Bonds are back as a hedge after failing investors for years

FILE PHOTO: A view shows a bronze seal beside a door at the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

GREGG Abella, a money manager in New Jersey, wasn’t expecting the flood of phone calls he got from clients this past week. “Suddenly people are saying to us, ‘Wow, do you think it’s a good time for us to add bonds?’”

It’s something of a vindication for Abella. He’s been, in his words, “banging the gong” for bonds – and asset diversification, more broadly – for years. This was long a decidedly out-of-favour recommendation.