Nomura Asset Management has marked the tenth anniversary of the Nomura US High Yield Bond Fund, which has returned 201.3 per cent since launch, outperforming its benchmark, the BofAML US High Yield Constrained Index, by 11.8 per cent.
Managed by Steve Kotsen at Nomura Corporate Research and Asset Management (NCRAM), the fund has generated outperformance using a total return strategy driven by strong credit research and a cohesive team effort.
Peter Ball, Managing Director at Nomura Asset Management UK, says: “We launched our Ireland domiciled US High Yield Bond Fund in March 2009 in response to demand from our institutional investors and on the back of stellar long term performance results that NCRAM had delivered since the strategy’s launch in 1991. It is worth noting that 2018 was a challenging year for US High Yield Bond managers, with net outlflows according to Morningstar of USD13.6 billion. Nomura’s fund by comparison experienced only marginal outflows and increased its market share over the year – testament we believe to the quality of our investment and client relationship proposition.”
David Crall, NCRAM CIO, says: “For over 10 years we have served our UCITS clients through a wide variety of market environments. Overall, our investment process has been able to drive strong investment performance, and we believe that will remain the case for many years to come.”
Stephen Kotsen, NCRAM Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, adds: “Our approach is collaborative, with ideas generated by the whole team. Our high yield analysts are organised on a sector basis and focus on credit fundamentals and valuations. Trading is proactive to maintain liquidity at all points in the credit cycle and as a source of additional alpha. We actively manage the overall exposure and risk posture of the fund.”
“So far in 2019, the high yield market has had a significant rally and we have seen net inflows of USD695 million already this year in the fund. We believe the macro backdrop is supportive of US high yield assets as US economic strength holds up against a backdrop of slowing global growth. Rate risk, a headwind for high yield for most of 2018, has been subdued given the new dovish Fed posture.”
