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Please remember, investment value can go up or down and you could get back less than you invest. The value of international investments may be affected by currency fluctuations which might reduce their value in sterling.

How do bonds and gilts work?

Bonds and gilts are typically low risk fixed income investments which can take pride of place in any portfolio. Corporate bonds are issued by corporations and gilts are bonds issued specifically by the British government to borrow money.

There are different types of gilts but most will typically pay a fixed coupon biannually and mature on a set date in the future.

Find out more: What are bonds?

Why choose interactive investor to buy bonds and gilts?

  • We offer one of the widest choice of investments in the market – more than 40,000 UK & global investment options, including bonds and gilts.
  • Our flat fee plans start from £4.99 per month - Most other investment platforms charge a percentage fee that grows with your investments.
  • The £4.99 monthly fee includes our Stocks & Shares ISA and Trading Account.
  • Free Regular Investing - available on all of our plans.

How to buy bonds

You can trade a number of bonds and gilts via your online ii account. For any that aren't available online, you can deal over the phone by calling us on 0345 607 6001.

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Fixed Income – review Q4 2023

The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index fell 0.25% in 2023 in sterling terms but rose 5.72% in dollar terms, with Q4 being an exceptionally good quarter. That’s because sentiment on monetary policy began to shift as markets started to anticipate rate cuts being on the horizon. Global corporates rose 2.35% in sterling terms, outperforming global treasuries. The story is the same in the UK, Europe, and the US. Investment grade bonds were outperformed by global high yield (HY), which rose 7.61% this year as these bonds tend to be less sensitive to interest rate movements than investment grade bonds.

In the UK, gilts returned 3.69% and outperformed inflation-linked gilts (0.93%) in 2023 due to the latter having a higher duration profile, which is unfavourable when interest rates rise. Gilts and inflation-linked bonds rose 8.11% and 9.41% respectively in Q4 as the Bank of England opted to hold rates at 5.25% from August, with expectations of future falls being priced in.

The UK gilt 2-year yield rose over the year from 3.57% to 3.97% with a peak of 5.50%, while the 10-year yield fell marginally from 3.67% to 3.54%, with a peak of 4.75%.

US Treasury 2-year yield fell from 4.41% to 4.25% with a peak of 5.21%, while the 10-year yield rose from 3.79% to 3.86%, with a peak of 4.99%.

Q4 (%)1 year3  years5 years
Global High Yield3.947.612.533.89
Sterling Corporate7.378.62-4.670.47
EURO Corporate5.515.67-3.83-0.64
Global Corporate3.482.35-0.782.63
Global Aggregate3.5-0.25-3.28-0.33
Global Government3.5-1.7-4.87-1.49
UK Gilts8.113.69-9.18-2.82
Global Inflation Linked3.95-0.19-3.550.35
UK Inflation Linked9.410.65-11.83-4.09

Source: Morningstar as of 31 December 2023. Total Returns in GBP. Global Aggregate: Bloomberg Global Aggregate, Global Government: Bloomberg Global Treasury, UK Gilts: FTSE Act UK Conventional Gilts All Stocks. Global Corporate: Bloomberg Global Corporate, Sterling Corporate: ICE BofA Sterling Non-Gilt, Euro Corporate: Markit iBoxx EUR, Global High Yield: Bloomberg Global High Yield, Global Inflation Linked: Bloomberg Global Inflation Linked, UK Inflation Linked: Bloomberg Global Inflation Linked UK.

Prices, information, data, analyses and opinions provided by Morningstar © 2023 Morningstar. All Rights Reserved. The information, data, analyses and opinions (“Information”) contained herein: (1) include the proprietary information of Morningstar and its content providers; (2) may not be copied or redistributed except as specifically authorised; (3) do not constitute investment advice; (4) are provided solely for informational purposes; (5) are not warranted to be complete, accurate or timely; and (6) may be drawn from data published on various dates. Morningstar is not responsible for any trading decisions, damages or other losses related to the Information or its use. Please verify all of the Information before using it and don’t make any investment decision except upon the advice of a professional financial adviser. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The value and income derived from investments may go down as well as up.

Learn more about investing in bonds with ii

What are bonds?

The basics of bonds. Find out about the types of bonds, bond yields, tax on bonds and bond prices.

What are gilts?

A beginners guide to gilts. Learn about the types of gilts, gilt yields and gilt tax rules.   

Corporate bonds

Discover the types of corporate bonds, corporate bond tax rules, how to invest in corporate bonds and why.  

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