While managers Teresa Kong (pictured) and Satya Patel’s primary target is the US dollar-denominated high-yield space, the fund’s remit also extends to convertibles, local currency bonds, asset-backed securities, warrants and equities.
Explaining the decision to launch the Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS, Matthews Asia cited investor demand for wider-ranging sources of income as the crop of yielding opporunities becomes increasingly sparse.
A statement from the firm said: “Asia has a large and liquid corporate bond market and, as a relatively under-researched asset class, it provides opporunities to potentially benefit not only from attractive levels of yield, but also capital appreciation.”
“Asia credit provides a compelling investment solution,” added Kong. “Historically, it has generated higher return than US, euro and Latin American high-yield bonds with similar or lower volatility. This strategy will appeal to investors seeking a lower risk profile than our equity strategies, yet are comfortable with the risks associated with sub-investment grade debt.”
