Hard work needed for decent bond returns

Investec's head of fixed income believes bond managers are going to have to work ever harder to squeeze gains out of the market in its current low return environment. John Stopford said the current behaviour of global fixed interest markets, which Alan Greenspan described in February as a "conundrum" demonstrates just how much investors are willing to risk for minimal returns. Usually when the Federal Reserve starts to raise rates the bond market falls and keeps doing so until it anticipates rates are going to come down, at which point it rallies. However, this time around bonds had an in...