For private equity players, the defensive nature of consumer healthcare and its steady cashflows make it a favored investment sector.

The weak state of China's real-estate market, once a favored investment, has helped divert more funds toward the perceived safety of bonds.

Consumer healthcare is a favored investment sector for private equity players, who like the defensive nature of a business that has stable cash flows.

They favored investment-grade bonds in July, increasing their holdings of this class to 27.9 percent of global bond portfolios, the highest since September 2013.