There has always been the risk of higher-than-usual correlation between equities and fixed income at certain points, meaning traditional considerations of bonds being a 'haven' asset cannot always be relied on.

Indeed, in recent years markets have seen high correlations between equities and bonds, at times rising and falling almost synchronously, leaving people to question whether traditional portfolio construction such as the 60:40 model are dead in the water.

In this podcast, chief reporter Joseph Wilkins and contributing editor David Thorpe talk with Ninety One's Jason Borbora-Sheen about the importance of diversification when it comes to fixed income portfolio construction, and how to understand the current concerns around sticky inflation and a higher-for-longer rate environment.

Borbora-Sheen, who is a portfolio manager in the multi-asset team at Ninety One, also explains the "forces driving the higher sensitivity" between equities and fixed income, and why managers need to be flexible in their allocation strategies.

However, "ultimately, it's the level of income that matters ... and we have to stick to our knitting" he says, when discussing how to choose what to invest in.

The Asset Allocator Podcast is a weekly series aimed at discretionary fund managers, fund selectors and wealth managers, providing insight into the issues that drive investment decisions.

It is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Acast and most other major podcast platforms.