Since the 2008 financial crisis, major central banks have purchased $9 trillion of bonds in efforts to reinvigorate the global economy. We focus on the impact of the ECB’s Corporate Sector Purchase Program. We find evidence that it has been a significant force in driving euro spreads tighter and stimulating corporate issuance. We examine the impact of the ECB program on a hypothetical credit value strategy investing in euro-denominated corporate debt. The analysis highlights how the portfolio...

This Product Insight focuses on fixed income attribution and illustrates how an integrated risk and performance analysis can be carried out with BarraOne, for a corporate bond portfolio invested using a credit value strategy. The effectiveness of the analysis is illustrated in an important "real world" use case, showing how investors can analyze strategies which target the credit alpha coming from exposure to spread risk.

This paper focuses on BarraOne’s Performance Analytics solution and describes how we have modified standard performance attribution tools to address several interesting use cases which arise for increasingly popular multi-asset class investment strategies. The paper illustrates, through a practical case study, how the Visualization tool within the BarraOne Performance Analytics solution can be employed to understand the performance due to the allocation of capital both across different...

This paper demonstrates how BarraOne's Performance Analytics, the correlated stress test engine, and the risk forecasting model can all be integrated to support the investment decision process. Using a case study, we follow the decisions of a hypothetical bond portfolio manager before and after the September 17, 2013 FOMC meeting where the Fed decided to delay tapering their bond-buying program. We leverage the MSCI Macroeconomic Model to forecast the outcome of the decision on tapering, then...

This paper demonstrates how BarraOne's Performance Analytics, the correlated stress test engine, and the risk forecasting model can all be integrated to support the investment decision process. Using a case study, we follow the decisions of a hypothetical bond portfolio manager before and after the September 17, 2013 FOMC meeting where the Fed decided to delay tapering their bond-buying program. We leverage the MSCI Macroeconomic Model to forecast the outcome of the decision on tapering, then...