Could bonds outperform stocks in 2023? Morgan Stanley chief investment officer Lisa Shalett thinks so.
Shalett recently wrote that stock valuations remain too high despite this year's declines, while bonds are reasonably priced. She also warned that Wall Street's bullish view about stocks going into 2023 could be unrealistic.
However, Shalett believes that bonds could generate solid gains -- and she's not the only investment manager with this view. If the bond bulls are right, it could present a nice opportunity for investors. Here are three ways to profit from a big bond bounce in 2023.
1. AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund
You could do the research on your own to find attractive bonds to buy. An easier approach to investing in bonds is to buy a bond fund. AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund (NYSE:AWF) ranks as one of the top closed-end funds (CEFs) that focus on bonds.
AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund currently owns 1,590 bonds. It invests mainly in corporate debt securities but also buys some government bonds. A little under 70% of the bonds held by the CEF are with U.S. companies or the U.S. government.
The distribution yield for this bond fund stands at 7.9%. This yield can be boosted by the use of leverage (borrowing), which increases the risk level. However, AllianceBernstein reduces risk during times of uncertainty, such as we're experiencing now.
While you'll have to pay fees with any bond fund, AllianceBernstein Global High Income's net expense ratio is 1%. That's not too bad of a price to pay to have bond experts search for the best opportunities to generate high yields.
2. iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF
If you want to lower your risk level somewhat, you might want to consider buying the iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEMKT:LQD) (or LQD, for short). As its name indicates, LQD is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that focuses on corporate bonds with investment-grade ratings.
LQD holds positions in over 1,000 corporate bonds. No issuer makes up more than 2.9% of the overall portfolio. The ETF's bonds include those from well-known companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Apple .
The trade-off in going with investment-grade bonds is that the yield isn't as high as you'd get with lower-quality bonds. However, LQD's yield currently tops 3.2%, which isn't too shabby.
This bond ETF hasn't performed all that well in recent years. LQD's average annual total return over the last decade is only 1.56%. But with the fund's price down nearly 20% year to date and the fundamentals for bonds looking brighter, it could be a big winner in 2023. And with an expense ratio of only 0.14%, there won't be a big cost associated with the potential gains.
3. iShares 20 Plus Year Treasury Bond ETF
There aren't many safer alternatives for bond investors than long-term U.S. Treasury bonds. The iShares 20 Plus Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) (or TLT) is an ETF that specializes in such bonds.
What you see is what you get with TLT. It owns nothing but long-term U.S. Treasury bonds with maturities dated at least 20 years out. This simple approach means that the ETF's expense ratio is low -- only 0.15%.
TLT's trailing-12-month yield stands at 2.56%. However, the ETF's SEC yield of close to 3.9% provides a better metric. The SEC yield looks at the interest after expenses generated over the most recent 30-day period.
Sure, TLT has been hammered so far this year, with its price plunging more than 30%. However, if the big bond bounce that some on Wall Street expect materializes, this ETF should go much higher.
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JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Keith Speights has positions in Apple and Bank of America. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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