Cash to Carry: Where Income Leads
How moving from cash to high-quality bonds may boost your income and accelerate long-term wealth.
The Opportunity Cost of Staying in Cash
Many investors keep a sizable cash balance for peace of mind and flexibility. However, holding too much cash for an extended period of time can drag down income and slow progress toward long‑term goals. Shifting a portion into high‑quality bonds can boost income (carry), keep liquidity, and help cushion the portfolio when equities fall.
Illustratively, on a $10 million portfolio, the yield gap between cash at 3.64% and US IG corporates (JULI) at 5.51% compounds meaningfully. With monthly compounding, allocating to bonds instead of cash would add over $640,000 over three years and more than $1.1 million over five years—purely from higher carry and reinvestment of income—while maintaining a conservative risk profile. 1
Think about what the extra income could help you do—put a deposit on a second home, cover school fees, or back a new opportunity. Even a modest move from cash into high‑quality bonds can add up over time and make a real difference. It’s a simple step that’s well worth considering.
In today’s dynamic and often unpredictable markets, an unconstrained fixed income manager offers the flexibility to adjust allocations across sectors, regions, and currencies as market conditions evolve. This approach enables the portfolio to seek out the most attractive sources of income while maintaining prudent risk controls. By not being limited to a benchmark or narrow universe, an unconstrained strategy can help investors navigate changing environments and support more consistent income generation over time.
The Role of Fixed Income vs Cash in a Portfolio
Cash deserves a place in every portfolio—it’s useful for everyday needs and planned expenses. Nevertheless, keeping too much in cash for too long can hold you back. Because cash earns less than many bonds over time, excess cash can reduce your overall returns, lose ground to inflation, and slow your progress toward long‑term goals. Balancing cash with more income‑generating investments can help your money work harder while still keeping the flexibility you need.
For money you don’t need right away, high‑quality bonds are a natural step up from cash. They pay regular interest, are higher up in the payment line than stocks if something goes wrong, and can be chosen to fit how long you want to invest and how much risk you’re comfortable with. Government bonds have long been the first move out of cash, but big post‑pandemic borrowing has made them a bit less appealing. By contrast, many companies have solid balance sheets, so investment‑grade corporate bonds offer dependable income and typically attractive yield pickup over cash. Today’s backdrop—steady economic growth, improving earnings, healthy profit margins, and moderate debt levels—supports this approach without giving up much liquidity.
Beyond high‑quality corporate bonds, there are other solid options that can lift income without taking much additional risk. For example, within securitized assets, Agency Mortgage‑Backed Securities are supported by U.S. housing agencies and pay steady income that can adjust as rates move, while top‑tier (senior) Collateralized Loan Obligation tranches offer floating‑rate income with strong protections. Investors can also look at select subordinated debt in bank capital and corporate hybrid bonds—securities that pay coupons like debt but are longer‑dated and may allow issuers to defer payments, like equity—for a bit more yield. These bonds could generate high yield-like return with investment grade-like volatility, as they are issued by high quality investment grade companies. Managed sensibly across different maturities and sectors, these choices can boost income versus cash while keeping quality and liquidity for rainy‑day needs.
Performance of Fixed Income vs Cash
A few years ago, cash paid about as much as investment‑grade (IG) bonds—but that didn’t last. Since 2024, central banks have started cutting rates, and cash yields have dropped by roughly 2% in Europe and about 1.7% in the U.S.2 As a result, cash has fallen behind. In fact, if you had put money into IG bonds at any point over the past three years and held for more than a year, you would have earned about 2% more per year on average than holding cash.
Bonds have outperformed cash over the past 3 years and we expect this to continue
Annualized outperformance of USD investment grade bonds over cash by investment start date
Looking ahead, we firmly expect IG bonds to continue outperforming cash. Long-term capital market assumptions indicate that cash will generate average annual returns of 2.9% in USD over the coming decade. In contrast, IG bonds are projected to yield over 2% more than cash, with expected annual returns around 5.2% in U.S. IG and 6.1% in U.S. HY. 3
The compounding impact is material: on a $10 million allocation, choosing U.S. IG over cash would add over $640,000 in cumulative value over three years and more than $1.1 million over five years (assuming monthly compounding at 5.51% vs 3.64%). Over ten years, the bond allocation would grow to nearly $17 million—almost $3 million more than cash. Over multi‑year horizons, this differential is difficult to ignore and reinforces the case for moving a portion of cash to high‑quality fixed income. 4
Stepping out of cash into short duration high quality bonds can be a first move. For investors seeking to further enhance portfolio income, unconstrained strategies may offer additional opportunities to lift income while managing risk. To successfully navigate periods of uncertainty and maintain steady income, it is important to have a skilled fixed income manager who can implement an unconstrained strategy—one that adjusts to changing market conditions and identifies the most suitable fixed income opportunities as they emerge.
