Investors poured $15 billion into more risky corners of the bond market in April. Where they're finding yield

Investors ramped up their risk appetite for fixed income in April, pouring money into bond funds that offer attractive yields, according to data from State Street Investment Management. The asset manager found that investors directed some $15 billion into credit-sensitive bond sectors via ETFs last month. Those inflows included roughly $7 billion heading into investment-grade corporate bonds, along with about $3.8 billion into high-yield bond ETFs. Funds with a focus on bank loans and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) — beloved among income-hungry investors — saw about $2.5 billion in new flows of cash last month, State Street found. Two factors were behind this renewed appetite for risk, according to Matthew Bartolini, global head of research strategists at State Street Investment Management. First, investors grew reassured that the worst outcome in the Iran war wouldn't come to pass, he said. That positive sentiment was strengthened by solid earnings results from an array of companies — not just the Big Tech heavy hitters. "It's not just a heliocentric tech megacap market — you're seeing broader growth," Bartolini said. "That in conjunction with the worst outcome [in the Middle East] coming off the table, which could've had an impact on economic growth, those two factors drove this risk-on sentiment." Investors' stampede into higher-yielding corners of the fixed income market came as they also enjoyed huge gains from the stock market. …