Motif Investing, a US, California-based online broker specialising in theme-based stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) baskets, has expanded its product offering by introducing 10 new fixed-income baskets (or ‘motifs’, as the company calls them) containing bond ETFs tied to certain macro-economic trends.

Motif Investing, an US-based online broker,  has introduced a suite of theme-based fixed income ETF baskets.

“In today’s volatile markets, investors are increasing their allocation to fixed income,” said Hardeep Walia, Motif’s chief executive. “We now offer customers a chance to invest in ‘motifs’ based on bond ETFs in the same, intuitive way they invest in equity-based ‘motifs’ tracking real-world trends.”

Motif’s fixed income ETF baskets are created in the same way as stock baskets are built: the company’s investment team searches for real-world ideas, themes and trends that can be turned into ready-made investment portfolios.

Within equities, baskets are built around wide-ranging, everyday concepts like junk foods, electronic payments, income inequality or balance-sheet strength. The new fixed income ETF baskets track more fundamental economic topics, including inflation, deflation, and AMT (alternative minimum tax).

The inflation basket, for example, includes bond ETFs that hold TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) and similar foreign government-issued bonds designed to hedge against inflation; the American bonds basket includes US government and corporate bond ETFs that provide a safe haven against stock market volatility, while the AMT-Free Munis basket is designed to help investors subject to the alternative minimum tax capture some tax-free interest income by holding ETFs containing AMT-Free municipal bonds.