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ESG Policy International Version
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December 08th 2022 - Take advantage of the historic rise in Investment Grade bond yields
Launch of Defensive Bond Opp. 2026 Fund
The 10th fixed-maturity fund at Anaxis AM
Anaxis AM is launching Defensive Bond Opp. 2026, a new bond fund maturing on 31 December 2026. We are strengthening our fixed-maturity bond offer with this new UCITS fund, our 10th of its kind, after more than 10 years as a pioneer in the segment. This new fund invests in corporate bonds with an average rating of Investment Grade and a maturity date close to 2026.
Historically attractive yields
As central banks continue to raise interest rates, the Investment Grade segment has once again become attractive to investors, offering historically strong yields. The yield in EUR of the fund ranges between 4.5% and 5%, which provides real protection from inflation (real yield expected at around 2%, taking into account inflation over the lifetime of the fund).
The short end of the yield curve (between 3 and 5 years) offers the most opportunities, which is why we selected 2026 as the ideal fund maturity. Investors have little advantage in taking the risk of a longer duration. Technical factors support the market, with significant inflows into the asset class since June 2022, following the major outflows at the start of the year.
Fixed-maturity funds, excellent for visibility
The strategy of fixed-maturity funds brings together investors with the same horizon, allowing them to invest in bonds with similar maturities. This provides very good visibility and a pull to par effect, which reduces volatility as the bond approaches maturity.
Performance is traditionally created by carry and coupons, to which is added a very attractive return to par prospect in the current environment (average price of bonds in the target portfolio: 86.75%). The fund selects only corporate bonds, largely in non-cyclical sectors, and does not invest in the financial sector or in hybrid instruments.
Advantages of the fund for investors
An attractive investment solution: Defensive Bond Opp. 2026 invests in bonds that we consider to represent the best opportunities on the Investment Grade market segment, a credit quality that is offering historically attractive yields in the current environment (4.52% in EUR in the target portfolio as of 30/11/2022).
A robust solution: Defensive Bond Opp. 2026 does not invest in the financial or energy sectors and favours non-cyclical sectors. Investments are made based on a meticulous fundamental analysis of issuers.
A trustworthy asset manager: At Anaxis AM, we have been offering robust investment solutions to our clients for more than 10 years. Risk management is central to our approach and we focus on transparency and close relationships with our investors.
A team of experts: Anaxis AM has a team of five specialists in corporate bonds.
Key figures of the target portfolio
(30 November 2022)
Average yield (EUR)*: 4.52%
Average yield (USD)*: 7.51%
Average yield (CHF)*: 3.03%
Duration (years): 3.95
Number of issuers: 64
Average bond price: 86.74
*Institutional classes, gross yield
November 22nd 2022 - Webinar / Take advantage of the historic rise in yields on Investment Grade bonds
Anaxis AM is pleased to invite you to its Live Webinar:
Take advantage of the historic rise in yields on Investment Grade bonds
Launch of our Defensive Bond Opp. 2026 fund
Thursday 1 December 2022 at 11:00 AM
Founding partner Jean-Julien Goettmann, along with Anaxis AM portfolio managers Thibault Destrés and Maximilien Vedie, will present the defensive approach of this IG fund and highlight the reasons to invest in it, in a context of historically attractive yields in this segment.
A historic rise in yields
Aggressive central bank monetary policies and widespread risk aversion have led to a historic rise in bond yields, including in the Investment Grade segment. IG yields have risen from 0.25% for a 3-year period on 31 December 2021 to 4% for the same period on 30 September 2022, an increase of 375 bps.
Defensive Bond Opp. 2026 fund strategy
- Investment universe composed of bonds with principal repayment around 31 December 2026 (fixed-term maturity fund).
- High quality corporate bonds (average rating: Investment Grade).
- Management based primarily on in-depth fundamental analysis of each issuer and active monitoring of each position.
- A strict sector exclusion policy for responsible management and risk reduction.
Anaxis, pioneer and leader in fixed-term maturity funds
- History of 15+ years of performing and resilient investment solutions.
- 5 people team dedicated to corporate bonds.
- Pioneer in fixed-maturity funds and firm believer in the advantages of these funds.
November 14th 2022 - Anaxis Asset Management strengthens its team and presence in France
Scott Kiman has joined Anaxis as Institutional Client Manager. Based in Paris, he will contribute to the reinforcement of client coverage within the region as well as the brand itself.
A graduate of Paris Dauphine-PSL University and CFA charterholder, Scott began his career in 2009 as an assistant trader at Société Générale CIB. He then joined NYSE Euronext, where he was notably involved in the design of the BondMatch bond platform. While at Euronext, he became key account manager and developed a client portfolio including Amundi, Axa and BNP Paribas. He then moved into wealth management advisory with Alveo Conseil and was subsequently hired as sales manager by UK broker IG. Scott has over 10 years' experience in business development and an in-depth knowledge of financial markets.
This recruitment is part of an overall effort by Anaxis Asset Management to step up its presence in France and offer investment solutions that are even more closely tailored to the needs of its clients. Anaxis seeks to build a better world through responsible and robust management. Its management team specialises in the fundamental analysis of companies - expertise that Anaxis applies to its corporate bond portfolios in particular through a variety of strategies. Anaxis clients are exclusively investment professionals (private banks, family offices, institutions and multi-managers).
Jean-Julien Goettmann, founding partner of Anaxis, is delighted with the arrival of this new hire: "With his in-depth knowledge of the financial markets and his human qualities, Scott is an asset to our French sales team. In an exceptionally volatile bond market environment, Scott is able to listen to and support our clients in order to take advantage of opportunities and allocate their bond portfolio in an optimum manner."
October 03rd 2022 - Intragroup Merger - BNP Paribas Securities Services and BNP Paribas
September 27th 2022 - Anaxis Short Duration has received an MSCI ESG rating of "A"
Our Anaxis Short Duration fund has recently received an MSCI "A" rating for its ESG performance (link to MSCI). 15% of the bonds held in the portfolio have an MSCI rating of "AA" or "AAA".
The fund does not have any exposure to companies that have been flagged by MSCI for having violated ethical standards. Anaxis Short Duration also holds "Article 9" classification, as do most of the funds in the Anaxis range of bond funds.
This is testament to the global commitment of Anaxis to sustainable development aspects, which is reflected by a strict exclusion policy as well as proprietary analysis focusing on ethical issues for all portfolio positions (link to our ESG policy).
September 26th 2022 - Anaxis Webinar / Bonds markets: what solutions to increase visibility?
Bonds markets: what solutions to increase visibility?
Thursday 6 October 2022 at 11:00 AM
Founding partner Jean-Julien Goettmann along with Anaxis AM portfolio managers Thibault Destrés and Maximilien Vedie will present the prudent approach of fixed-maturity funds and highlight the reasons to invest in them during this period of great uncertainty.
An uncertain environment
Inflation climbed to new highs in the last few months in a number of countries, against the backdrop of the energy crisis. Sovereign debt markets have plummeted, with German government bonds losing up to 5% in August. Economic forecasts are gloomier and geopolitical tensions have heightened as a result of the war in Ukraine and the Taiwan question. Within this climate of uncertainty, corporate credit has also declined significantly in 2022, and a recurring issue for investors has been how to navigate through today's bond markets.
Fixed-maturity funds: ideal in terms of visibility
Since our first fixed-maturity fund was launched in 2010, our funds in this range offer bond-market solutions to investors that allow for visibility and peace of mind whilst also offering an attractive return. These funds bring together investors with the same horizon and select bonds with similar maturities according to a buy & hold strategy. The yields offered by these funds are at a historically high level in the current environment.
Article 9 funds
Our fixed-maturity funds invest in the bond markets in a responsible and ethical manner. The management uses strict sectoral exclusion criteria as well as a detailed ESG analysis of bonds potentially eligible for inclusion in portfolios, in particular with reference to carbon emissions.
