Simply put, there are more analysts, researchers, commentators, economists and even newsreaders looking at whether or not interest rates are going to rise than looking at company balance sheets.
So it is no wonder Baillie Gifford Corporate Bond fund manager Torcail Stewart describes himself as a bottom-up stock selector though even he admits he has recently trimmed positions that might be swamped by some of these all-consuming macro factors.
While not a strategic bond manager, he explained to Portfolio Adviser how combining his top-down views underpinned by a bottom-up securities approach means he does actively allocate between high yield and investment grade credit.
To demonstrate how actively, he talks through why and how since last June he has sold down some of his high yield holdings, shifted back into high yield and is now erring back towards investment grade.
