Bond-Picking Investors Follow the Workers

Labor shortages and supply-chain disruptions have become make-or-break factors for some investors weighing bets on corporate debt.

Tom Murphy, portfolio manager and head of global investment-grade credit at Columbia Threadneedle, said the asset manager is placing companies in two buckets: those that can offset increased wages, bottlenecks and shortages with higher prices, and those that can’t without losing business. That has him avoiding packaged-goods makers and department stores.