Conclusion
With bond yields still attractive, cash rates potentially drifting lower, and credit fundamentals remaining largely stable, this is a favorable way to redeploy cash into high‑quality fixed income. A calibrated allocation anchored in investment‑grade bonds can lift portfolio income, enhance diversification, and position investors for attractive total return potential over time.
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Bloomberg, 23rd March 2026. This is an illustrative example using math; it should not be considered promissory.
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Bloomberg, 28th February 2026.
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J.P. Morgan Private Bank Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions, 2025.
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Figure has used proxy rates for cash. An initial $10 million investment, assuming a cash rate of 3.64%, would grow to $11,152,010 after 3 years, $11,992,838 after 5 years, and $14,382,816 after 10 years. In comparison, the same $10 million invested at a USD Investment Grade Corporates yield of 5.51% would reach $11,793,007 after 3 years, $13,163,588 after 5 years, and $17,328,004 after 10 years. These figures assume that the notional amount at the end of each year is reinvested at the same respective rates throughout the 10-year period.
KEY RISKS
Investing in fixed income risks:
Continued deterioration in macroeconomic conditions could lead to poor liquidity in the name, lower price and/or credit downgrades. All securities mentioned below are potentially subject to significant mark to market volatility based on movements in either the interest rate or credit markets at any time. Note: All pricing and yields are subject to change at any time based on market conditions. Investing in fixed income products is subject to certain risks, including interest rate, credit, inflation, call, prepayment, and reinvestment risk.
JPMAM LONG-TERM CAPITAL MARKET ASSUMPTIONS
Given the complex risk-reward trade-offs involved, we advise clients to rely on judgment as well as quantitative optimization approaches in setting strategic allocations. Please note that all information shown is based on qualitative analysis. Exclusive reliance on the above is not advised. This information is not intended as a recommendation to invest in any particular asset class or strategy or as a promise of future performance. Note that these asset class and strategy assumptions are passive only – they do not consider the impact of active management. References to future returns are not promises or even estimates of actual returns a client portfolio may achieve. Assumptions, opinions and estimates are provided for illustrative purposes only. They should not be relied upon as recommendations to buy or sell securities. Forecasts of financial market trends that are based on current market conditions constitute our judgment and are subject to change without notice. We believe the information provided here is reliable, but do not warrant its accuracy or completeness. This material has been prepared for information purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, accounting, legal or tax advice. The outputs of the assumptions are provided for illustration/discussion purposes only and are subject to significant limitations.
“Expected” or “alpha” return estimates are subject to uncertainty and error. For example, changes in the historical data from which it is estimated will result in different implications for asset class returns. Expected returns for each asset class are conditional on an economic scenario; actual returns in the event the scenario comes to pass could be higher or lower, as they have been in the past, so an investor should not expect to achieve returns similar to the outputs shown herein. References to future returns for either asset allocation strategies or asset classes are not promises of actual returns a client portfolio may achieve. Because of the inherent limitations of all models, potential investors should not rely exclusively on the model when making a decision. The model cannot account for the impact that economic, market, and other factors may have on the implementation and ongoing management of an actual investment portfolio. Unlike actual portfolio outcomes, the model outcomes do not reflect actual trading, liquidity constraints, fees, expenses, taxes and other factors that could impact the future returns. The model assumptions are passive only – they do not consider the impact of active management. A manager’s ability to achieve similar outcomes is subject to risk factors over which the manager may have no or limited control.
The views contained herein are not to be taken as advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any investment in any jurisdiction, nor is it a commitment from J.P. Morgan Asset Management or any of its subsidiaries to participate in any of the transactions mentioned herein. Any forecasts, figures, opinions or investment techniques and strategies set out are for information purposes only, based on certain assumptions and current market conditions and are subject to change without prior notice. All information presented herein is considered to be accurate at the time of production. This material does not contain sufficient information to support an investment decision and it should not be relied upon by you in evaluating the merits of investing in any securities or products. In addition, users should make an independent assessment of the legal, regulatory, tax, credit and accounting implications and determine, together with their own financial professional, if any investment mentioned herein is believed to be appropriate to their personal goals. Investors should ensure that they obtain all available relevant information before making any investment. It should be noted that investment involves risks, the value of investments and the income from them may fluctuate in accordance with market conditions and taxation agreements and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Both past performance and yield are not a reliable indicator of current and future results.
Important Information
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