Russians have invested a record amount of funds in bonds amid lower interest rates

In April 2026, Russian investors invested a record amount of money in bond funds (since 1998). The net inflow (the difference between investments and withdrawals) exceeded 120 billion rubles. The relevant information follows from the InvestFunds data provided by RBC on May 5.

The previous maximum was recorded in July 2025, when, after the first reduction in the key rate in three years, investors sent 118.5 billion rubles to bond funds. Thus, the April result updated the historical record.

Since the beginning of 2026, interest in debt instruments has remained steady. At the end of four months, the total net inflow to bond funds amounted to 273.5 billion rubles, almost half of the volume for the whole of 2025, when the figure reached 549.3 billion rubles.

Experts attribute the continued demand to the continuation of the monetary policy easing cycle of the Bank of Russia. Since the beginning of the year, the key rate has decreased from 16% to 14.5% per annum, which has increased expectations of an increase in the value of bonds and fixed yields.

An additional factor was the flow of funds from deposits. After a period of high interest rates, investors began to look for instruments with comparable returns but greater potential flexibility. As a result, bond funds have become one of the main areas of capital allocation.

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Against this background, equity funds continue to lose funds. In January–April 2026, the net outflow from them amounted to 5.7 billion rubles, continuing the trend of 2025, when investors withdrew more than 39 billion rubles from this segment. At the same time, there remains a high interest in money market funds, which are often considered as an alternative to deposits. In the first four months of 2026, the inflow to them amounted to 229.4 billion rubles.

In terms of yields, 2025 was a particularly successful year for bonds. Investment-grade corporate securities showed returns of more than 30% per annum, outstripping gold and bank deposits, while the Moscow Exchange index added less than 3%.

Analysts note that the current demand for bonds is due not only to lower interest rates, but also to behavioral factors. Investors are seeking to consolidate profitability against the background of expectations of further easing of the DKP, and also use funds as a simpler and more diversified instrument of entry into the debt market. At the same time, the effect of "catching up demand" remains in the market: some private investors enter bonds after a steady trend has formed, increasing capital inflows.

Experts also note a narrowing gap between bond yields and bank deposits. With a comparable level of risk, debt instruments today offer higher returns, which further stimulates the flow of funds.

As a result, bonds continue to be a key instrument of private investors, while interest in stocks remains subdued, despite talk of their potential undervaluation.

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On the same day, experts told Izvestia that almost 25% of the bond market was in danger of default. Against the background of expensive loans and VAT increases, companies are increasingly unable to cope with debts, and investors risk not receiving income on securities this year. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, 11 technical defaults occurred (some of which outgrew full-fledged ones), which is half the figure for the entire last year. The most vulnerable issuers are from fuel retail, logistics, and development.