Why did hundreds of billions of dollars (or possibly even trillions) flood the Bond market? The fact is that institutional investors and governments rushed to the 'safety' of bonds at the outset of the crisis in 2008 and withdrew trillions of dollars from stock markets in a state of crowd mentality. When broken down, the markets do not work logically - they are driven by human emotion; that is, the desire to avoid losses and to minimize risk. Despite their attempts to appear otherwise, Governments and major institutional investors are no different to John Doe and the vast majority of retail investors.
At the outset of the crisis, fund managers and governments did what was safe - they ran for cover. And they did it en masse; hence the dramatic and powerful downturn as funds were pulled out of stocks. Logic would have said they should have stayed in stocks as the long term historical returns for stocks are significantly better than bonds (stocks have returned almost 6 per cent per year over the past 7 decades, adjusted for inflation). Bonds, on the other hand, offer nothing approaching that, but they do offer 'certainty'. However, there are signs now that fund managers are starting to think the crisis may soon be ending. So the big boys are now emerging from cover and are searching for the higher yields that stocks typically offer.
Those trillions of dollars that have been withdrawn from stock markets which are currently in bonds must return at some time. And crowd mentality (the natural state of markets that are run by human emotion) says that those trillions will be moved in the same direction - back in to stocks.
We also now know that a surge in demand for stocks suggests a higher demand for US dollars which is the currency used to pay for these assets.
At the outset of the crisis, fund managers and governments did what was safe - they ran for cover. And they did it en masse; hence the dramatic and powerful downturn as funds were pulled out of stocks. Logic would have said they should have stayed in stocks as the long term historical returns for stocks are significantly better than bonds (stocks have returned almost 6 per cent per year over the past 7 decades, adjusted for inflation). Bonds, on the other hand, offer nothing approaching that, but they do offer 'certainty'. However, there are signs now that fund managers are starting to think the crisis may soon be ending. So the big boys are now emerging from cover and are searching for the higher yields that stocks typically offer.
Those trillions of dollars that have been withdrawn from stock markets which are currently in bonds must return at some time. And crowd mentality (the natural state of markets that are run by human emotion) says that those trillions will be moved in the same direction - back in to stocks.
We also now know that a surge in demand for stocks suggests a higher demand for US dollars which is the currency used to pay for these assets.