The US Fixed Income Market's Yellow Brick Road to 2026

A familiar Oz tale has returned to the silver screen, transporting moviegoers as the Wicked Witch soars into an uncertain future. In this account, the narrative shifts depending on the storyteller. Wicked and good are just about perspective. For 2026, the US fixed income market embodies a similarly complicated tale. Inflation continues to defy gravity, and calls for AI-driven, record-setting issuance are taking center stage. Behind the curtain, the K-shaped economy, blurred lines between public and private markets, and a lame-duck Fed chair add to the layers of ambiguity. In this environment, the challenge is not to simply avoid sectors that may appear wicked, but to uncover bonds that may be harnessed for good – using bottom-up security selection and a cross-sector lens to transform an AI-obsessed world into one defined by risk-aware opportunity.