Webinar Anaxis 6 October
September 21st 2022 - Anaxis ranked among the three most virtuous management companies in terms of oil and gas
Anaxis has been ranked 3rd out of 369 financial companies analysed by Reclaim Finance (link to the ranking). The association examined investment or financing policies that could be liable to support new projects exploiting fossil fuels. Anaxis is one of the companies that is more attuned to this particularly sensitive issue. The Reclaim Finance classification is testament to the commitment of Anaxis to a better future.
Reclaim Finance highlighted that Anaxis adopted an oil and gas exclusion policy in 2021, which was strengthened in 2022. This is one of the best practices amongst French investors, in particular due to its focus on unconventional projects (such as fracking, shale gas and deepwater drilling). Anaxis excludes any companies that have plans to expand into these controversial areas, which account for a significant share of fossil fuels currently being exploited.
Only three management companies in France, including Anaxis, have adopted policies that are deemed to be robust in relation to the four types of unconventional exploitation monitored by the association. For example, our exclusion policy also covers transportation or distribution services for fuels extracted using controversial techniques or in fragile regions such as the Arctic.
September 20th 2022 - Anaxis is part of the most ambitious global climate statement from investors to governments
May 13th 2022 - Anaxis Webinar: Short duration credit, an ideal positioning in an inflationary environment
Short duration credit, an ideal positioning in an inflationary environment
Thursday 2 June 2022 at 11:00 AM
Jean-Julien Goettmann, founding partner, and Thibault Destrés and Maximilien Vedie, portfolio managers at Anaxis AM, will present the unique approach of the fund and highlight the reasons to invest in it in the current inflationary environment.
An inflationary environment
Stimulus programmes introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, shortages, logistical problems and soaring commodity prices exacerbated by the war in Ukraine have all contributed to the current level of inflation. In this context of monetary tightening, needed to combat this inflation, the rise in interest rates is brutal for a fixed income universe whose duration has gradually increased in recent years.
Short duration as protection
Since its inception in 2012, our Anaxis Short Duration fund has sought to provide a fixed income solution that goes against this trend, based on the conviction that a short duration approach with a focus on corporate bonds offers one of the best risk-return combinations. The performances of short-term corporate credit have been decorrelated from interest rate markets over the last 10 years.
An 'Article 9' fund
The fund approaches the bond market with responsibility and ethics. The management uses strict sector exclusion criteria, as well as a detailed ESG analysis of the securities likely to be included in the portfolio, particularly in terms of carbon emissions.
April 22nd 2022 - Short duration credit, an ideal positioning in an inflationary environment
As we enter a new era of monetary tightening, needed to combat constantly increasing inflation, financial markets are suffering. The fiscal and monetary stimulus programmes introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, shortages, logistical problems and soaring commodity prices exacerbated by the war in Ukraine have all contributed to the current level of inflation: on average 7.5% in Europe and 8.5% in the United States. In addition, there are other factors leading investors to believe that inflation is structural rather than transitory: the need to relocate to better control supply (semi-conductors, energy, etc.), energy transition, the end of fiscal austerity with governments spending more and, lastly, the shift by China from an export-based model to an economy more focused on domestic growth.
Against this backdrop, the rise in interest rates is brutal for a fixed income universe whose duration has gradually increased in recent years.
Since its inception in 2012, our Anaxis Short Duration fund has sought to provide a fixed income solution that goes against this trend, based on the conviction that a short duration approach with a focus on corporate bonds offers one of the best risk-return combinations.
These are the main arguments in favour of our Anaxis Short Duration fund in the light of all these elements:
- The fund's duration is 2 years and cannot exceed 3 years, while the average maturity of securities is 2.6 years and, once again, cannot exceed 3 years. This positioning has been validated in particular by recent yield curve shifts. In fact, the yield and credit curves are steepening at the short end, with at the same time a sharp flattening across longer maturities. This makes 3-year yields particularly attractive in relative terms.
- The performances of short-term high yield have been decorrelated from interest rate markets over the last 10 years. Our Anaxis Short Duration fund has generated positive performances during different periods of rising interest rates.
- The fund's current focus is on the BB credit segment, which sits just below investment grade level, offering exposure to companies with low debt levels and whose default levels are particularly low. The bonds of these issuers are moreover very liquid and the issue size is large (> EUR 500m).
- More generally, the companies in our investment universe are entering this period of rising interest rates with solid fundamentals. The average leverage has returned to an historically low level while interest coverage ratios have reached historic highs.
- We are however aware of the sensitivity of certain sectors to the surge in commodity prices, and our fund's exposure to the automotive, packaging, chemical and construction sectors is therefore low. On the other hand, the telecoms, healthcare and service sectors are well represented.
At 15/04, the Anaxis Short Duration fund had an average yield of 5.32% in dollars. The portfolio was diversified via 178 issuers, including 74.5% of secured bonds. The fund is article 9, which reflects our ambitious ESG policy. For more information on this subject, please visit our dedicated website www.anaxis-esg.com .
Key Figures Anaxis Short Duration (15/04/2022)
Average yield*: 5.32%
Number of issuers: 178
*J Class (USD), gross yield before management fees.
January 27th 2022 - An entry point for EM corporate bonds?
Emerging market corporate bonds have undergone a correction over past months, dropping even more sharply in the early days of 2022.
We see three main reasons for this decline:
- The announcement of a tightening of US monetary policy, with investors now expecting four key rate hikes in 2022, and the much more hawkish tone recently adopted in order to fight inflation.
- The Chinese economy's programmed soft landing and the control regained over its real estate sector with the numerous bankruptcies that have hit several participants. Other sectors (internet, online games, and education) have also been affected by tougher regulations in China, leading to sharp stock market declines in these sectors.
- And, more recently, the resurgence of geopolitical tensions between Russia and NATO countries over Ukraine.
Since 1 January 2022, the Anaxis EM 2024 fund is down 0.51% (institutional unit in USD as of 21 January). By way of comparison, the emerging countries Investment Grade corporate bond index (EMIC) lost -1.72% and the High Yield index (HYEF) -2.50% (-2.10% for the double-B segment). Funds with comparable maturities are also showing a significantly higher loss.
The Anaxis EM 2024 fund has held up well during this period and offers an interesting entry point for investors seeking to diversify their sources of returns while maintaining controlled volatility risk:
- The yield offered by the 2024 portfolio is now close to 5.9% in USD (around 5% in EUR), for a duration of less than 2.9.
- The fund is entering its second phase of life, and should therefore see the price of the bonds in the portfolio converge towards their redemption price. Its volatility should therefore remain under control.
- The portfolio maintains its positions in less cyclical sectors (telecoms 19%, food 12%, healthcare 7%, media 4.5%) and is very well diversified in terms of issuers (124) and country risk (top holdings: Brazil 12.1%, China 8.9%, Mexico 8.3%).
- The issuers in the portfolio have a debt repayment schedule well spread over time and a good liquidity situation. Their fundamentals remain stronger than ever: JP Morgan calculates the average net debt for the emerging corporate universe at 1.4x EBITDA. In addition, the majority of issuers in the portfolio generate a large portion of their income in dollars or in dollar-linked currencies, which mitigates the risk in the event of a weakening of emerging currencies. Default rates should remain low, with global growth admittedly slower than in 2021, but still above the long-term trend.
- Lastly, the tightening of US monetary policy should not obscure the fact that real interest rates (nominal rate - inflation) will remain negative in most of the main economies in 2022, which traditionally benefits the highest yielding bond segments. At the same time, the Chinese central bank will continue the accommodative measures begun in recent weeks, in order to stimulate the economy.
