His thoughts come in light of a recent FE Trustnet poll which asked readers whether there is any point in holding a bond fund in the current environment.
Although the majority of 1,041 voters said there is a case for holding a fixed income fund, 41 per cent said there is not.
Parsons, who is head of investment research at the company, says that the number of disillusioned bond investors is a lot higher than he anticipated but he believes they are grossly missing the point of fixed income. "I would say it is a higher percentage than what I would have expected," he said.
"Those who said 'yes' on the poll are advocating – quite correctly – the need for a well-structured and diverse portfolio of holdings."
"There is no doubt that there are some concerns surrounding the bond market."
After a multi-decade bull market in fixed income, many industry experts have highlighted the systemic risks within the bond universe.
Many have argued that bonds could be the location of the next bubble as investors have piled into the asset class for perceived safety.
Huge levels of quantitative easing from the world’s central banks have pushed yields on developed government bonds to historically low levels, and many experts believe they cannot remain so low for much longer.
FE Alpha Manager Iain Stewart said the current market is the most dangerous he has witnessed in his career.
FE Alpha Manager Bill McQuaker is also wary. He thinks any deviation in interest rates would see investors lose money.
Despite these headwinds, Parsons (pictured) says investors should not forget the need to hold an uncorrelated portfolio.
"For me it is all about the type of bond manager you choose to hold. We are big proponents of using strategic bond funds to get exposure to the debt spectrum," he said. "We know that traditionally as an asset class, bonds are less risky than equities. But I think that investors need to take a step back and appreciate what debt is used for."
"It is for the coupon-clipping – the income – that’s what they are used for."
"However, investors were basically spoiled because there has been an unprecedented level of capital appreciation in the bond market – that is not the norm," he said.
"Bonds were traditionally used to help an investor’s income stream."
"Yes I am slightly surprised that so many don’t see the point in holding a bond fund and I can appreciate they may be reducing their exposure, but I would always advocate holding fixed income."
The drawbacks of certain fixed income sectors have been well-publicised in recent months.
Advisers have highlighted the benefits of holding strategic bond funds as it means investors do not have to individually allocate their bond exposure.
However, FE Alpha Manager Richard Hodges has expressed concern that there are too many high yield or long duration bond funds that masquerade as strategic bond funds and so are putting investors at risk.
Parsons is a fan of Hodges’ L&G Dynamic Bond fund due to the manager’s flexible mandate.
He agrees that investors should take care when choosing a strategic bond fund.
"We like Dickie Hodges and we have a lot of time for his style," he said.
"When looking at strategic bonds, people need to look at the past performance and see how the manager managed money during the global financial crash and the risk-on/risk-off phase in markets."
"Yes, managers can use high yield but you have to make sure they are not overly reliant on it."
"Is the fund using derivatives to protect its investors? We like managers that use a huge degree of flexibility," he said.
The £1.7bn L&G Dynamic Bond fund is the best performer in the IMA Sterling Strategic Bond sector over five years, with returns of 75.02 per cent.
Performance of fund vs sector over 5yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Hodges’ portfolio contains a diverse range of sovereign debt, corporate credit, high yield and short positions.
The fund has a yield of 4.4 per cent, an ongoing charges figure (OCF) of 1.42 per cent and requires a minimum investment of £500.
Parsons says investors do not have to rely solely on strategic bonds for their debt exposure.
He says Investec Emerging Markets Local Currency Debt would be a good choice for someone who wants to be a bit more adventurous.
"One of the funds we like, which is slightly higher up the risk spectrum, is the Investec Emerging Markets Local Currency Debt fund."
"You can get more bog-standard global bond funds, but generally investors tend to have a high exposure to the UK."
"They could hold a fund like this to diversify, as it is something a little bit different."
"The main thing about his [manager Peter Eerdmans'] funds is they invest in sovereign debt. It is important because the majority of the emerging economies are far better capitalised than their developed counterparts," he added.
Investec Emerging Markets Local Currency Debt has a yield of 5.84 per cent.
Since its launch in June 2006 it has returned 149.78 per cent, while the IMA Global Bonds sector has made 65.79 per cent.
Performance of fund vs sector since June 2006
Source: FE Analytics
The £2.2bn fund holds sovereign bonds issued by Brazil, Malaysia, Poland, Turkey and South Africa within its top-10.
Investec Emerging Markets Local Currency Debt requires a minimum investment of £1,000 and has an OCF of 1.70 per cent.
Both the management teams of the Henderson Multi Asset range and the Jupiter Merlin portfolios have turned to commercial property recently due to concerns about the fixed income market.
Parsons says investors should hold property, but prefers listed property funds.
"We have always been strong proponents of diversifying across asset classes and geographies, and that includes holding property," he said.
"A lot of these property funds have good yields and can deliver a regular income stream. However, investors must understand the difference between a bricks-and-mortar fund and a REIT [real estate investment trust]."
"You could get a fund that has a very high correlation to the equities," he said.
"Again, investors need to appreciate what asset classes have done in the past."
"Investors got carried away with property up to the financial crash and the asset class saw a lot of capital appreciation. However, property is useful as it is always good for income."