Schroders has launched the International Selecting Fund (ISF) Euro High Yield, completing its ISF high yield product range.
Schroders has launched the International Selecting Fund (ISF) Euro High Yield, completing its ISF high yield product range.
The new fund will be benchmarked against the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Euro High Yield Constrained index, investing at least 70% of the portfolio in bonds rated below investment grade, mainly from European issuers.
The new product, launched on November 14, will be managed by Konstantin Leidman, who currently manages the euro high yield component of the Schroder ISF Global High Yield fund.
Liedman joined the firm in August from UBS Global Asset Management, where he also managed the euro high yield fund and achieved top quartile performance over five years.
Patrick Vogel, head of European credit, said: “Given the success of Schroder ISF Global High Yield, we are keen to add a euro high yield fund to our existing product range. We are confident that [it] will allow us to meet current investor demand for products in this asset class.”
In Leidman’s view, the European debt crisis is providing numerous opportunities for active investors in European high yield bonds.
He says: “This market has grown considerably over the last decade, and we expect this trend to continue with further growth as a result of bank deleveraging and downgrades of countries in peripheral Europe.
“In the low rate environment there is a strong case for an asset class that provides attractive risk-adjusted returns with a strong income generation component.”
Other recent launched in the ISF range include the ISF RMB Fixed Income, which has been on offer since the end of November.
This new strategy gives offshore investors access to China’s fixed income market in the local currency. The launch follows the success of the Hong Kong domiciled RMB Fixed Income fund, the firm said.
