Monday
The alarm sounds. My eyes open and slowly adjust. I grab my phone and open Bloomberg. I check markets and general news, so I know what I’ll be walking into. I jump into the car for a quick 15-minute drive to the Thornburg campus, enjoying the dark outline of the Sangre de Cristo mountains to the east amid the first signs of daybreak. This is how I start most days.
At the office, I log in to my trade desk system and open all immediately needed systems, including Bloomberg, MarketAxess, Outlook, and, increasingly, Claude and Copilot. I scan all the portfolios to check duration, previous day/week trade activity, and cash levels.
All is well, so I open our team’s daily Zoom chat (no video!) that allows us to communicate in real time wherever team members may be working today. Immediate communication inclusive of as many people is essential to our “investment committee is always in session” philosophy around team-based decision-making.
It’s a reasonably busy new issue market for a summer Monday. Using the team’s collective knowledge and market experience, we quickly triage the new offerings to two based on a combination of fundamentals, initial price, and portfolio needs. Pricing reaches a level where we no longer care. We don’t buy any new issues today.
The rest of the morning is consumed by monitoring market movements and their impact on the different portfolios we manage, and discussing various trade ideas that other team members or I propose. All in, it’s a standard morning in my world.
Two meetings this afternoon. The first considered new technology tools for the team. The second focused on new SMA products the team will manage. Portfolio management is THE number one priority, but growing and improving the efficiency of our global fixed income is another key objective.
Tuesday
We are bottom-up, fundamental investors, but as a fixed income investor, we spend significant time thinking about global economic data, central bank policy, and geopolitical events; really anything that could impact economic growth, interest rates, and FX.
The Iran conflict is top of mind today. The US and Iran traded strikes, and the US revoked the waiver allowing Iran to sell oil. Oil prices increased, and investors priced in higher inflation expectations into US Treasury rates. We discussed as a team, determined that rates are attractive, and decided to increase duration. We chose to buy 10-year Treasury notes given the current shape and level of real yields.
Despite oil and rate volatility, Amazon announced a $25bn deal to fund its AI ambitions. We bought a small amount of the five-year bonds. However, the more interesting part of this deal was that all hyperscalers’ debt got cheaper. Despite limited holdings across portfolios, this issuance is having a notable effect on the corporate market, so it’s important to follow the situation closely.
I finished the day discussing a potential client opportunity with the global distribution team and a scheduled call with an existing client reviewing portfolio performance year-to-date and discussing our outlook for the second half. It’s a relatively straightforward review, and it’s always good to hear what clients are thinking about.
Wednesday
Today starts with the potential client meeting. It’s still early here, but the client is in Western Europe where it’s the middle of the afternoon. Sometimes these calls feel like a presentation and other times they feel more like a conversation, this one moves quickly to questions and conversation. This is great because it means the client is engaged and will get the information they want. I think the meeting went well, but we are unlikely to know immediately.
The minutes of the most recent FOMC meeting came out at 12pm. They’re notable because it’s the first meeting overseen by new Federal Reserve Chairman Warsh, but they were uneventful. There were no new insights, but they confirmed the Fed Funds Rate is unlikely to be lowered further in 2026. Rates didn’t react immediately but ultimately drifted slightly lower. We briefly discussed it but didn’t feel compelled to adjust portfolios.
Oh yeah. Lunch is free on Wednesday at Thornburg. Economists might question if “there’s such a thing?” but right now, I’ll just say “thank you” for the braised beef, green bean almondine, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies and mushroom rice.
Thursday
Last week the first half of 2026 came to a close. As such, it was time for mid-year reviews. I had conversations with each team member, checking on their progress toward full-year goals and trying to understand what is/isn’t working well in their worlds. Most of us talk often and sit within 10 feet of one another, so most of what is said isn’t a surprise. Still, it’s better to ask than assume.
We have a new colleague. There wasn’t a mid-year review given their short tenure, but I wanted to check in and see how things were lining up with expectations. I asked questions and offered feedback. There will be adjustments along the way, as always, but it seems we are on the right track.
Community service is a core value at Thornburg. This afternoon, many of us gathered in the campus café to pack backpacks with school supplies for the kids and classroom kits for the teachers. Employees raised $6,000 to fund this. What a great event.
Friday
It’s Friday. We made it. Summer Fridays are slow, quiet, and a great time to read all the emails and reports I’ve put to the side all week. It’s also another opportunity to review portfolio positioning and the changes made during the week.
At 10am, we have a formal team meeting. People review their various sectors: current spreads and yields, industry flows for the week, new issue activity, secondary opportunities, and a brief look ahead to next week. These meetings tend not to be about decision-making (recall that the investment committee is in session all week) and are more about making sure we are all on the same page about where the best relative value opportunities might be.
Saturday and Sunday
With three kids in college, weekends are a little quieter these days. Our two dogs – a cattle dog mix rescue and a golden retriever – help keep us active. This summer, our youngest is home, and we’re loving having her around.
One of my favourite things is our Sunday family breakfast at Plaza Cafe Southside: simple eggs and bacon for me, and French toast and pancakes for the “youngster” and my wife. It’s simple, but always delicious.
