Using a comprehensive data set and an array of 27 macroeconomic, stock and bond predictors, we find that corporate bond returns are highly predictable based on an iterated combination model. The large set of predictors outperforms traditional predictors substantially, and predictability...

This paper finds positive evidence of return predictability and investment gains for individual corporate bonds for an extended period from 1973 to 2017. Our sample consists of both public and private company bond observations. We have implemented multiple machine learning methods and designed a...