Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities: Flight to Quality

This Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities sector report is excerpted from the First Quarter 2019 Fixed-Income Outlook.

Agency MBS outperformed other major credit sectors in the volatile fourth quarter of 2018, which ended with lower rates, a flatter 2s/10s yield curve and higher implied interest rate volatility. The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. MBS index posted a 2.1 percent total return for the quarter and 1.0 percent return for 2018. Option-adjusted spreads were 7 basis points wider over the quarter and 10 basis points for the year. Aggregate prepayment speeds continued to slow to historic lows.

Our major themes from last year played out as anticipated, and we are planning for a similar market environment. Fundamentals remain strong, with most borrowers having no rate incentive to refinance. Valuations look reasonable, with current spreads around long-term average levels and wider than post-crisis averages. Supply/demand technicals are likely to remain challenging now that the Fed is no longer an active market participant, and uncertainty remains about who will pick up the demand deficit. So far, it seems MBS funds have picked up at least some of the market’s rotation out of corporate credit. One example of this is the iShares MBS ETF (MBB), with $15 billion in assets, which saw $2.9 billion in inflows since the start of October, whereas the iShares iBoxx Investment-Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD), with $32 billion in assets, experienced net outflows of $2.4 billion over the same period. Furthermore, any spread widening as a result of the Fed’s withdrawal will likely be moderate, since this withdrawal has been well telegraphed and gradual.

The U.S. Treasury and corporate debt markets have witnessed significantly higher issuance in the past few years compared to Agency MBS. While MBS supply may be higher now and possibly growing further if the recent rally in mortgage rates drives home sales higher, its share of widely followed benchmarks like the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate index is still low compared to other major fixed-income sectors. Better relative liquidity may continue to attract more reallocation from credit sectors to Agency MBS as we enter a late-cycle phase. We continue to favor investments in which either the collateral or structure offers some cash flow stability at reasonable spreads. We find select subsectors attractively priced in the current environment, including longer-maturity Agency multifamily bonds, better call-protected pools, and some collateralized mortgage obligation structures.

—Aditya Agrawal, CFA, Director; Louis Pacilio, Vice President

Important Notices and Disclosures

This article is distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investing advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. It contains opinions of the authors but not necessarily those of Guggenheim Partners or its subsidiaries. The authors’ opinions are subject to change without notice. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but are not assured as to accuracy. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Investing involves risk. In general, the value of fixed-income securities fall when interest rates rise. High-yield securities present more liquidity and credit risk than investment grade bonds and may be subject to greater volatility. Asset-backed securities, including mortgage-backed securities, may have structures that make their reaction to interest rates and other factors difficult to predict, making their prices volatile and they are subject to liquidity risk. Investments in floating rate senior secured syndicated bank loans and other floating rate securities involve special types of risks, including credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and prepayment risk. Guggenheim Investments represents the following affiliated investment management businesses of Guggenheim Partners, LLC: Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, Security Investors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, GS GAMMA Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Partners Europe Limited, and Guggenheim Partners India Management.

©2019, Guggenheim Partners, LLC. No part of this article may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission of Guggenheim Partners, LLC.

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