Link to the presentation of the EM 2024 fund
November 30th 2021 - Focus on callable bonds to enhance return and reduce volatility
As part of its short-term strategy, our Anaxis Short Duration fund focuses on callable bonds. As opposed to bullet bonds, which can only be redeemed at the end of their life, these benefit from a call structure that allows the issuer to redeem the bond early at a price fixed in advance. This price is higher than par, the redemption price at maturity, as it includes a call premium.
To select the best callable bonds and determine their probability of early redemption, we carry out an analysis of the issuer. We seek to obtain a precise idea of the period during which the issuer will recall its issue, and thus of the remaining life of the bond.
We use several tools to determine these parameters. The Anaxis team maintains regular contact with the management of the eligible companies in our universe. Most of them are transparent and communicate well on their refinancing ambitions and their bond call schedule. In parallel, we study the valuation of the issuers' yield and credit curves, to identify a possible financial interest in redeeming their bonds early. Finally, other types of transactions in the life of a company may suggest that refinancing is imminent. M&A transactions and IPOs often lead to bond refinancing.
We looked at the universe of callable bonds in the indices over ten years in Europe and the US. Nearly three-quarters of the sample in our investment universe was called not later than the first call date. These bonds, for the most part, do not run to maturity. The profile of the fund and our bonds in the portfolio is therefore very short term, with an average holding period of eight months.
As a result of this short-term bond profile, we have a very active redemption schedule. On average, 5% to 10% of the portfolio matures or is redeemed early each month. This gives us a lot of flexibility to redeploy the cash from these redemptions according to market conditions. We can be opportunistic, as we were in March and April 2020 during the Covid-19 collapse, when we redeployed our cash at the time into exceptional opportunities. A lot of BB, sometimes even BBB, credit quality bonds had diverged in sympathy with the market. We were able to identify them and position ourselves in them.
This reinvestment activity also gives the fund a protective characteristic, particularly in the event of a rise in interest rates. If a portion of the market were to be repriced due to a rise in rates, the fund would naturally be able to regain exposure to higher-yielding bonds.
Testifying to the stability and regularity of our fund, the monthly performance distribution is concentrated in a range between +0.10% and +0.60%. Since its inception in February 2012, the Anaxis Short Duration fund has had 75% positive months.
Thanks to this approach, the fund has achieved a performance of 5.71% over the last three years (share I - EUR) with a volatility of 2.52% (end of November 2021).
September 17th 2021 - Webinar: EM 2024, Performance, Responsibility (article 9) and Visibility
Performance, responsibility (article 9) and visibility in EM corporate bonds
Thursday 30 September 2021 at 11:00 AM
Jean-Julien Goettmann, Sales Manager, Maximilien Vedie, Portfolio Manager, and Pierre Giai-Levra, Head of Responsible Investment at Anaxis AM will present the unique approach of the fund and the reasons to invest now.
An attractive yield
The fund offers an attractive yield in the current environment, with a distinctive allocation: it selects the most robust companies in the emerging countries, in the most resilient sectors, with a responsible approach. The fund does not invest in financial and oil sectors.
A responsible fund
The fund takes a responsible and ethical approach to emerging markets. Strict sector exclusion criteria and ESG analysis of issuers are an integral part of the strategy. The fund attaches great importance to the reduction of carbon emissions and the respect of human rights. The fund is classified as "Article 9", the most virtuous.
A reduced risk
The fixed maturity of the fund, our responsible management, our prudent sector allocation and our comprehensive credit analysis of each issuer foster visibility and controlled risk. The fund combines prudence and performance while public policies support the markets.
September 06th 2021 - Strengthening of our sectoral exclusion policy
Successful climate transition
The Anaxis team is aware of the challenges presented by global warming. Keeping the rise in temperatures to a sustainable level requires swift and bold action. Asset managers can make a major contribution to this collective effort. This is why Anaxis has chosen to work towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. In practical terms, this means implementing a sector exclusion policy to reduce the carbon intensity of our investments and ensure that our action in this area makes sense. This policy has already paid off, with our portfolio's greenhouse gas intensity down by more than 40% in the space of two years. However, there is still a difficult path ahead to reach the aim of being carbon neutral by 2050, in line with IPCC recommendations and the commitments of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Anaxis has thus decided to strengthen several important aspects of its sector exclusion policy.
Extension of the scope
Our policy particularly targets the extraction of fossil fuels and their use as sources of energy in the production of electricity. At first, the transition from coal to natural gas could be considered progress, as it significantly reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by equivalent power stations. Today, the choice of natural gas can no longer be justified given the need for carbon neutrality. The scope of excluded operations has therefore been extended to natural gas: extraction, processing, transport, storage, distribution, power stations.
We also rule out activities aimed at improving the performance, efficiency or yield of fossil fuel sectors. We feel that efforts must focus on the transition to sustainable energy sources and that activities helping to prolong the use of fossil fuels are not eligible.
We also reject several types of business that significantly add to global warming, and therefore cause further damage to natural environments, as they do not follow the practices needed to limit, optimise or offset green-house gas emissions. These include waste storage and landfill without greenhouse gas capture, incineration without energy recovery, logging that is not managed sustainably, and agriculture on peatland.
In the case of peatlands, it should be noted that they are composed of partially decomposed organic matter and store large amounts of carbon. Agricultural practices threaten peatlands due to soil drainage and fires caused by land clearing. These fires can be accidental, for example when burning gets out of hand, or criminal, as a means of settling disputes or driving out locals. Peatlands dried out by drainage are highly flammable.
Stricter criteria
We measure companies' involvement in excluded fields by considering the relevant proportion of revenue. The tolerance threshold was set at a flat rate of 20%. Our policy has become more selective. We have lowered the threshold to 5% in the case of fossil fuels and tobacco, and to 10% for conventional weaponry.
Companies developing new projects in one of the following areas are also excluded, even if they fall within the 5% threshold: coal mining, shale gas exploitation, tar sands extraction, hydraulic fracking, Arctic drilling or deep-water drilling, expansion or construction of coal-fired power plants.
In the case of coal, we are also applying limits in the form of absolute levels, to prevent the continuation of ma-jor operations by mining and energy giants. We are excluding mining companies that extract more than 10 million tonnes of coal per year, as well as electricity producers having an installed capacity of more than 5 gigawatts in coal power stations.
For more information on our exclusion policy, our commitments and our results in reducing the carbon intensity of our portfolios, please visit our dedicated website www.anaxis-esg.com.
Anaxis ESG - Exclusion Policy EN
June 17th 2021 - Anaxis Short Duration: a high-performing and protective approach
Our Anaxis Short Duration fund has a clear ambition: to generate performance for our investors while maintaining a low volatility profile, with the aim of preserving capital. The key indicator of its success is a Sharpe ratio close to 1.
The fund's strategy focuses exclusively on corporate bonds. We do not invest in derivatives. We take a pure asset class approach, with fundamental bottom-up analysis. We focus on resilient sectors for their low volatility, with structural underweight in cyclical sectors. The latter may not exceed 33% of the portfolio.
We focus on the short end of credit. This means low duration and good visibility over the issuer's ability to service its debt. We focus on large and liquid bonds. To serve our ambition of low volatility, we focus on high-quality bonds, with a lower rating limit of B-.
Each issuer is subject to an analysis report, and a critical approach is taken to its operational financials. We select companies whose revenues, profits and cash flows offer visibility and stability. We attach particular importance to the issuer's ability to deleverage itself in its free cash flow generation.
We analyse and critique the covenants, i.e. the guarantees attached to the bonds, from which we, as bondholders, can benefit in the event of a credit complication. Finally, due to the short-term nature of the fund, we carefully study the issuers' liquidity situation. This allows us to anticipate what resources the company's management could use in the event of financial market volatility or operational difficulties.
