Core Plus Fixed Income Strategy
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Core Plus Fixed Income Strategy |
Core Plus Fixed Income Strategy
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The team believes that markets can be inefficient and by performing rigorous analysis the team can position portfolios appropriately to add value over time. Bond prices reflect market forecasts for a variety of factors, such as economic growth, inflation, monetary policy, credit risk, and prepayment risk; yet markets tend to be poor forecasters of future events, especially when the implied market forecasts are out of line relative to historic trends. The team seeks to identify these mispricings and position client portfolios to exploit the value inherent in these opportunities.
The team believes that successful portfolio management depends on four factors:
CUSTOMIZATION |
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Right-Sized |
As a nimble, midsize manager with a collaborative structure based on small teams of sector specialists, we are able to confidently implement differentiated investment themes across portfolios. |
Extensive Resources of a Global Firm |
Our culture of collaboration across fixed income teams in New York, London, Singapore and Tokyo enables us to take a truly global approach in identifying opportunities to capture returns in major markets worldwide. |
Intensive Risk Management |
We have been investing in fixed income assets since 1975 and have developed an intensive risk management framework that includes daily monitoring to ensure compliance with guidelines and to quantify portfolio risk exposures. At the firm level, our risk management team operates independently of business functions, which we believe provides us with a critical system of checks and balances. |
1 | Macro Analysis: |
The team seeks to determine what themes are driving asset prices across rates, countries and currencies and to evaluate the investment opportunity set based on a thematic investment thesis. The top-down process uses a combination of fundamental and quantitative analysis to identify and evaluate these investment opportunities. |
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2 | Asset Allocation: |
The Asset Allocation team is led by Michael Kushma, the CIO of the Global Fixed Income team and is comprised of the heads of each research group. The team seeks to first, identify areas where implied market forecasts are out of line relative to historic trends and second, to identify the catalyst for the market to adjust. Internal debate is a key feature of our investing philosophy, ensuring investment ideas are tested thoroughly. The team debates relative value across sectors and determine broad strategy targets. |
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3 | Research: |
The team's approach to fixed income investing uses a disciplined investment process and a commitment to research. Research is conducted by dedicated teams specializing in a particular niche of the fixed income market. The research teams use in-depth fundamental analysis, complemented by quantitative tools, to generate bottom-up investment ideas and are responsible for security selection. |
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4 | Portfolio Construction and Risk Management: |
Portfolio managers are responsible for implementing the investment strategies. They work to construct each portfolio in a way that conforms to individual client/strategy guidelines and objectives, while staying true to the broad strategy targets that are set by the Asset Allocation team. The portfolio managers achieve these targets by working with the research analysts to fill the sector buckets with bottom-up security selection ideas. The team views risk management as an integral part of our investment process. Based on this belief, they seek to protect their portfolios from a variety of risks through diversification, credit risk protection, and liquidity with the goal that no single risk dominates the portfolio. |
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5 | Trading: |
All fixed income trades are executed by centralized Global Fixed Income trading desk. Central dealing segregates the trading function away from the decision making process, and allows the portfolio managers to focus on managing the portfolio. This procedural separation helps ensure that all accounts are structured according to the parameters established by the team. |
Effective October 31, 2022, Jim Caron no longer serves as Portfolio Manager. Effective December 1, 2023, Vishal Khanduja, and Brian Ellis were added as Portfolio Managers on the Strategy, and Neil Stone, Greg Finck, and Joseph Mehlman are no longer serving as Portfolio Managers.