Here’s the bond-market alternative as U.S. and other developed markets debt deteriorate

Christopher Wood of Jefferies has argued that Group of Seven government bonds entered a "structural bear market" beginning in March 2020. That framing matters because it shifts the discussion from a cyclical pullback to a longer-lasting repricing of developed-market debt, driven by the end of ultra-low yields and persistent inflation uncertainty.

For investors, the implication is that the traditional role of high-grade sovereign bonds as a reliable portfolio ballast may be less dependable than in past cycles. When yields rise, bond prices fall, and long-duration exposure can amplify those losses. That has encouraged interest in alternatives, including shorter-duration credit, inflation-linked securities, and other income-producing assets.

What to watch: whether inflation continues to cool, how central banks adjust policy rates, and whether term premiums stay elevated. Those variables will shape whether the "structural bear market" thesis holds or fades. This is a framework for understanding market conditions, not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.