■ High-yield bonds occupy a special capital market niche: They have offered better risk-adjusted returns than equities and lower interest-rate sensitivity than the broad fixedincome market.
■ To date, high-yield bonds have been less vulnerable to the adverse effects of rising rates than other fixed-income sectors and have provided positive total returns in rising rate markets.
■ Adding high-yield bonds to a broad fixed-income allocation has improved portfolio efficiency, based on 10-year hypothetical performance of blended portfolios.
■ Recent problems in the energy sector sparked a broad sell-off of high yield, resulting in value opportunities for investors with the expertise and diligence to select quality issuers.