In addition to these management rules, we also apply ethical criteria. Anaxis has put in place an ambitious and strict ESG policy. The approach is based on sectoral exclusion. We have defined and excluded from our portfolios the sectors that we do not wish to finance, with a view to decarbonising our portfolios. We do not finance fossil fuels, including oil, gas and coal. Nor do we finance the plastic packaging, nuclear or tobacco industries, GMO-related activities, or armaments.
June 11th 2021 - Anaxis AM has signed on to the Investor Agenda's 2021 statement urging all governments to step up climate action and ambition
May 26th 2021 - Webinar / Anaxis Income Advantage, beyond carry
Anaxis Income Advantage, beyond carry
Tuesday 8 June 2021 at 11:00 AM
Jean-Julien Goettmann, Managing Partner, and Maximilien Vedie, Portfolio Manager at Anaxis AM will present the unique approach of the fund and the reasons to invest now.
Anaxis Income Advantage is a fund for investors seeking a solution for the core of their bond allocation. The fund's breakdown by geographic region, sector, rating and duration changes over time in line with the opportunities we identify in the corporate bond market and our macroeconomic view.
Three performance drivers
The fund's performance is based on three complementary strategies:
1 - Carry, taking advantage of the stability and visibility offered by the carry in corporate bonds, with companies selected for their strong balance sheets;
2 - Spread, benefitting from capital gains on bonds whose prices offer a discount versus their estimated value;
3 - Tactical, capturing gains on primary issues, short-term catalysts and sector rotation.
May 25th 2021 - Performance, protection and liquidity: the advantages of a Short Duration strategy
In recent weeks, financial markets have seen a resurgence of interest rate fears, particularly in the US at the long end of the curve, and in Europe to a lesser extent. The rising rates remind us how precarious it can be for investors to hold long-duration bonds. With its concept and strategy, our Anaxis Short Duration fund provides a solution in the current macroeconomic environment.
The Short Duration strategy offers three main advantages, three reasons why it is relevant for consideration in an asset allocation:
1) One of the best risk/return ratios. This segment of the bond market offers an attractive return in relation to risk, in terms of duration. This is particularly true in comparison with the Investment Grade segment and sovereign bonds.
2) Protection. This segment offers protection in the event of a downturn in equity and bond markets, particularly in the event of a credit or interest rate shock.
3) Liquidity. Our Short Duration strategy focuses on the BB rating segment, which is always in demand in the market. Bid/ask spreads are tight, and issues are large (on average over USD 500m).
Comparing the risk/return ratio in terms of asset class, after a 10-year down cycle the Investment Grade segment has the drawback of having a high duration (over five years) and yields close to zero. This creates strong asymmetry in the profile, with a duration risk.
The High Yield Short Duration segment not only performs better than Investment Grade, but also than the High Yield universe not constrained by duration. The data is particularly spectacular in the US. We therefore readily look outside Europe for diversification in our fund. However, Europe remains the majority region in the portfolio, by choice and due to prospectus constraints.
As of 21 May 2021, our Anaxis Short Duration portfolio offers investors an average yield in euros of 2.42%. The duration is low, at 1.69 years, and the portfolio is well-diversified, with around 168 different issuers.
April 26th 2021 - Anaxis EM 2024: a responsible fund in Emerging Markets
At Anaxis, our ESG approach is strict and ambitious. It applies to all our portfolios, including our emerging market corporate debt fund, making this one of the only funds on the market to offer a responsible approach in this segment.
Ethical management is a strong conviction for Anaxis. Our approach is based on two main pillars: firstly, a rigorous sector exclusion policy, and secondly, a best-in-class policy for sectors that are not excluded through the first filter.
In terms of excluded sectors, our list includes fossil fuels, nuclear power, polluting industries (for example the fertiliser and the insecticide industries), and producers of single-use plastic packaging. We also implement more traditional exclusions affecting the armaments sector, the tobacco sector, and the non-therapeutic use of GMOs.
It should be noted that these criteria for sectoral exclusions do not deprive us of investment opportunities. They reduce the universe by about 16%, which means that among the 700 bonds in the universe, we still have more than 580 different issuers from which to build our portfolio. We therefore retain a great deal of freedom to invest in other sectors offering a wealth of interesting opportunities.
Also, sectors and companies that we exclude for environmental reasons would probably be excluded anyway because of their excessive cyclicality. A prime example of this is the oil sector: as 2020 has shown, it is extremely difficult to predict how prices per barrel will change over the next year or two.
We then apply our best-in-class policy within the sectors that are not excluded, but which nevertheless contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. We do this in such a way as to select the emitters that are the most advanced in terms of the fight against global warming.
All Anaxis portfolios are in line with the trajectory defined by the Paris Agreement. We are aiming for the portfolios to be carbon neutral by 2050. But above all, in the shorter term, we have an objective of reducing the carbon intensity of the portfolios by 7.5% per year over the decade from 2018 to 2028. The carbon intensity of Anaxis's portfolios has already been reduced by nearly 25% over the last eighteen months. We are therefore ahead of this objective of 7.5% per year and we intend to maintain this trend.
April 06th 2021 - The maturity fund: an ideal way to invest in emerging market bonds
At Anaxis, we firmly believe that maturity funds offer many benefits. We are among the pioneers and European market leaders in this space. Our 2024 emerging market fund is the eighth maturity fund launched by our team, and the second in the emerging market debt segment.
The principles behind this fund structure offer significant advantages. First of all, they bring together investors with the same investment horizon. This provides the AUM stability that is essential in a medium-term investment strategy. Secondly, we invest in bonds whose maturity is close to the fund's maturity. The strategy consists in receiving coupons during the lifecycle of the bonds, and holding them until maturity. The role of our management team is to draw on our expertise to optimise the bond selection process. This is achieved through a fundamental credit approach.
This fund structure is particularly attractive as regards emerging countries, which can be prone to periods of volatility. It is therefore important to have a structure that allows us to maintain positions and protect investors. This is the case of the maturity fund, with its convergence effect. If the fund management team keeps the bonds in the portfolio, and provided its credit risk analysis is correct, investors can rest assured that they will be repaid at par and able to pocket the coupons, despite possible volatility over the lifecycle of the bonds. This gives our investors very good visibility.
Furthermore, this fund structure allows for significant diversification, which is an essential factor in the credit market. Anaxis EM 2024 is invested in approximately 130 bonds. Through this diversified selection, investors benefit from the work of our team of managers and analysts, who conduct in-depth research into each and every bond.
The performance of our EM 2024 fund in 2020 is the perfect illustration of its robustness. The beginning of the year was difficult in all markets, yet we held up well in the downturn. This was due to the maturity fund structure, but also to the resilient positioning of the fund. We also rebounded very well as the markets normalised.
Another important point is that our EM 2024 fund has been less volatile, with a Sharpe ratio well above that of the indices and competing funds. The fund is thus rated five stars by Quantalys at the end of March 2021, with good ratings for the ESG criteria of this database, which is rare for an emerging market approach.
March 29th 2021 - The excellent fundamentals of emerging market companies
Fundamentals remain very strong in the emerging market corporate bond segment. This becomes clear when we consider the average debt of companies in the investment grade and high yield segments. Whichever category we look at, we see that emerging market companies remain less leveraged than their counterparts in the US and Europe (1.0x to 2.0x less in net leverage). This is important, especially when markets enter a volatile period like the one seen in 2020.
Another point to note is that, according to J.P. Morgan, companies in emerging countries should have returned to pre-pandemic debt levels as early as the FY 2021 results season. This bounce-back shows excellent resilience, but also a capacity for rapid recovery. This is what we have already begun to see in the company results published for the third quarter and in the first glimpses of those for the fourth quarter 2020. This underscores the solid fundamentals of the asset class.
