Many novice investors believe the equity market is the economy. However, the bond market is where to look when searching for clues regarding the health of the broader economy. On that note, advisors and investors may want to consider extending a careful look to the Neuberger Berman Flexible Credit Income ETF (NBFC) as a 2026 fixed income idea. After all, it’s often said that credit leads equity. Fortunately, there’s evidence credit is on solid footing entering 2026, as highlighted by NBFC’s 2025 gain of 9%.
Add to that, consider the current state of credit spreads — the added compensation offered by corporate debt relative to Treasuries. They indicate the world’s largest economy is on solid footing. Said another way, spreads are tight. That’s pertinent in discussing NBFC, because as an actively managed ETF, the fund can more nimbly respond to spread-related opportunities.
NBFC Can Win Again in 2026
One of the clues to glean from tight credit spreads could augur well for ETFs like NBFC: low default rate expectations. That’s undoubtedly a good sign when it comes to investing in corporate debt. It’s also material in discussing NBFC, because the ETF devotes some of its roster to non-investment grade bonds.
“Meanwhile, corporate bond yields have been sending signals of their own — about interest rates, yes, but also about where the economy is headed,” reported Marketplace.org. “Corporate bonds are generally considered to be riskier than government bonds, since companies are more likely to run into trouble and default than the U.S. government.”
The low spreads seen this year in the corporate bond market have facilitated upside for ETFs such as NBFC. More of the same could be in store in 2026.
“In fact, spreads have been fairly low for most of this year. In other words, investors aren’t demanding much extra compensation from companies,” according to Marketplace.org. “It’s a sign that investors think economic growth will stay strong and that companies will be in a good position to pay back their debt, according to John Canavan, lead market analyst at Oxford Economics.”
While investors aren’t overly demanding when it comes to the yields they’re expecting from corporate debt, that doesn’t mean NBFC lacks appeal on that front. The opposite is true, as highlighted by the ETF’s stout 30-day SEC yield of 6.37%. That says investors can have their income cake and eat it too while embracing a portfolio with guardrails against default risk.
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