A new fixed income research company called BondAdviser was launched today with the aim of opening up the bond market to a broader range of investors by providing access to independent research and pricing data.
Offered through a central online portal, BondAdviser covers all ASX-listed interest rate securities and a large range of over-the-counter (OTC) corporate bonds. The service provides a clear recommendation on every security covered as well as interactive education, investment tools and model portfolios to help investors and advisers make intelligent investment decisions.
Co-Founder and Managing Director of BondAdviser, Geoff Malkin, said that Australian investors are generally underexposed to bonds and interest rate securities due to the difficulties of finding the right investments and a lack of easily accessible information, however things were about to change.
“2015 promises to be a watershed year in the development of the retail bond market in Australia. The passing of the Simple Corporate Bonds and Other Measures Act has paved the way for a broader range of interest rate securities to become available to investors,” said Geoff.
“BondAdviser will play an important role in the market by providing unbiased, transparent information coupled with education. We hope to fill the knowledge gap that has impeded investment in this asset class by becoming the central reference point for anyone seeking secure income for their portfolio.”
BondAdviser believes financial advisers and other professionals who manage money will play an important role in opening up the market.
“We hope that by providing independent research, information and tools, more advisers, equities brokers and other professional investors will be able to offer direct bonds and interest rate securities to their clients as an attractive income alternative to term deposits,” said Geoff.
“Education also plays an important role in what we do. For example, there is widespread belief that most securities are fixed rate and vulnerable to interest rate movements and therefore capital losses, when in fact most new issues are floating rate and therefore protected against interest rate rises.”
BondAdviser offers the broadest coverage of retail-accessible ASX-listed and over-the-counter securities in the market.
Coverage includes both the primary and secondary markets for corporate bonds, hybrid securities, capital securities, inflation linked bonds, convertible bonds, exchange traded treasury bonds, convertible notes and preference shares.
The research reports provided by BondAdviser are delivered by a highly experienced credit research team led by Nicholas Yaxley. Unique to fixed income, the team provides a valuation on every security they cover.
“Our strategy is to provide institutional-quality research in a format that is easy to understand. Traditionally, fixed income research doesn’t include a valuation, however we felt this was important in assessing a security’s potential. The result is a clear investment recommendation – buy, hold or sell – on every security we cover,” said Co-Founder and Head of Research Nicholas Yaxley.
“We also offer transparent pricing data that is listed without brokerage fees. This means advisers and investors can have informed discussions with their brokers when it comes to placing an order.”
For professional investors and advisers, BondAdviser offers additional features including a sophisticated portfolio management tool to track portfolios on an individual or aggregated basis. There is also customised reporting that can be branded, one-click access to prospectus documents and downloadable SOA and ROA content.
A range of investment tools – such as advanced securities filtering and a price-yield calculator – help with security selection. For advisers and investors who want more investment direction, BondAdviser offers model portfolios suited to different risk profiles.
BondAdviser is a subscription-based service offered through its online portal www.bondadviser.com.au. People can sign up for individual licenses and customised group accounts are available for corporate users.
