The 2014 All-Europe Fixed-Income Research Team: Retailing/Consumer Products (IG), No. 3: Jean-Yves Coupin, Norbert Ling & team

< The 2014 All-Europe Fixed-Income Research Team

Jean-Yves Coupin, Norbert Ling & team
BNP Paribas

First-place appearances: 1

Total appearances: 2

Team debut: 2013

Tumbling from first place to third is BNP Paribas. Jean-Yves Coupin and newcomer Norbert Ling earn particular praise for their relative trading calls on two British supermarket operators, Wm Morrison Supermarkets and Tesco. In July the pair urged investors to switch out of Morrison’s pound sterling bonds and into Tesco’s, citing deteriorating sales development and home-country market share losses for Morrison. At that time, its 2023 notes were trading at 120 basis points over gilts; its 2026, at 113 basis points. Tesco’s 2029 instrument was further out, at 169 basis points, and the spread between this bond and Morrison’s 2026 had never been so wide. By the end of the year, however, both Morrison bonds had significantly underperformed the Tesco issue. The former had expanded by 20 to 25 basis points against gilts, while the latter had narrowed to 164 basis points. Coupin late last year move to the firm’s New York office to cover Yankee corporate bonds.

See also Jean-Yves Coupin’s profile in the 2013 All-Europe Fixed-Income Research Team.

Related