Robert Cohen, head of DoubleLine’s Global Developed Credit team, Nov. 12, 2024, surveys relative values and expected returns for stocks and corporate bonds in an appearance with CNBC’s Kelly Evans. Mr. Cohen notes the contrast between those asset classes at the outset of Trump 1.0 vs. today, heading into Trump 2.0. In 2017, equities were competitively valued vs. corporates; today, credit priced is at attractive all-in yields vs. stocks. Corporate earnings and credit markets, he tells CNBC, also are presaging positive economic growth and M&A volume. As those corporate indicators are “closer to the ground” of the business cycle than traditional macro indicators such as the LEI and yield curve, which have been flashing recession for extended periods, Robert Cohen is inclined to give greater weight to corporates as an economic signal, at least for the near term.
Mr. Cohen joined DoubleLine’s Global Developed Credit (“GDC”) Group in 2012. He is a Portfolio Manager and the Director of the GDC group. He is also a permanent member of the Fixed Income Asset Allocation Committee. Prior to DoubleLine, Mr. Cohen was a Senior Credit Analyst at West Gate Horizons Advisors (and its predecessor ING Capital Advisors) where he worked as an Analyst covering bank loans and high yield bonds. Prior to ING, he was an Assistant Vice President in the Asset Management Group of Union Bank where he managed a diversified portfolio of leveraged loans as well as a portfolio of CDO securities. Previous to Union Bank, he was an Associate Director of Corporate and Investment Banking at the Bank of Montreal in its Natural Resources Group. Mr. Cohen holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Arizona and an MBA from the University of Southern California. He is a CFA® charterholder.
