Seeded in the US just last month, the tactically-managed “go anywhere” strategy invests across global investment grade and high yield corporate bonds and bank loans, and has an objective to target capital protection in weak markets.
The focus is on bottom-up fundamental analysis with an emphasis on financial creditworthiness.
Founder and chairman George Muzinich said: “Our clients want to invest in the US, Europe, short duration, bank loans and get the relevant timing right. It’s more of an absolute return type strategy and we can do the diversification for them – it’s a broader vehicle.”
He added: “What we are doing is straightforward. We are not involved in complex derivatives and we have to be concerned about inflation.
“I’m not against, equities, commodities or real estate – they all have their pros and cons – but a lot of people still have money sitting in bank accounts not knowing what to do and that’s a pity because it is losing value daily because of inflation. Over the past few business cycles we have managed to keep value with just one down year in the US in 2008.”
EM thinking
With the growth of emerging market corporate debt as a valid asset class in recent years, Muzinich has not ruled out launching a dedicated vehicle to take advantage of opportunities in this area.
He explained: “Our role is to look at corporate credit as prudently and as carefully as possible and understand risk, and we don’t want to limit ourselves to ‘x’ or ‘y’ jurisdiction. Poland is still considered an emerging market, say, and the Czech Republic and you cannot eliminate such an important part of the world from your thinking.”
“We will be putting more emerging market credit in to portfolios that allow it. But people know us as competent and trust worthy people that prudently invest in corporate credit. And we will give them the choice whether they want to invest in Europe, in the US, and in the emerging market space; whether they want shorter duration, more standard duration, but it’s all in corporate credit.”
