Morningstar, a provider of independent investment research, has launched a new global suite of bond indexes.
All major fixed-income markets and asset classes are represented by the indexes.
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The Morningstar bond indexes are designed to serve as portfolio benchmarks and building blocks for portfolio construction.
These indexes, according to the company, define the opportunity set for fixed-income investors in a portfolio-friendly structure.
It strikes a balance between breadth of market coverage and investability, with an emphasis on liquid, tradable securities.
Morningstar head of indexes Sanjay Arya said: “Fixed income plays an essential role in helping investors achieve their financial goals. Understanding the underlying market is key to improving investment outcomes, and it is our belief that the ’democratisation’ of information levels the playing field for everyone across the investment ecosystem.
“We have constructed a comprehensive global family of bond indexes that represent discrete asset class exposures, without any gaps or overlap.”
The introduction of a new index suite is part of the company’s broader investment in the fixed-income space.
It recently updated its fixed-income categories, forming intermediate core bond and intermediate core-plus bond categories to help investors make better comparisons between mutual funds in the US.
Additionally, the company revealed that it will transition from manager-reported to calculated fixed-income data to enable more accurate, consistent and comparable analysis.
Dan Lefkovitz, strategist for Morningstar Indexes, said: “Bond indexing is challenging; yet indexes are more important than ever—as tools for portfolio construction and as bases for investment products.
“We want to better reflect the investable market while also offering transparency into critical exposures, such as interest-rate sensitivity, credit quality, and sector allocation.”
