The amount of government debt trading at negative yields has increased significantly since the beginning of the year. Pension funds are therefore forced to search for higher yields and, almost by definition, they move their funds to more risky investment categories and jurisdictions.
This is all the more relevant as it is hard to determine ex ante whether an institution is illiquid or insolvent. By the same token, another unconventional policy comes with risks attached, too. I am talking about the large-scale purchases of sovereign debt which have been deployed by many central banks in response to the crisis.