Wall Street Banks warn of coming Recession

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23. all things being equal, bonds may be safer than equities; but, not all things are equal.

if you have bonds from a highly rated company in a robust or "recession-proof" industry, that's probably still safe.

but a lot of the corporate borrowing recently has been in the consumer discretionary, energy, and utility sectors. these industries are vulnerable during a recession.

what he's really saying is that you should try to get away from these vulnerable industries and into safer industries.

if you move funds from a highly diversified bond fund into a highly diversified equity fund, you'll likely achieve this simply because of the mix of industries in the bond market vs. the mix of industries in the equity markets.

it's simple, bite-sized advice. a more complete answer would explain that it's really about sector allocation rather than bonds vs. equities.