Owners of Negative-Yield Sovereign Debt Say They’re No Fools

Mike Amey never thought he’d buy bonds from countries like Germany and Switzerland when losses were all but guaranteed.

Then again, these are hardly normal times in the bond market. Europe faces a prolonged bout of deflation and signs abound that global growth is weakening as oil plummets. Some clients are more willing than ever to lose a little money in return for the security of government debt, said Amey, a London-based fund manager at Pacific Investment Management Co.