Another crucial element of our proprietary analysis of credit risk at Anaxis is liquidity, which is particularly important for companies in emerging markets. These companies have a liquidity ratio - in other words, balance sheet liquidity versus total debt - that is about 10 percentage points higher than that of their US counterparts. This excess liquidity provides an additional cushion, even during periods of volatility. Emerging market companies are more accustomed than those in developed countries to facing economic and financial uncertainty. They are therefore more far-sighted at cruising speed, which has enabled them to weather the COVID-19 crisis in a much more resilient manner.
We find a very concrete illustration of these better fundamentals when we look at default rates. According to J.P. Morgan, default rates in the emerging high yield segment are expected to remain lower than those of US issuers. For example, the expected default rate for 2021 is 2.8% for emerging high yield, compared with 3.5% in the US. It should be stressed that this is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, it would be the fifth consecutive year in which the default rate among emerging market issuers has been lower than among their US counterparts.
In addition to these strong fundamentals, the emerging market corporate bond category offers superior yields, which are a key component of its appeal. Regardless of the rating category considered, investors stand to benefit from a larger spread and therefore yield on emerging market companies compared with their US or European counterparts. It is interesting to note that this yield premium has remained relatively stable since the election of Joe Biden in early November and remains attractive relative to long-term historical averages.
March 22nd 2021 - Emerging market corporate debt: an asset class driven by current events
If we take stock of the events of the last few months, we can see that they are on the whole very positive for emerging market corporate bonds. First of all, there was the start of the vaccination campaign, although this will certainly be rolled out faster in developed countries. However, emerging markets will benefit from the growing appetite for risk that this good health news brings. Furthermore, most emerging market economies are currently subject to far less severe health-related restrictions than those in place in developed countries, particularly in Europe. Accordingly, the slower rollout of the vaccination campaign has less of an impact.
A good illustration of this situation is the Chinese economy ending 2020 on a very positive note; the GDP growth figure for the fourth quarter, published in mid-January, stood at an annualised rate of 6.5%. This means that the Chinese economy grew by 2.3% over the year, making it the only G20 country to have experienced positive growth over 2020 as a whole. Moreover, the results of companies in emerging countries continued to exceed expectations. They were very encouraging for the fourth quarter of 2020 and we expect this to continue to be the case for the beginning of 2021. The recovery in Chinese growth and international trade are the key driving forces behind this trend.
Another positive phenomenon has accelerated in recent weeks: capital inflows on emerging market credit are very significant. We have seen an increasingly global interest in this asset class, which will allow companies in our EM 2024 fund to benefit from privileged access to the markets, and possibly to the primary market. Naturally, these are potential opportunities for our portfolio.
The election of Joe Biden in the United States was also an important development at the end of 2020. The main conclusion we draw from this is that the political relationship between China and the United States may be less unpredictable than what we experienced during Donald Trump's tenure. This is another favourable change, and it has been welcomed as such by the markets. However, we also do not expect total easing and full normalisation of these relations. We believe that there will continue to be episodes of volatility, with tensions in the technology sector in particular. At this stage, we do not have any exposure to Chinese companies that are wholly or partly owned by the Chinese state or by Chinese provinces, to avoid political decisions that would have too great an impact on the portfolio.
Another decisive development in 2020, and one that will be remembered for many years to come, was the activism of central banks. They supported the financial markets in the second quarter of 2020 and allowed a generalised rebound in valuations. We expect central banks to remain accommodative in 2021 and rates to remain at low levels, particularly in Europe. This is another very positive supporting factor for emerging market corporate bonds, as this will reinforce inflows into the asset class in the coming years.
The last supporting factor is the depreciation of the dollar. This is an important element when looking at the emerging market corporate bond asset class. This depreciation is notably linked to the significant stimulus packages in the United States, which are to be financed by debt issues. The consensus view is that this will continue and have a positive impact on market sentiment in terms of emerging market assets, and thus for emerging market corporate debt.
A macroeconomic point to conclude: the IMF forecasts are very telling. For 2020, emerging countries have certainly experienced negative growth, but to a much lesser extent than developed countries. This is due in particular to the fact that the manufacturing sector, which weighs much more heavily in these economies, has recovered well before the service sector. And in 2021 and 2022, again according to the IMF, the outperformance of emerging economies is expected to continue.
March 12th 2021 - Anaxis EM 2024 strategy: differentiation and performance
The objective of our EM Bond Opp. 2024 fund is simple and clear, in line with the Anaxis investment philosophy. It is to allow our clients to benefit from the extra return offered by emerging market corporate bonds while limiting the volatility risk specific to this asset class. We also aim to bring diversification to our clients' bond portfolios, through a robust and distinctive allocation in this segment that sets us apart from other emerging market debt funds.
To achieve this, we combine fundamental and independent credit analysis, the true DNA of Anaxis, with a strict and ambitious ESG policy. The result is a well-diversified portfolio of more than 100 issuers at any given time, with a primary focus on companies that operate in resilient sectors and have an intrinsic ability to generate significant cash flow. Moreover, Anaxis's ambitious commitment to energy transition and sustainable development criteria now forms an integral part of our investment policy. We consider this to be a driver of differentiation, risk control and performance.
The main difference between our EM 2024 fund and others in the same category becomes clear when we compare its sector allocation with the emerging market debt investment universe. Firstly, the sectors that are traditionally the most resilient and most likely to achieve stable performance over time are over-represented in our EM 2024 fund. These include telecommunications, healthcare, utilities and consumer staples.
Conversely, almost 50% of the universe is either very heavily underweight or completely absent from our portfolio. Examples include fossil fuel producers and companies in the polluting chemicals sector, which are completely excluded from our portfolio for ESG reasons. At the same time, the financial and real estate sectors are also excluded for reasons of excessive leverage and performance cyclicality. This sector-specific positioning we offer our clients allows us to create a product that is both robust and attractive in terms of yield.
At the end of February, our EM 2024 portfolio offers investors an average yield in dollars of 5.24%. The duration is limited, at 2.75 years, and the portfolio is well-diversified, with around 130 different issuers. The average position is 0.66%.
March 09th 2021 - Webinar / Interest rate uncertainty? Anaxis Short Duration: an appropriate response
Interest rate uncertainty? Anaxis Short Duration: an appropriate response
Thursday 18 March 2021 at 11:00 AM
Jean-Julien Goettmann, Managing Partner, and Thibault Destrés, Portfolio Manager at Anaxis AM will present the unique approach of the fund and the reasons to invest now.
The low or even negative interest environment make it challenging for investors to allocate the fixed income part of their portfolio. However, the corporate bond market offers income opportunities that the fund aims to capture while reducing risk by investing in short dated instruments.
The fact that the fund maintains a short duration at all times significantly reduces interest rate and credit risks. In addition, our responsible management, cautious sector policy and thorough bond-picking enable a good level of visibility and help to manage risk.
January 26th 2021 - Anaxis AM Webinar / EM Bond Opp. 2024: investing in the best EM corporate bonds
EM Bond Opp. 2024: investing in the best EM corporate bonds
Tuesday 2 February 2021 at 11:00 AM
Key statistics of the fund as of 15/01/2021 (J1 Class)
Yield*: 5.26%
Duration: 2.17
2020 Performance: +5.91%
The advantages of fixed maturity funds, our responsible management, our prudent sector allocation, our comprehensive credit analysis of each issuer and governments/central banks financial supports foster visibility and controlled risk.
*Gross yield
January 13th 2021 - Anaxis EM Bond Opp. 2024: investing in the strongest emerging companies
The construction of our EM Bond Opp. 2024 portfolio is based on a number of key points and it is essential to highlight the differences between our approach and that of most of our emerging market competitor funds.
