Is Now the Time to Invest in Bonds?

By Neena Mishra | August 10, 2026, 4:16 PM

  • (1:00) - Breaking Down The Economy and Upcoming Fed Meetings
  • (5:15) - What Impact Will The High Debt Issuance By Hyperscalers Have On The Bond Market?
  • (7:00) - Understanding The Current Concerns Within The Private Credit Market
  • (9:00) - What Are CLOs and How Do They Work?
  • (11:35) - Should Investors Have Fixed Income Within Their Stock Portfolio?
  • (16:20) - What Is Tax Aware Investing?
  • (18:30) - Where Should You Be Looking To Invest Right Now?
  • (25:20) - Episode Roundup: SGOV, VBIL, PMMF, GMMF, TAXX, PCMM, XB, XCCC
  •         Podcast@zacks.com

 

In this episode of ETF Spotlight, I speak with JoAnne Bianco, Senior Investment Strategist at BondBloxx, about the outlook for and opportunities in the fixed income markets.

The US economy has remained remarkably resilient, but inflation has continued to run above the Fed's target for the past few years. While the Fed did not raise interest rates at its last meeting, investors dumped Treasuries, sending yields sharply higher and suggesting that the market believes the Fed may have to raise rates in the coming months.

According to BondBloxx, bond yields are now high enough to potentially outperform stocks on a risk-adjusted basis. Further, stretched stock valuations could weigh on future performance, strengthening the relative case for fixed income.

Hyperscalers like Alphabet GOOGL, Amazon AMZN and Meta META are borrowing heavily to fund their AI buildouts. While investors were initially very excited about these bonds, that excitement seems to have faded as investors realized there is likely much more debt issuance still to come.

What impact will this massive debt issuance by the hyperscalers have on the broader bond market?

Earlier this year, cracks in the private credit market were a big concern for many experts, and there were some high-profile defaults as well. But the situation now appears relatively calm. Is the worst over?

Private credit ETFs like the BondBloxx Private Credit CLO ETF PCMM typically offer higher yields than public bonds.

Fixed income ETFs have seen huge inflows this year, but investors continue to favor shorter-duration exposures. Ultra-short Treasury bill ETFs, such as the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF SGOV and the Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF VBIL, have become very popular with investors.

According to JoAnne, short-to-intermediate maturities currently offer the most attractive balance. The economy also continues to support fundamentals across the high-yield spectrum, but diversification remains a critical risk management tool.

Tune in to the podcast to learn more.

Make sure to be on the lookout for the next edition of the ETF Spotlight and remember to subscribe! If you have any comments or questions, please email podcast@zacks.com.

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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV): ETF Research Reports
 
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF Shares (VBIL): ETF Research Reports

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research

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