LQD - Corporate Credit: Why Playing Defense Makes Sense Now
By Collin Martin
The investment-grade corporate bond market has gotten riskier.
BBB rated corporate bonds now make up more than half of the investment-grade corporate bond market,¹ and the share keeps rising. We suggest investors play defense with their investment-grade corporate bond investments, focusing on issues and investments that have higher average credit ratings.
Why defense makes sense today
After flirting with the 50% level for the past few years, the percentage of BBB rated bonds in the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate Bond Index jumped all the way to 52% in January 2019. That represents