Columbia Threadneedle has converted its CT (Lux) European Strategic Bond fund into the new CT (Lux) European Corporate Bond Plus fund, to deliver a combination of income and capital appreciation in Europe.
The strategy will focus primarily on high-quality European corporate bonds, issued by European companies or businesses with significant European operations, with the flexibility to invest roughly 30% in high yield where the opportunity set is attractive.
Managed by Christopher Hult (pictured), the strategy aims to deliver alpha through bottom-up security selection and dynamic allocation between investment grade and high yield. It will be measured against the iBoxx Euro Corporate Bond index and is classified as an Article 8 SFDR fund.
Commenting on the launch, Hult said: “Investors continue to find the all-in yield available in European corporate bonds attractive, while tighter credit spreads mean that rigorous credit research and disciplined portfolio construction are becoming increasingly important.
“By combining deep fundamental research with the flexibility to allocate between investment-grade and high-yield bonds, we believe we can provide investors with a differentiated source of returns while maintaining a strong focus on risk management.”
