Risk-Off, Yield-On
By Erin Browne, Geraldine Sundstrom and Emmanuel Sharef- We believe caution is warranted during a period of elevated inflation and an economic slowdown. And yet, the volatility in financial markets over the course of 2022 has created attractive investment opportunities, in our view.
- We see a compelling case for bonds. Alongside what we see as attractive yield potential, fixed income also looks favorable from a macroeconomic perspective – bonds historically tend to be resilient in a recession.
- We believe investors should be thoughtful and selective when approaching investments in equities, real assets, and other higher-risk markets. We assess a range of market and macro factors to inform our thinking on when and how to re-engage more broadly with risk assets.
An extreme shift in macroeconomic conditions over the course of 2022 and the corresponding impact on financial markets have significantly altered the relative attractiveness of asset classes.
Markets are moving away from a “TINA” world (where “there is no alternative” to equities) to one in which fixed income is increasingly appealing.
Yet, as we navigate a period of elevated inflation and an economic slowdown, our starting point is one of caution. PIMCO’s business cycle models forecast a recession across Europe, the U.K., and the U.S. in the next year, and the major central banks are pressing ahead with policy tightening despite increasing strain in financial markets. The economy in developed markets is also under growing pressure as monetary policy works with a lag, and we expect this will translate into pressure on corporate profits.
We therefore maintain an underweight in equity positioning, disfavor cyclical sectors, and prefer quality across our asset allocation portfolios. The return potential in bond markets appears compelling given higher yields across maturities. As we look toward the next 12 months and the eventual emergence of a post-recession, early cycle environment, we will assess a range of market and macro factors to inform our thinking on when and how to re-engage with risk assets.
Key market signals
We will watch for several conditions to shift before we would consider risk assets as attractive investments again. First, in order to gain confidence around estimates of fair value, we need convincing evidence that inflation has peaked and that the “risk-free” interest rate has stabilized. While the U.S. Federal Reserve remains focused on taming inflation, there still may be upside risk to the hiking path as the central bank weighs the risk of a hard landing.
Next, we believe corporate earnings estimates globally remain too high and will have to be revised downward as companies increasingly acknowledge deteriorating fundamentals. At the time of this writing, Bloomberg’s consensus 2023 earnings growth estimate for the S&P 500 is 6%, or 8% excluding the energy sector. In addition, consensus estimates embed expectations of expanding profit margins, even though revenue is likely to slow along with demand while costs stay elevated. Bloomberg’s consensus estimates for earnings growth stand in contrast to the −11% growth suggested by PIMCO’s Earnings Growth Leading Indicator – see Figure 1. Historically, earnings per share (EPS) estimates have declined by 15% on average during recessions; this would indicate a mild recession could see a smaller drawdown in the mid-single-digits. In summary, only when rates stabilize and earnings gain ground would we consider positioning for an early cycle environment across asset classes, which would likely include increasing allocations to risk assets.
Cross-asset valuation considerations
For asset allocation portfolios, a major consequence of higher rates is that the equity tailwind of “TINA” (there is no alternative) has moved to an equity headwind of “TARA” (there are reasonable alternatives). The era of unconventional monetary policy following the global financial crisis reached its zenith during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the market value of negative-yielding global debt peaking at more than $18 trillion, according to Bloomberg. At the end of 2021, a U.S. investor had to venture into emerging market U.S.-dollar-denominated debt to find an asset class in line with the S&P earnings yield. Only 11 months later, an investor can target a higher absolute yield in global investment grade bonds without even accounting for the riskier profile of equities. The earnings yield in equities has lagged the move higher in rates, which in our view is another sign that equities are expensive, making other assets relatively more attractive – see Figure 2.
Alongside the higher yield potential, fixed income also looks more attractive in the context of our macroeconomic views. Figure 3 shows how U.S. household and corporate balance sheets are relatively healthy, especially when measured against wide investment grade spreads over U.S. Treasuries that imply a five-year default rate of 13% (assuming a 40% recovery rate), well above the worst realized default rate of 2.4% for a five-year period. Spreads for U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which overall are AAA rated assets, are at the widest levels in the last decade outside of the liquidity crisis in 2020 during the pandemic. In contrast, equity earnings expectations still have not priced in the risk of recession. And looking ahead, we believe investments in fixed income would tend to be resilient in a recession, when central banks typically cut policy rates.
The secular shift toward resilience
In our view, fixed income has also become more attractive relative to equities when looking over the secular (longer-term) horizon. As the economy transitions from decades of globalization to a more fractured world in which governments and companies focus on building resilience, we expect a reversal of some of the previous era’s tailwinds for equity returns. Indeed, as highlighted in PIMCO’s latest Secular Outlook, “Download Handout
Disclosures
The "risk-free" rate can be considered the return on an investment that, in theory, carries no risk. Therefore, it is implied that any additional risk should be rewarded with additional return. All investments contain risk and may lose value.
Past performance is not a guarantee or a reliable indicator of future results.
Investing in the bond market is subject to risks, including market, interest rate, issuer, credit, inflation risk, and liquidity risk. The value of most bonds and bond strategies are impacted by changes in interest rates. Bonds and bond strategies with longer durations tend to be more sensitive and volatile than those with shorter durations; bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise, and low interest rate environments increase this risk. Reductions in bond counterparty capacity may contribute to decreased market liquidity and increased price volatility. Bond investments may be worth more or less than the original cost when redeemed. Income from municipal bonds is exempt from U.S. federal income tax and may be subject to state and local taxes and at times the alternative minimum tax. Investing in foreign-denominated and/or -domiciled securities may involve heightened risk due to currency fluctuations, and economic and political risks, which may be enhanced in emerging markets. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities may be sensitive to changes in interest rates, subject to early repayment risk, and their value may fluctuate in response to the market’s perception of issuer creditworthiness; while generally supported by some form of government or private guarantee, there is no assurance that private guarantors will meet their obligations. High yield, lower-rated securities involve greater risk than higher-rated securities; portfolios that invest in them may be subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risk than portfolios that do not. Bank loans are often less liquid than other types of debt instruments and general market and financial conditions may affect the prepayment of bank loans, as such the prepayments cannot be predicted with accuracy. There is no assurance that the liquidation of any collateral from a secured bank loan would satisfy the borrower’s obligation, or that such collateral could be liquidated. Commodities contain heightened risk, including market, political, regulatory and natural conditions, and may not be appropriate for all investors. Equities may decline in value due to both real and perceived general market, economic and industry conditions. Diversification does not ensure against loss.
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The option adjusted spread (OAS) measures the spread over a variety of possible interest rate paths. A security's OAS is the average earned over Treasury returns, taking multiple future interest rate scenarios into account. The Sharpe Ratio measures the risk-adjusted performance. The risk-free rate is subtracted from the rate of return for a portfolio and the result is divided by the standard deviation of the portfolio returns.
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