After a difficult first quarter punctuated by the conflict in the Persian Gulf, global equity markets staged a remarkable comeback in April, evidenced by the S&P 500 returning over 10% for the month before setting new all-time highs in the opening days of May. Given the size of gains in equity, Fixed Income market returns were comparatively quiet. Interest rates rose slightly in reaction to the inflationary pressures of the continuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz; however, at the same time credit spreads quickly fell back to their pre-conflict levels in both investment grade and high yield markets. The Bloomberg US Corporate Total Return Unhedged and Intermediate Credit Indices both rose 0.45%, while European credit also erased its March losses with the Bloomberg Euro Corporate index up 0.94%. High Yield markets also rebounded strongly on the month with the Bloomberg Global High Yield index up 2.6% and the Bloomberg Pan-European High Yield index up 1.9%.
Despite spreads rebounding to tight levels, all-in yields remain at attractive levels for investors, up between 30–40 bps from the beginning of the year. The Persian Gulf conflict has caused forward interest rate expectations to move, with the market now pricing in interest rate hikes in Europe. This narrowing of the rate differential with the U.S. has pushed the headwind of hedging U.S. Dollars for European investors down to 1.54% at the end of April from 1.63% at the end of March.
Source: Bloomberg as of April 30, 2026
The careful credit selection within the iMGP US Core Plus Fund has resulted in a portfolio producing yields in line with the US Corporate Index, however at almost half the duration. With absolute yields now above 5%, we believe the fund represents an attractive opportunity. For European investors, the benefit of hedging rates continuing to decline adds to the potential attractiveness of the asset class, which offers both diversification opportunities and appealing levels of yield.
Investing puts your capital at risk: investing in the bond market is subject to risk including interest-rate and credit risk. An increase in the interest rates, a deterioration of the quality of the issuer and/or a default in reimbursing the capital at the maturity date could lead to potential loss of value of the investment. More information onwww.imgp.com
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