Bonds Captivate $16 Trillion of Pensions Seen Selling Stocks

Bond buyers stung by the first losses in more than a decade can look to pension funds from companies such as Ford Motor Co. for a measure of redemption.

Ford’s $64 billion pension is piling into bonds to reduce risk and lock in higher interest rates after a surge in yields and the biggest stock gain since 1997 sliced its funding shortfall by about half. The second-largest American automaker, which boosted debt investments to about 70 percent of its U.S. plan assets last year from 55 percent in 2012, is now looking to boost that allocation to 80 percent.