Bond return = Receipt of promised coupons (and principal) + Reinvestment of coupon payments +/– Capital gain/Loss on sale prior to maturity ...... (12)
在2008年金融危机之后的几年里,许多央行采取行动将短期利率维持在非常低的水平。因此,收益率曲线随后出现了陡峭的上升斜率。对于活跃的固定收益经理来说,这种情况提供了获取短期资金和投资长期债券的动机。这只是利差交易的一种形式,也被称为期限价差利差交易,并且会受到重大利率风险的影响,比如未来即期利率的意外上升(例如由于通胀飙升)。在收益率曲线向上倾斜的环境中,交易员借入同一货币的短期和长期的利差交易很常见。
总而言之,当收益率曲线向上倾斜时,当债券接近到期日或“收益率曲线向下滚动”时,它的价值会依次降低,价格上升。使用这种策略,当债券价格升值时,可以持有一段时间,然后在到期前出售,以获得更高的回报。只要利率保持稳定,收益率曲线保持向上倾斜,这种策略可以持续增加债券投资组合的总回报。
例1:Assume a flat yield curve of 6%. A three-year 100 bond is issued at par paying an annual coupon of 6%. What is the portfolio manager’s expected return if he predicts that the yield curve one year from today will be a flat 7%?
A. 4.19%
B. 6.00%
C. 8.83%
解析:选A。如果收益率升至7%,预期收益率将低于目前6%的到期收益率。可计算为:
例2:A forward contract price will increase if:
A. future spot rates evolve as predicted by current forward rates.
B. future spot rates are lower than what is predicted by current forward rates.
C. future spot rates are higher than what is predicted by current forward rates.
偏好栖息地理论(preferred habitat theory)与细分市场理论相似,它提出许多借款人和贷款人对特定期限有强烈偏好,但它并没有断言不同期限的收益率是相互独立决定的。
然而,该理论认为,如果获得的预期额外回报足够大,金融机构将愿意偏离其首选的期限或栖息地(如果利差促使投资者转向偏好的期限,他们就愿意偏离偏好的期限)。例如,如果长期证券的预期收益远远超过短期证券,那么中期债券基金可能会延长其资产的到期日。如果购买短期证券的预期超额回报足够大,人寿保险公司可能不再局限于长期证券,而将更大比例的投资组合放在短期投资上。
偏好栖息地理论是基于现实的概念,即代理人和机构将接受额外的风险,以换取额外的预期回报。在接受细分市场理论和无偏见预期理论的元素,但拒绝它们的极端立场,偏好栖息地理论更接近于解释现实世界的现象。在该理论中,市场预期和细分市场理论中强调的制度因素都影响着利率期限结构。
例3:Many fixed-income portfolio managers are limited in or prohibited from high-yield bond investments. When a bond is downgraded from an investment-grade to a high-yield (junk) rating, it is referred to as a fallen angel. Because of restrictions, many pension funds sell fallen angels when they are downgraded from investment grade to high yield (junk). This coordinated selling action often results in depressed prices and attractive yields for the fallen angels. Which of the following reasons best explains why fallen angel yields often exceed otherwise identical bonds?
A. The preferred habitat theory
B. The segmented markets theory
C. The local expectations theory
解析:选B。市场分割的结果是,一些固定收益基金经理被禁止或限制他们持有高收益债券的能力。这种细分给堕落天使带来了抛售压力,压低了他们的价格。
例4:The unbiased expectations theory assumes investors are:
例5:A movement of the yield curve in which the short rate decreases by 150 bps and the long rate decreases by 50 bps would best be described as a:
A. flattening of the yield curve resulting from changes in level and steepness.
B. steepening of the yield curve resulting from changes in level and steepness.
C. steepening of the yield curve resulting from changes in steepness and curvature.
解析:选B。短期和长期利率都在下降,表明收益率曲线水平发生了变化。短期利率的降幅超过了长期利率,表明收益率曲线的陡度发生了变化。
例6:The yield curve starts off flat, and then intermediate-maturity yields decrease by 10 bps while short- and long-maturity yields remain constant. This movement is best described as involving a change in: