Pimco, one of the world’s biggest bond managers, is pushing ahead with its bid to redesign the way people invest in fixed-income – as the European sovereign debt crisis throws deep-seated problems with the traditional methods into sharp relief.

Pimco thinks investors should stop buying bonds in line with the traditional market indices, such as the Barclays Capital Global Aggregate index. Instead, it has launched its own indices, in conjunction with financial data-provider Markit, which are put together in way that is meant to be more representative of the world's economy.