Firstly, our Anaxis 2024 fund is a corporate bond fund with a 2024 maturity and bonds denominated exclusively in hard currencies, i.e., dollars or euros. The fund is mainly invested in companies that are leaders in their sector, with a median turnover of approximately $2 billion. The companies selected are, therefore, important players at either regional or global level. Also, in most cases, these companies generate most of their revenues in dollars, which reduces the exchange rate risk, which is more sensitive in emerging countries. More broadly, these are companies that are used to navigating in an uncertain environment.
Secondly, the emerging corporate bond market is mature and diversified. We currently have around 600 issuers in the index, and the 2024 maturity is ideal as it allows us to take advantage of the vast majority of opportunities, particularly in the primary market.
More specifically, why is our approach different from that of index and competing emerging funds? This becomes clear when comparing the sector allocation of our EM 2024 fund with an emerging corporate bond index. Most of those represented in our portfolio are the more resilient sectors such as telecom, non-cyclical consumer goods and healthcare. Conversely, we have no exposure, either by constraint or by choice, to much more cyclical sectors such as real estate, banking & financial services, and energy. Moreover, compared to competing emerging market funds, we do not include any sovereign bonds in our portfolio, with the allocation focusing solely on bonds of the most robust companies.
This positioning, which is more conservative than the index, allows us to benefit from an attractive yield. Indeed, it is currently 5.30% in dollars for the entire portfolio. The number of issuers stands at around one hundred twenty, with the aim of reaching a range between 120 and 150 issuers in the long term.
Our portfolio still has approximately 10% in liquidity which we wish to invest progressively, particularly on primary market opportunities. It should be noted that for this emerging fund, we do not have a predefined geographical distribution. The countries represented in the portfolio are solely the result of our bond selection. However, we take care not to have more than 20% exposure to a particular country, in order to limit specific risk.
The fund's top ten positions at the end of December offered great diversity, both in terms of countries and sectors, including both globally renowned companies such as Teva (healthcare) as well as more regional, but equally strong players.
Anaxis AM_EM 2024_EN
December 16th 2020 - Anaxis AM is proud to be a founding member of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative
We are delighted to be a founding signatory of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and committed to a goal of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.
With US$9 trillion of assets committed, this initiative represents a significant moment on the road to a net zero future. This is the first major step by the asset management industry to lay out commitments for the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.
As asset managers, we have to play our part in helping to deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement and ensure a just transition. We are delighted to join the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative as part of our commitment to this goal.
To learn more about the IIGCC initiative
To learn more about the Anaxis' ESG approach
November 25th 2020 - How does the Anaxis' management team manage the credit risk on its fixed maturity funds?
Anaxis Asset Management was born in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. This enabled us to develop a robust approach to credit risk management from the outset. This management is not based on monitoring trends or stop-losses. On the contrary, we believe that a robust approach is essential in the construction of the portfolio itself. Therefore, we take this into account when building portfolios and analyzing companies.
We take a decidedly bottom-up approach. Not all issuers are the same and each must be analyzed in detail. We apply all the techniques of financial analysis and balance sheet and income statement modeling, while always keeping a clear objective in mind: visibility. This means that we look for companies that offer good visibility in terms of environment, strategy and cash flow. We also seek to avoid risks beyond the companies' control, particularly cyclicality, currency fluctuations, and sensitivity to changes in raw material prices. The final area of analysis for our selection relates to environmental risks, and we exclude a certain number of sectors that we consider to be unacceptable in terms of ethical management.
Once we have made our selection, we perform regular tests, i.e., stress tests on all our positions. These stress tests are an essential aspect of risk management, especially in an environment of economic difficulties, such as the one we have been experiencing recently. In our stress tests, we model the evolution in revenues and study the impact in terms of EBITDA and leverage according to each company's specific characteristics. In particular, we take into account the flexibility of the cost structure and exposure to oil prices, and we assess balance sheet liquidity based on cash flows, available credit lines and repayment schedules. The portfolio construction reflects our conservative approach to credit risk. We aim to balance exposures and to ensure that the portfolios are well diversified.
Another point to emphasize is that at Anaxis we also consider ESG criteria as risk management tools. This is an essential key point: we believe that these tools are necessary for good credit risk management. In particular, from our perspective, financing new projects in fossil fuels or polluting industries poses a significant risk to investors because of the financial risks associated with them. We are talking about transition and ethics and financial risk, and these sectors are not suitable investments from our point of view. This is why we have implemented a strict exclusion policy to protect our portfolios from these sectors. For other sectors, environmental factors are considered at the level of our bottom-up analysis to exclude issuers exposed to substantial risk, for example, due to their specific business activity or their lack of vigilance in their practices.
Topics examined from this ESG perspective include the depreciation of obsolete assets, the use of outdated technology, the impact of regulatory changes, and the materialization of health risks and industrial accidents, which can also lead to high compensation claims. These risks are numerous and can therefore have a very significant financial impact. This is the reason why we include them in our economic analysis.
We are also careful to avoid financing economic activities of governments guilty of serious human rights violations, more specifically in our Emerging 2024 fund. We therefore also analyze who the shareholders and financial beneficiaries of the companies we finance are.
Anaxis AM_Credit Risk Management_EN
November 18th 2020 - Anaxis Diversified Bond Opp. 2025: a diversified fund for investors searching for yield
The strategy of our fund DIV Bond Opp. 2025 is based on various key elements: at the end of October, the fund was offering a gross yield to maturity of 5.53% in euros after exchange rate effects on foreign currency positions. Moreover, the fund benefits from a relatively short duration of 3.29 years and therefore has moderate sensitivity to credit spreads. Finally, diversification plays an important role, with more than 160 positions in the portfolio, in line with the entire Anaxis range of funds.
Geographically, DIV Bond Opp. 2025 is a global fund with a bias: two-thirds of the companies are European, while the other third is shared among the United States and the Emerging Markets. Why is it split this way ? Not only did we identify most of the value at the time of the fund's creation at the end of 2018 within the European market, but it is also in this segment that credit spreads have been the most attractive. The universe has evolved, but we want to maintain the current structure, with diversification within the United States and the Emerging Markets, which in our view, offer a wide range of interesting opportunities. Our allocation is therefore not expected to change over the life of the fund, as we have primarily a carry strategy. Hence, the majority of bonds will be held until the fund's maturity date. We also want Europe to remain the fund's core zone, given our clients' expectations.
From a sector allocation point of view, resilient sectors are overweighted in the fund to limit volatility and credit risks. The focus is on healthcare, business services, communications and food industries and this has been of great benefit during the crisis. Moreover, we have excluded the financial and non ESG sectors, such as oil, which has meant that we have been able to avoid losses during the past few months.
Our Diversified 2025 fund entered the crisis with almost 15% liquidity. Two reasons explain this liquidity pocket at the beginning of the crisis: the very early resale of specific positions in sectors that were inevitably going to suffer from the situation, mainly in transport and tourism, and the subscriptions that the fund benefited from. We did not invest this cash immediately, given the markets' nervousness, which allowed us to take advantage of the widening of credit spreads to seize several opportunities at desirable levels.
Thus, we opened a position on Sappi, a major world producer of wood fibers. This company benefits from excellent liquidity and low debt. We bought the stock at a heavily discounted price in sympathy with the market, at 77% of par.
The second example of opportunity was Team System, one Europe's leading IT providers, ERP software and training services. Its business model has withstood the crisis very well, with few contract cancellations and 80% of its business revenues of a recurring nature. The issuer benefits from moderate debt and excellent liquidity, enabling it to withstand possible contraction in margins and cash generation. We purchased this bond at 94% of par.
Finally, in the United States, Ingram Micro, a global distributor of technology products, computers, TVs, video games and cloud services, also benefits from very good liquidity and an unchanged operating outlook. In this context, we took the opportunity to buy the bond at 95% par.
