The prospect of monetary policy divergence between the US and Europe is poised to drive their respective bond markets on divergent trajectories, possibly as early as this week.
“This divergence could hit investors in a variety of ways,” says Nigel Green, CEO and founder of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory and asset management organisations.
This disparity is driven by a growing gap in expectations for interest rate adjustments between the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Federal Reserve.
As yields on both Treasuries and German bunds have risen, the widening spread between benchmark Treasury and German bund yields – hitting the widest levels since early November – shows the significant disparity in the trajectory of interest rates between the two regions.
The deVere Group CEO says there are five key ways this could impact investors around the world.
First, yield spread impact. “A monetary policy divergence can directly impact yield spreads between US and European bonds.
“As US yields rise relative to European yields, investors holding European bonds may face a decline in bond prices, leading to capital losses.
“For instance, if US 10-year Treasury yields increase to 2.5% while German bund yields remain at 0%, the yield spread widens, potentially eroding the value of European bonds for investors,” he notes.
Second, currency volatility. “Divergent monetary policies often lead to currency volatility, impacting investors with exposure to foreign exchange markets.
“For example, if the Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady while the ECB pushes more accommodative policies, the US dollar may strengthen against the euro.
“This currency appreciation can diminish returns for investors holding euro-denominated assets, affecting their overall portfolio performance.”
Third, sectoral performance variation. Nigel Green says: “Monetary policy divergence can affect different sectors of the bond market unevenly. For instance, sectors sensitive to interest rates, such as utilities or real estate investment trusts (REITs), may experience heightened volatility and price declines in regions where interest rates are rising.
“Conversely, sectors less sensitive to interest rates, such as consumer staples, may fare relatively better.”
Fourth, duration risk. “Investors with fixed-income portfolios face duration risk as interest rate differentials widen.
“Duration risk measures the sensitivity of bond prices to changes in interest rates. In a scenario where US rates rise while European rates remain stable, investors holding longer-duration European bonds may experience greater losses compared to those holding shorter-duration bonds.
“Managing duration exposure becomes crucial to mitigate potential losses,” affirms the deVere CEO.
And fifth, diversification challenges. “Monetary policy divergence can pose challenges to portfolio diversification. Historically, bonds have been a traditional diversifier in multi-asset portfolios. However, when monetary policies diverge significantly, correlations between asset classes may change.
“If US and European bond markets move in opposite directions, traditional diversification benefits may diminish, requiring investors to seek alternative diversification strategies across asset classes or geographies.”
Nigel Green concludes: “This week, we have the ECB policy statement and US inflation data, so the divergence should become clearer.
“Those who are serious about growing and protecting their wealth should be paying attention.”
