Axa IM launches Asia short duration fund
Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) has announced the launch of its new Axa Asian Short Duration Bonds fund aimed at giving investors exposure to Asian markets.
The fund is the latest addition to Axa IM’s fixed income short duration range, which includes six strategies totalling over €23bn in assets under management as of March 2015. The fund pursues an unconstrained total return approach focusing selectively on high yield and investment grade credits with a short duration.
Commenting on the launch Jim Veneau, head of Fixed Income Asia at Axa IM and lead manager on the Fund says: “Unlike credit strategies that are benchmark-driven, our investment approach for Axa WF Asian Short Duration Bonds has a total return approach focusing on attractive yields, while keeping duration short and lowering volatility through the market cycle.”
“The Asian credit market has grown spectacularly in the past decade and Asian credit was one of the better performers in 2014. This creates exciting investment opportunities particularly when approached with a short duration strategy, which is less sensitive to interest rate and credit spread changes” he adds.
Supporting Jim Veneau is a strong team of four Hong Kong-based professionals with a combined experience of over 50 years managing fixed income.
The Fund has both retail and institutional share classes and is currently registered for distribution in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy (institutional), Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. Axa IM is currently seeking registration in other markets including Hong Kong, subject to regulatory approval.