Anaxis AM_Diversified 2025_EN
November 05th 2020 - Anaxis AM Webinar: EM Bond Opp. 2024, a different way to capture yield in Emerging Markets
EM Bond Opp. 2024, a different way to capture yield in Emerging Markets
Thursday 12 November 2020 at 11:00 AM
October 28th 2020 - The Anaxis Short Duration fund's current positioning to make it more resilient and find opportunities in this unstable environment
At Anaxis, the management team chooses its bond investments on the basis of four variables: duration, credit, region and sector. From a duration point of view, we remain resolutely short term, but with slightly more appetite than normal. The fund currently has a duration of 1.8 years. On the credit side, we are even more protective than usual with a focus on top tier, crossover or BB.
From a regional standpoint, we continue to study opportunities in Europe but are also identifying plenty of opportunities in the United States at a time when the cost of euro/dollar hedging has become much more reasonable for the fund (hedging cost now below 1%, compared with 2% or 3% in recent years). This hedging development is also beneficial in terms of widening opportunities. Two thirds of the portfolio is currently held in Europe, and around 30% in the United States and Canada.
With regard to sector breakdown, the fund is concentrating on sectors that have little sensitivity to business cycles. The management team values good visibility over cashflows and is overweighting sectors such as healthcare, telecoms, business services and non-cyclical consumer spending for their resilience. The fund is well diversified with more than 160 portfolio holdings, in line with the Anaxis diversification philosophy.
Furthermore, the prices of the portfolio's holdings are fairly consistent, meaning that very few of them are trading at stressed levels. The fund's positioning currently offers a return of 2.97% in EUR or 3.78% in USD. We think that these figures are particularly attractive when compared with the investment grade universe, on which the return is about 0.5% in EUR, and when compared with the negative yields on sovereign bonds. We think there are still plenty of opportunities to be had on the credit market, which has rallied strongly but remains dislocated and still offers some attractive entry points for a number of securities.
Anaxis AM_ASD Positioning of the Fund_EN
September 17th 2020 - Two examples of recent investments that demonstrate the Anaxis Short Duration fund's ability to seize opportunities
The Anaxis management team describes two examples of recent investments that demonstrate its Short Duration fund's ability to seize opportunities, even in difficult market conditions.
On top of its investments for the Anaxis Short Duration fund's core portfolio, the management team also makes more opportunistic purchases. An example of this is a short-term acquisition that we made at the end of 2018 in a bond issued by Italy's Safilo, a leading glasses frame producer.
At the time, the company was competing with Luxottica and Kering in particular. These bigger rivals were enjoying stronger sales growth. To reinforce its capital structure, Safilo announced a capital increase aimed first and foremost at repaying a bond maturing in May 2019 but also, more generally, at taking advantage of improved margins to kick-start its business.
After the initial announcement, the bond picked up a little in September 2018, rising from around 87% to 90% of the nominal. However, it was really when the EUR 150 million capital increase was confirmed and above all underwritten by a pool of issuing banks that the bond quickly converged towards par, as it would be redeemed at this price in May 2019.
We therefore bought the bond opportunistically at a little over 97 in September 2018, following confirmation of the capital increase, and benefited from repayment at par just a few months later.
These trades are less frequent than our core portfolio investments. The positions are for smaller amounts (0.5% of the fund's value at the time for Safilo) but they allow us to seize opportunities with a very high annualised return of 6% or 7% over a short period. The main reason for our access to this type of trade is our strong long-term relationship with a number of counterparties who can put forward such ideas when they emerge.
A second example of an opportunity, taken this time during the crisis of early 2020, is Ardagh. We particularly like the packaging industry as it is resilient and non-cyclical. Ardagh is one of the world's leading producers of metal and glass packaging for food and drinks, with an equal split in terms of end markets. The company is number one or two on most of its markets, especially in Europe and the United States.
Ardagh enjoys a strong long-term relationship with its clients. These are highly diversified and are mostly blue chip companies such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Findus and Nestlé, making its end markets even more stable. Capital expenditure is pretty hefty as production apparatus must be updated regularly. This business model therefore generates free cash flows, albeit at a consistently modest rate. The company's FCF oscillates between 0 and 5% of gross debt, meaning that deleveraging would take time. However, this has not stopped the company from refinancing very easily, even in difficult periods for the markets such as the recent one, and taking advantage of a well-managed debt ratio.
How has our investment in Ardagh's 2.75% 2024 bond fared? Ardagh is an issuer that we have always held in our Short Duration portfolio. We already had a slightly smaller position of between 0.6% and 0.7% of the NAV, which we strengthened in April of this year. The bond was then trading below par. We strengthened in expectation of refinancing not as early as the first call date, which was in early June, but rather on a 2021 or even 2022 horizon. However, soon after our purchase the company announced that it was refinancing this 2024 bond at the first call price of 101.375. We had bought the bond at around 97 a month earlier, and therefore reaped an annualised return of around 25%, even though such an early call had not been our central scenario.
This example shows that issuers like Ardagh, whose business model is very stable, are capable of overcoming the type of volatility that we have seen in recent months, and keeping relatively easy access to the markets, even without a government support package or help from shareholders. This regular access to the markets allows us, as investors, to generate attractive capital gains when the opportunity arises in resilient sectors like this one.
Anaxis AM_ASD Two Examples Opportunities_EN
September 01st 2020 - The Anaxis management team describes two recent examples of core portfolio investments that illustrate the relevance of the Anaxis Short Duration fund's strategy.
Arqiva is an excellent example of issuers that we like for our short duration strategy, and which form the core of our portfolio. This company has a stable business model and recurrent cash flows. It is a UK telecom infrastructure operator benefiting from exclusive broadcast rights in the United Kingdom, and from several long-term contracts with telecom operators such as Vodafone, British Telecom and Virgin Media. Visibility over its income is therefore high: more than 80% of Arqiva's revenue is recurrent.
Even more interestingly, free cash flow generation is also relatively stable, accounting for around 10% to 15% of Arqiva's gross debt in each of the last four years. We bought this bond shortly after it was issued at the end of 2018, and have strengthened our position of late. Over the past 18 months, the bond has been trading within a fairly tight range of 100 to 108.
The main advantage of this position for our strategy is the accrued coupon, which is relatively high at 6.375%. Since we first invested at the end of 2018, we have thus accrued a total coupon of more than 9% on this position. The issuer's first call date is in September 2020 and the bond is currently fluctuating just above its first call price. The position makes up around 0.93% of the portfolio.
Another example of our short duration core portfolio is Warner Music Group, one of the biggest record labels, which has signed such famous artists as David Guetta, Madonna, Prince and Coldplay. This is another example of a company whose income and cash flows are quite resilient. The group is benefiting from the explosion of online music buying through legal streaming. Until recently, Warner Music also held a stake in streaming platform Spotify.
WMG's income is relatively stable as it comprises a percentage that the platforms pay whenever someone listens to a song in their catalogue. Moreover, the lockdown period that we have been experiencing of late has had very little impact on music consumption. This issuer's cost structure is almost completely variable, which is highly advantageous, with capital expenditure limited to IT infrastructure, which costs very little. Over the last four years, Warner Music has delivered a positive cash flow worth between 10% and 17% of gross debt, which is fairly high for this sector.
As regards the performance of the 4.125% 2024 bond since the beginning of 2019, its price has started to move towards the first call price, at 103. During the worst of the COVID-19 crisis, the bond was briefly trading close to par but it soon converged with the call price again once the peak had passed.
These two examples offer a good illustration of the strategy that the Anaxis management team has adopted for its Anaxis Short Duration fund to produce a return on corporate bonds while minimising risks.
Anaxis AM_ASD Two Investment Examples_EN
August 26th 2020 - What impact do the purchases of Investment Grade bonds by central banks have on the valuation of High Yield bonds in Europe and the United States?
