Source: Global Market Report On Monday, the turnover of US stocks ranked first, closing up 0.75% with a turnover of $38.014 billion. Since the opening on June 10, Nvidia's stock has been trading at adjusted prices after the split. The overall value of Nvidia is not expected to change after the split, and the lower stock price will make it easier for investors to reach. In terms of product structure, the operating income of 10-30 billion yuan products is respectively 401/1288/60 million yuan.

The prospect of corporate bonds is improving as the Fed begins to cut interest rates.

Among the 203 respondents, 54% believe that corporate bonds are more attractive than stocks. In the credit field, investors prefer high-quality bonds over higher-risk varieties. They are also extending duration in their positions.

The survey results show that investors are increasingly becoming tired of the high valuations in the stock market and are looking for returns elsewhere. Investing in high-grade bonds can provide fund managers with additional income, while extending the duration reflects the sensitivity of bonds to interest rate changes. When benchmark rates decline, longer-term assets such as blue-chip stocks often outperform. So far this year, the total return rate of the S&P 500 index is around 21%, while high-rated bonds are only around 5%.

"A decline in benchmark yields will increase the value of existing high-yield bonds, and being able to refinance at lower rates is also beneficial for the balance sheet, which may lead to stable or slightly narrower credit spreads," said Scott Kimball, Chief Investment Officer at Loop Capital Asset Management.

Meanwhile, 61% of survey participants believe that now is not a good time to buy commercial real estate, highlighting that people are still unwilling to venture too far into risky areas solely for returns.

Founder of credit investment institution Strategic Value Partners LLC, Victor Khosla, said that the U.S. office property market has "many problems" and has reached a point where it is difficult to underwrite. "Almost a tsunami is coming," he said last week.

One respondent expressed concerns about the "damage to fundamentals." Another participant said, "Even if everyone returns to the office, the scale of labor with ai assistance will shrink."

In the eyes of the interviewees, private credit in Asia is also not attractive. About 65% of respondents said that they do not consider this as a growing opportunity.

In the Asia-Pacific region, private credit is a niche market dominated by banks. However, despite the low base, this market has grown rapidly over the past four years. According to data company Preqin Ltd's estimate, by the end of 2023, private credit in the Asia-Pacific region has doubled from four years ago to about 120 billion US dollars.

In the past, borrowers who were avoided by banks due to credit or reputation issues turned to private credit for funding. However, institutions including Apollo Global Management Inc., BlackRock, HPS Investment Partners, and Muzinich & Co. are slowly filling the gap for financing small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in the current environment where traditional banks face higher capital requirements and declining risk appetites.

Money Market

On the other hand, blue chip bonds are considered much safer and may benefit from the shifts in the record $6.46 trillion money market. Bond experts expect that as benchmark interest rates continue to decline, investors are inclined to move cash into higher-yielding assets.

"Investors are seeking higher quality market segments to act as cash substitutes," said Winifred Cisar, Global Credit Strategy Director at CreditSights Inc. "Historically, the US investment-grade market, particularly front-end funds, has always served as proxies for this cash."

She also mentioned that as the Federal Reserve begins an interest rate cut cycle, this dynamic may support the bidding for higher credit-rated bonds. There are indications that this rotation is ongoing, with strong inflows into corporate bonds since the Fed's rate cut in September. LSEG Lipper data shows that investors injected $3.8 billion into short to intermediate-term investment-grade bonds in the latest single-week reporting period while withdrawing $6.6 billion from US Treasury funds.

Despite this, an earlier Pulse survey indicated that for the remainder of this year, the US stock market is expected to outperform domestic government and corporate bonds.

"The current situation of investment-grade is good, there will continue to be inflow of funds," said Travis King, Head of Investment Grade Corporate at Voya Investment Management in the USA. "The credit fundamentals are good, and if the economic conditions worsen, there is still more room for the Fed to cut interest rates, which could lead to lower rates and positive total return."

The survey was conducted globally from September 30th to October 4th, with participants including portfolio managers, economists, and retail investors.

Editor / jayden