By Michael Aneiro
In case you still needed confirmation of what's been the most popular income asset class over the past year or so, look no further than adjustable-rate bank loan funds, which just produced their 65th straight week of net inflows, per Lipper data, taking in $1.2 billion in the most recent week. Investors remain drawn to bank loans because their rates float, unlike fixed-rate bonds, and hence can adjust upward along with prevailing market rates. (More detail on bank loans in this post from last week.) In a year when most fixed-income indexes have posted losses, the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan 100 index is up 3.55% year to date.
Looking at some loan funds Friday, the PowerShares Senior Loan Portfolio (BKLN) is up 3 cents at $24.74, the Highland/iBoxx Senior Loan ETF (SNLN) is unchanged at $19.97 and the Blackstone/GSO Senior Floating Rate Term Fund (BSL) is up 14 cents to $19.92.
