One strategist's expectations for corporate bonds in 2025

With market dynamics appearing favorable for equities heading into 2025, Schwab Center for Financial Research fixed income strategist Collin Martin joins Seana Smith and Madison Mills on Catalysts to make the case for bonds. Martin says corporate bonds, which play an important role in a balanced portfolio, have "really attractive" yields at the moment. "We think it's important to focus on income and... [yields], where you get some volatility here and there, but from a big-picture standpoint, if you look at investment-grade corporate bonds... you can get average yields of around 5%." Martin also emphasizes current average yields because "if we go back relative to the past 15 years or so, we're still at attractive levels." The strategist adds that fixed income "plays a huge role for investors as they're approaching retirement, specifically, or they're in retirement, and given what we think is a relatively positive economic outlook, we're okay taking a little risk with corporate bonds. And we think they're a nice way to boost some income in your overall portfolios." Watch the video above for more from Martin on his bonds outlook ahead of 2025. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.