Retail therapy (TTJulAug09 p22-24)

With interest rates at record lows, the equity markets riven by uncertainty and volatility, and a greatly subdued risk appetite, interest in corporate bonds as a retail investment vehicle has grown dramatically across Europe. But in the UK issuers of corporate bonds may be missing out on a massive untapped retail investor market. The retail market could provide a large pool of capital, represents an investor base that holds bonds to maturity, and holds out the prospect of lower costs of capital funding over a period of time. The picture is almost too good to be true yet the retail sector in the UK is largely ignored.