Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco, is making the dive into junk bonds, leading the way in what could be a comeback for the high-risk investment.
Pimco says that junk bonds should provide solid returns given strong consumer spending and stable corporate profits over the past several months, reported Bloomberg. Mark Kiesel, chief investment officer for global credit at Pimco, told the news outlet that he believes the U.S. economy is strong, and the firm has invested in high-yield energy bonds for the first time in several years.
“The market is as attractive as it’s been in four or five years,” Kiesel told Bloomberg. “There are a lot of opportunities there.”
Pimco hasn’t been alone, either. There’s been a large surge in junk bonds in recent days as high-yield bond ETFs received their most-ever inflows over six days this week.
However, many investors are still issuing caution since junk bonds are a highly volatile investment and could quickly lose their value if the economy does indeed head into another recession. Those fears led to a huge sell in December. Many investors are balancing that fear by going into safer, higher-rated junk bonds with slightly lower yields.
Margie Patel, a senior portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management, told Bloomberg that she’s cautiously buying the higher-rated junk bonds, which should show single-digit returns over the next year. “It’s still a pretty risky market out there,” she said.