Bonds are back. After a decade or more in the doldrums, when rock-bottom interest rates made them unattractive compared with soaring equities, retail investors have been buying fixed-income products again.
Recent chaos in the UK gilts market sparked by the government’s “mini” Budget — a view on which nearly all market participants agree, whatever else Jacob Rees-Mogg may tell you — has been interpreted as a buy signal by some investors as yields have risen and prices fallen. Trading platform Interactive Investor reported a 400 per cent jump in bond sales in September compared with the previous year.
But what if you want to invest sustainably? The good news is there are green versions of gilts, which supposedly raise money specifically to invest in areas like sustainable transport, renewable energy and climate change adaptation. The bad news is that there aren’t many of them.