The shift to negative returns on bond portfolios and share prices
In the United States and the euro zone, returns on bond portfolios were positive and attractive thanks to the decline in long-term interest rates until the summer of 2019. Since then, however, returns have been negative (except following the fall in interest rates caused by the coronavirus) and will probably remain so for a long time , given the prospect of a slow rise in long-term interest rates (due to the continu ation of growth and the fact that central bank s are no longer expected to cut interest rate s ). A long period of negative expected bond returns can be expected to lead investors to rotate heavily into equities .