FT’s Robin Wigglesworth: Why Bonds, Not Stocks, Rule Everything Around Us | #650

Today’s guest is Robin Wigglesworth, editor of FT Alphaville at the Financial Times and the author of A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World.

In today’s episode, Robin makes the case that bonds, not stocks, are the bedrock of finance and quietly built the modern world. He explores the hidden plumbing beneath it, from the $12 trillion repo market to the leverage lurking in Treasuries, and why fixed income ETFs are rewiring how bonds trade.

(0:00) Starts

(2:39) Robin Wigglesworth on the strength of bonds

(3:57) Political influence and origins of the bond market

(8:09) Evolution, creditworthiness, and historical impacts of bonds

(16:34) Memorable defaults, financial crises, and scams

(20:04) Bond market innovations and securitization

(23:52) Sovereign debt concerns

(28:03) Stories, misconceptions, and recent bond market events

(38:43) Innovations, future trends, and misunderstandings in income investments

(43:33) The rise of private credit and liquidity risks