Rising rates leads to fixed income restructuring

Investment consultants, institutional asset owners and intermediaries worldwide forecast significant fixed income restructuring this year amid concern about rising interest rates and a jump in

real assets investing.

New searches in domestic fixed income will favor unconstrained strategies to mitigate investor concern over rising rates, according to the 2014 global investor survey from Casey Quirk and eVestment.

The rising interest rate environment was the biggest concern among all respondents, with an average of 53% citing this as a major concern.

Forty-eight per cent of participants expected to restructure fixed income portfolios, particularly as corporate pension plans continue to adopt liability-driven investment strategies and rate-concerned investors delink their portfolios from interest rate-sensitive strategies.

The survey covers over 200 investors and consultants with aroung $5 trillion (€3.7 trillion) of assets under management or advice. More than 40% of the survey respondents were located outside of the US.