By Kevin Flanagan, Senior Fixed Income Strategist; and Josh Shapiro, CFA, Quantitative Strategist
One of the more noteworthy stories in the U.S. fixed income arena as 2018 came to a close was the visible reversal in fortune for the high-yield ((HY)) corporate bond market. Not coincidentally, this underperformance came at the same time the U.S. stock market was experiencing its own bout of selling pressure. "Risk-off" took hold across a spectrum of financial assets. What does this mean for the bond market in 2019? Investors should focus on credit quality control in their HY exposures.