grade companies as offering the best risk-return outlook in the A$ bond market.  They shelter investors from rising global bond yields while getting decent returns for the moderate default risk of A$ issuers.