The best way to short gilts

Economic recovery spells falling government bond - or 'gilt' - yields as investors are prepared to take greater risks again. But how do you short a falling gilt yield? Tim Bennett explains.

How much lower can government bond yields go? Not much, warn some heavyweight fund managers. Yields could soon rise sharply, sending prices tumbling. Are they right and what should you do?

Earlier this month, the yield on ten-year British government gilts fell to 1.9%, the lowest level for 300 years. Why? Investors have sought the relative safety of Western government bond markets since the financial crisis began. In theory, any government can go bust, but Western ones hold some ace cards.

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Tim graduated with a history degree from Cambridge University in 1989 and, after a year of travelling, joined the financial services firm Ernst and Young in 1990, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1994.

He then moved into financial markets training, designing and running a variety of courses at graduate level and beyond for a range of organisations including the Securities and Investment Institute and UBS. He joined MoneyWeek in 2007.