Since the rapid rise in interest rates over the past few years, fixed income has come back into the spotlight. As the Federal Reserve begins cutting interest rates, retirement plan advisors might now be wondering how this shift will impact core bond and core plus bond portfolios.

To find out, we speak with Matt Brill, CFA, Head of North America Investment Grade Credit and Senior Portfolio Manager for Invesco Fixed Income. He’ll walk us through the basics of core bond and core plus bond portfolios, how the Fed’s intended “soft landing” will impact these sectors, and also highlight some of the fixed income opportunities that are most favorable for fixed income investors right now.

Key Insights

Due Diligence on Bond Funds: Fiduciaries should consider fees, performance against benchmarks, and the level of risk when assessing core and core plus bond funds. A balance between risk and stability is crucial to avoid bond portfolios behaving more like equities.

Impact of Fed Rate Cuts: The Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates is expected to benefit bond funds, making it easier to add bonds to portfolios and improve credit assets' performance, such as high yield and emerging markets.

Core vs. Core Plus Bonds: Core bond portfolios consist of highly liquid, lower-risk assets like treasuries, while core plus portfolios include higher-risk options, such as emerging markets and high-yield bonds, offering higher returns but also greater risk.

Not a Deposit | Not FDIC Insured | Not Guaranteed by the Bank | May Lose Value | Not Insured by any Federal Government Agency

Before investing, investors should carefully read the prospectus and carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. For this and more complete information about the fund(s), investors should ask their financial professionals for a prospectus or visit invesco.com/fundprospectus

Past performance does not guarantee future results. An investment cannot be made into an index.

All data provided by Invesco unless otherwise noted.

Before investing, consider the Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Visit invesco.com/fundprospectus for  a prospectus/summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully before investing

The risks of investing in securities of foreign issuers, including emerging markets, can include fluctuations in foreign currencies, political and economic instability, and foreign taxation issues.

Active trading results in added expenses and may result in a lower return and increased tax liability.

The risks of investing in securities of foreign issuers, including emerging markets, can include fluctuations in foreign currencies, political and economic instability, and foreign taxation issues.

Junk bonds have greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the issuer’s credit quality. Junk bond values fluctuate more than high quality bonds and can decline significantly over a short time.

As with any comparison, investors should be aware of the material differences between active and passive strategies. Unlike passive strategies, active strategies have the ability to react to market changes and the potential to outperform a stated benchmark. Other differences include, but are not limited to, expenses, management style and liquidity.  Investors should consult their financial professional before investing.

Invesco Distributors, Inc.