FIXED INCOME FACTOR PORTFOLIOS FOR INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54695/bmi.165.6708Keywords:
Factor Investing, InvescoAbstract
We aim to address the concerns large institutional investors have when investing in the corporate bond market. When evaluating a potential strategy for inclusion into a portfolio, what metrics should investors be looking for? Is fixed income factor investing in the corporate bond market an appropriate strategy to pursue? We will briefly review the “Norway” model’s key criteria for institutional portfolios. We will then show how factor investing in fixed income is consistent with these criteria. Finally, we give a concrete implementation with no turnover that institutional investors can use to target excess returns directly, measure managers for value creation or use as the basis for a more dynamic strategy.
JEL Classification: B23, C02, N24.
References
Chambers, D., Dimson, E. and Ilmanen, A. (2012), “The Norway Model,” Journal of
Portfolio Management, Vol 38 (2), pp. 67-81.
Norges Bank Investment Management (2020), “Return and risk 2019,” Government
Pension Fund Global, https://www.nbim.no/en/publications/reports/2019/returnand-
risk-2019/
Eugene Fama and Kenneth French (2015), “A five-factor asset pricing model,” Journal
of Financial Economics, Volume 116(1), pages 1-22.
Eugene Fama and Kenneth French (1993), “Common risk factors in the returns of
stocks and bonds,” Journal of Financial Economics, Volume 33(1), pp. 3-56.
Invesco Global Factor Investing Study (2020)
Ben Dor, A., Dynkin, L., Hyman, J., Houweling, P., van Leeuwen, E. (2007), “Dts
(Duration Times Spread),” Journal of Portfolio Management, Vol 33(2), pp. 77-100.
Bao, J., Pan, J. and Wang, J. (2011), ”Liquidity in Corporate Bonds,” Journal of Finance,
, 911-946
For example: Frazzini, Andrea and Pedersen (2014), “Betting Against Beta”, Journal
of Financial Economics, 111, 1-25. Low volatility bonds are typically characterized as
bonds with short-maturities and low default risk.
Houweling, P. and van Zundert, J. (2017), “Factor Investing In Corporate Bond
Market,” Financial Analysts Journal, Vol. 73(2); Israel, R., Palhares, D., Richardson,
S. (2018), “Common factors in corporate bond returns,” Journal of Investment
Management, Vol. 16(2), pp. 17-46; de Carvalho, R., Dugnolle, P., Lu X., and Moulin,
P. (2014), “Low-Risk anomalies in Global Fixed Income: Evidence From Major Broad
Markets,” Journal of Fixed Income, Vol. 23(4), pp. 51-70.
Koijen, R., Moskowitz, T., Pedersen, L. and Vrugt, E. (2013), “Carry,” CEPR Discussion
Paper No. DP9771.
Raol, Jay and Quance, Stephen (2019), “Active Bond Returns – powered by factors,”
Invesco Risk and Reward, Vol 1, pp. 4-7.
Roberts, D., Paradise, T. and Tidmore, C. (2018), “Global active bond fund returns:
a factor decomposition,” Vanguard Research; Digo Palhares and Scott Richardson
(2019), “Looking under the hood of active credit managers,” Financial Analysts
Journal, Vol. 76(2), pp. 82-102.
Raol, J. and Sidhu, A. (2020), “A Factor Based Buy And Hold For Bonds,” Invesco Risk
and Reward, Vol. 1, pp. 21-25.
Source: Eisenthal-Berkovitz Y., Hyman,