Managers eye strongly-performing gilts as Brexit vote protection play

According to Thomson Reuters, the FTSE Gilts All-Stocks Total Return index was up 5.5% in 2016, making UK government bonds one of the best performing asset classes year-to-date. The yield on 10-year gilts fell to a near-record low of 1.39% last Monday, down from 1.96% at the start of the year. Investors have been flocking to gilts against a backdrop of growing concerns about the strength of the UK economic recovery and the impact of the EU referendum, which came to a head last week when Bank of England (BoE) governor Mark Carney warned a Brexit vote could result in a year-long recession....