There has been an explosion in active fixed income flows in the last year. The big drivers that are pushing investors in that direction are mainly macro, as the Treasury yields have risen (lowering bond values) and passive funds haven’t moved off them rapidly enough. The other big factor is that they have flat-out outperformed. Where active equity lagged their passive counterparts data shows that almost 9 in 10 active bond funds have outperformed in the intermediate range. Overall this drove the $350 billion influx in active fond funds last year. Additionally, there were tax advantages when it came to capital gains and this efficiency was prioritized by investors.

Finsum: It's clear that the information cycle in active equity is currently outpacing the ability to beat the market, but bonds' medium-term macro influence is more predictable for active management.

Fixed-income investors are in the doldrums when it comes to today’s ultra low yield environment. Guaranteed income from CDs is just not high enough, and while bonds may be secure their value is at a valley. Laddering annuities is maybe the best strategy, but the questions are on duration. In a flat yield curve going for a short duration makes sense, and as the yield curve steepens moving to long-term contracts is more attractive. In today’s interest rate market, the goldilocks spot is around 5-years, it is a much higher return than shorter-term annuities and longer-term contracts tie your money up without much more of a return boost. The best part is you can integrate this annuity laddering strategy into IRAs and take advantage of all the tax solutions they bring to the table.

Finsum: It's critical to ladder the right duration depending on the current rate environment and given how much interest rate risk there is today it's more important than ever to be precise.

Investors have been flocking to strange corners of the fixed income market as pressures are rising from both the Fed and inflation. The latest place investors are finding relief is floating rate investment-grade corporate debt. Corporations were reluctant to create in the early stages of the pandemic to supply floating rate debt with yields near zero on government debt. However, there is a huge demand for floating-rate debt today, and large investment banks like JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. are all jumping into the investment-grade bond market. Floating rate risk allows investors to mitigate duration risk which with rate hikes pending is a potential threat.

Finsum: This could be just the start of the trend or there could be a lot more to come, but look for the less used avenues of the debt market to start to spark with fixed income in the place it's in.