As a fixed income portfolio manager at a large investment firm, you are tasked with developing a strategy to navigate a recent steepening of the yield curve, which is characterized by long-term rates increasing relative to short-term rates. This change in the yield curve presents both risks and opportunities for the portfolio that currently has a duration mismatch, with significant exposure to intermediate-term securities. Your firm has a mandate to outperform the benchmark over a three-year horizon while managing downside risk.
Which yield curve strategy should you implement to best position the portfolio for the upcoming economic conditions?