Welcome to Episode 17 of The Art of Investing – brought to you by IG, the global investing platform.

Rich McDonald, Mark “Spice” Holden and Chris Fellingham are joined by special guest Chris Bowie, one of the UK’s leading bond managers, to demystify the world of corporate bonds - what they are, how they fit into a portfolio, and when they shine. As markets hit fresh highs, the team unpack the latest Fed rate cut, Trump’s “taco trade” tour of Asia, Nvidia’s record-breaking $5 trillion valuation, and why Japan’s bond market may just reshape global liquidity. Then, Bowie takes us deep into credit markets, from investment grade to high yield and explains why short-dated bonds might be today’s smartest income play.

This Week’s Highlights:

• 💵 Corporate Bonds: Understanding credit spreads, yields, and why timing matters.
• 📊 Bull Market Lives On: Nvidia soars, Nasdaq climbs, and the FTSE hits new highs.
• 🇯🇵 Japan’s Yield Curve Twist: What rising JGB yields mean for global money flows.
• 🏛️ Fed Cuts Rates Again: Powell pushes back on December expectations.
• 📉 Private Debt Watch: Why Bowie warns that illiquidity and opacity are rising risks
• 🗳️ Budget Preview: Will Rachel Reeves cut the North Sea windfall tax and finally back growth?

Portfolio Snapshot:

• Weekly Performance: +3.1 %
• Total Return Since Inception: +10.6 %

Top performers:

• 🪙 VanEck Crypto & Blockchain Innovators ETF +12.7 %
• 🥉 WisdomTree Copper ETF +6.5 %
• 📈 Invesco EQQQ Nasdaq-100 ETF +6.0 %
• 🇯🇵 iShares Nikkei 225 ETF +5.9 %

Underperformers:

• 🇮🇳 iShares MSCI India ETF -0.3 %
• 🇬🇧Vanguard FTSE 250 -0.3 %

What You’ll Learn:

• What corporate bonds are and how they differ from government debt.
• Why “short-dated investment grade” can deliver higher yield with low risk.
• How liquidity and transparency set public bonds apart from private credit.
• What “duration,” “spread,” and “Sharpe ratio” actually mean.
• How Rachel Reeves’ budget and UK tax policy could move the gilt market.
• Why the team still believes the bull market isn’t done yet.

📈 Download the full Portfolio Performance Slides

View the portfolio breakdown: here

📧 Get in touch: [email protected]

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Disclaimer:

This podcast is provided for educational and informational purposes only. The content presented is not intended as personal investment advice, financial planning guidance, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular securities or investments. All discussions regarding the model portfolio are for educational purposes only. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Your capital is at risk. The value of shares, ETFs and ETCs can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in.

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