Speaking of government bonds, a glance at Asset Allocator's proprietary database has revealed a stout pick-up in demand for US Treasury funds.

One might have expected those to be less attractive in 2023, with sterling up over 20 per cent against the dollar since last September, but the data reveals that buyers have been turning to the asset class, particularly at the long end of the curve.

The iShares US Dollar 20+ years duration fund has picked up a net of two new buyers in 2023, having previously only appeared in the portfolios of one of the DFMs we cover.

There has also been some buying of the broader index, with three new buyers, compared with two sellers, of the Vanguard US Government Bond index fund, which appears in 13 of the portfolios we monitor, making it one of the most popular products of the lot among DFMs.

No other US Treasuries fund is owned by more than three of the DFMs we monitor, and no actively managed fund is owned by any of the allocators.  

Of course this data relates to the period prior to the latest US inflation print, which showed a decline to just 3 per cent.

It is around twice as high in the Eurozone and three times higher in the UK.

As the market continues to digest those data points, and in particular what these may mean for central bank activity in each of those countries, the investment case for T-bills is altering almost by the day. 

david.thorpe@ft.com