Many market indices showed limited month-on-month movement; however, this masked significant intra-month volatility across numerous markets. The S&P 500 ended the month up 0.25%, despite having been down more than 4.5% at its intra-month low, or 5.75% off its 29th October local peak.
A similar pattern emerged in fixed income markets, where modest month-end changes understated the volatility experienced throughout the month. The most notable example was UK Gilts: the 30-year Gilt traded within a 30 bp range—between 5.15% and 5.45%—ahead of the UK Budget on 26 November. In the US, 10-year Treasury yields ended the month at 4.01%, 6 bps lower.
Credit markets were somewhat weak but showed resilience in the face of heavy supply. European IG credit spreads widened by 5 bps to 81 bps, marginally underperforming US IG credit spreads, which ended the month 2 bps wider at 80 bps
In USD IG, supply reached $140bn for the month, the busiest November on record, bringing year-to-date issuance to approximately $1.65trn. Corporate supply dominated, while financial issuance—typically close to half of monthly volumes—accounted for only around 20%, creating attractive opportunities where concessions were offered. We remained highly selective, participating only where pricing provided clear value, including Morgan Stanley’s OpCo deal and a handful of corporate FRNs.
In EUR IG, the market absorbed €111bn in November, one of the strongest monthly totals ever recorded. Corporates represented €75bn, with Financials contributing €36bn, and the first week of the month setting a new all-time weekly issuance record. Despite this heavy supply, demand remained robust: Financial deals averaged 2.8x subscription and offered healthy new-issue concessions. We invested in selective Senior transactions from Morgan Stanley, Bank of Ireland and other high-quality issuers.
Corporate activity was similarly elevated, highlighted by Google’s €6.5bn multi-tranche offering and Novo Nordisk’s €4bn transaction, both met with heavy oversubscription.
Across both USD and EUR markets, heavy issuance combined with strong demand created a favourable environment for capturing new-issue premia, and our disciplined, valuation-driven participation allowed us to identify attractive securities, while maintaining a high-quality, liquid credit profile heading into year-end.
