Big investors are cutting back their exposure to riskier corporate debt, in a bet that a huge rally in recent years has left the market vulnerable to a sell-off if the global economy falters.
Asset managers including BlackRock, M&G and Fidelity International have shifted towards safer corporate or government bonds, in response to a big decline in US credit spreads that means investors get little reward for taking extra risks.
Some investors fret that the rally, driven by the easing of fears over a global trade war and expectations of deeper interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, has left the credit market pricing in an overly optimistic scenario for global economic growth.