Bonds to excel as long as equities remain weak

Despite signs the FTSE All- Share may be establishing a bottom, fund managers expect life companies to continue to be net buyers of bonds relative to equities in the short to medium term. Opportunities may be opening up in the equities markets but the erosion of life insurance company solvency levels will continue to provide a prop to bond markets as long as equity weakness remains a factor of daily life. In a more stable investment world, however, equities would have the edge, according to Robert Talbut, chief investment officer at Friends Ivory & Sime. He says: 'Bond prices have ...