Asset purchase programmes are extremely active and have reached unprecedented levels in 2020 on both sides of the Atlantic. This provides immense support to the credit markets, especially investment grade but also, by extension, high yield.
However, mechanisms vary between regions. In the United States, intervention takes place on the high yield market directly. The Federal Reserve can now buy bonds of fallen angels, i.e. companies that until recently were rated investment grade but have been downgraded to high yield as a result of the crisis. This direct intervention also involves the purchase of high yield ETFs.
In Europe, intervention on the high yield market has been more limited. It has so far been restricted to accepting the high yield bonds of fallen angels as collateral for banks' refinancing transactions.
The fact remains that, on both markets, this action by central banks has contributed to the narrowing of spreads and therefore the rise in bond prices. Indeed, with yields now being squeezed very tightly again in the investment grade segment, we are seeing the emergence of a number of participants who are willing to go in search of higher yields, especially in the double B segment, which is the closest to investment grade.
Central bank purchases have therefore had a positive impact on the whole of the market. This was particularly true during the first leg of the rally. Credit markets started picking up at the end of March and during the first stretch, which lasted until late April, the main support factor was technical, i.e. linked to the Federal Reserve's and governments' intervention.
The second period of the recovery, which was particularly strong from mid-May, especially at the beginning of June, was dictated more by the gradual reopening of economies and by Q1 results being reassuring on the whole. Companies were then able to report on the drop in volumes in April and sometimes even May, and this ultimately eased concerns about a number of business sectors.
Anaxis AM_ASD Central Banks_EN
August 13th 2020 - How does the Anaxis management team reduce risk in its short duration strategy, especially during the COVID-19 crisis?
Our short duration portfolio focuses on the most liquid part of the reference credit universe, investing solely in large listed bonds (with an average issuance size of more than EUR 500 million) and limiting exposure to bonds that have not been rated by the agencies. Unrated bonds are less liquid as they are out-of-bounds for many institutional investors.
The Anaxis Short Duration fund's strategy is limited to cash bonds with no use of derivatives. We target short- and medium-term bonds, and the portfolio keeps the average maturity of its holdings below three years at all times. The selection process is based on an in-depth fundamental analysis of each issuer, taking a purely bottom-up approach. It is a carry fund whose performance comes almost exclusively from coupon payments. We do not look to speculate on changes in spreads.
The Anaxis management team spends most of its time looking at bond issuers' operational and financial profile in detail. We have a clear preference for business models that can withstand the cycles, and we value cash flow visibility as well as issuers' ability to repay their debts by generating free cash flows. The emphasis is also placed on analysing and critiquing each bond's prospectus to assess the suitability of the guarantees provided. Very importantly, especially in the current circumstances, we pay close attention to studying each issuer's liquidity.
The fund is European, but we seek to remain globally diversified as we think this particularly astute given the depth and liquidity of the US corporate bond market. We rule out a certain number of sectors: finance is one example, but we also exclude all sectors that fail to satisfy our ESG policy. We also limit cyclical sector exposure to 33% of the portfolio, reflecting the fund's goal of keeping volatility low.
The fund's average position is around 0.6% and no position may exceed 2%. Each position is sized on the basis of certain qualitative and quantitative criteria relating to the issuer, as well as the features of the bond.
As a result of its short-term strategy and the aforementioned risk management factors, the Anaxis Short Duration fund has withstood market shocks better than the reference credit universe over the past eight years. The fund has fallen half as far as the market in recent months and rebounded in the same proportions, and is now close to breakeven for the year to date.
Anaxis AM_ASD Risk Management_EN
July 08th 2020 - Jean-Julien Goettmann, founding partner of Anaxis, explains why the Anaxis Short Duration fund is the obvious choice in the current circumstances for investors who are cautious but still keen to secure a return.
The Anaxis Short Duration fund aims to take advantage of the yield on corporate bonds while keeping risk very low at all times. To maintain this low level of risk, the Anaxis team has a number of tools at its disposal. The first is our specialty: in-depth credit analysis of each issuer.
The second, which is specific to our Short Duration fund's strategy, is to invest in bonds that are very close to their maturity. This is a very good way of reducing risk as it is easier to extrapolate accounts and cashflows over a shorter period rather than a longer period.
We also avoid having too much exposure to business cycles, further reducing the portfolio's credit risk. We prefer non-cyclical sectors and do not invest in financials. Our ESG approach also lowers risk as we avoid investing in and financing business models that could become outdated sooner than expected. For example, our lack of exposure to the oil market proved highly beneficial when the COVID-19 crisis started in early 2020.
Our portfolio is highly diversified at all times and this is a key component of our investment management. The fund currently has more than 150 holdings, and this diversification allows us to reduce risk even further.
Why are we so convinced of our product's credentials and why do we think that it represents an opportunity right now for our investors? Despite our Short Duration fund's defensive positioning, the yield offered by the fund has nearly doubled since the crisis broke out. Before COVID-19 emerged, the yield of the fund was 2%. It is now 3.8% in EUR and 4.7% in USD.
Meanwhile, European bond yields have remained extremely low. For example, the three-year Bund yield stands at -0.7%. In the United States too, the markets have seen yields fall sharply and almost disappear entirely from short-term government bonds.
Last but not least, by injecting liquidity and securing companies' balance sheets when repayments are about to fall due, central banks and governments have provided massive support with an emphasis on short-term debt, making our fund even more attractive.
For all of these reasons, we believe that the Anaxis Short Duration fund is particularly well suited to our investors' current needs.
Anaxis AM_Short Duration 1_EN
June 17th 2020 - Anaxis Short Duration: a no-brainer in the current market environment
May 25th 2020 - 2020 Annual Coupons Payments for Anaxis' Funds
Detachment: 18/05/2020
Payment: 22/05/2020
Anaxis Short Duration : €6 for E2 Class and $40 for U2 Class
DIV Bond Opp. 2025 : €1.5 for E2 Class
EU Bond Opp. 2022 : €2.5 for I2 Class and €2 for E2 Class
US Bond Opp. 2021 : €2 for E2 Class
April 15th 2020 - Why fixed maturity bond funds are the ideal way to invest again in the current market climate.
The most optimistic investors are starting to invest again. However, the markets are still difficult to read and we cannot rule out another downturn.
In the current climate, fixed maturity bond funds are suitable because they offer visibility and a pull to par.
In 2009, when market conditions were similar to how they are today, Anaxis had already decided to put fixed maturity funds at the heart of its investment strategy in order to provide investors with a solution tailored to their performance and visibility requirements.
The yields currently offered by Anaxis's fixed maturity funds are comparable with long-term equity returns, i.e. close to 10%, but with a much lower risk. Shareholders are the first to bear losses when problems arise, whereas bondholders are relatively protected and rank second in the queue.
Fixed maturity funds bring together investors with the same investment horizon, which ensures the stability of the assets of these funds and, therefore, their success.
In order to cope with the likely increase in corporate default rates, Anaxis has pursued for more than 10 years a bond-picking strategy based on a fundamental analysis of companies, with a preference for resilient sectors because they are not too exposed to economic cycles. This strategy has enabled Anaxis to steer clear of the main defaults on the corporate debt market.
Since the start of the crisis, Anaxis has introduced additional stress tests for issuers in its portfolio. The results of these tests validate our investment choices. We have nevertheless taken action where required by quickly selling positions in businesses with specific risk factors, such as airlines.
The yields currently offered by Anaxis's bond funds offset our most pessimistic forecasts in terms of default rates.
More recently, Anaxis has strengthened the selectivity of its investment process by introducing an ethical sector-based exclusion policy. This policy is also an effective risk management tool. Excluding the oil sector, for example, has helped to cushion the volatility of our funds.
Anaxis currently has two fixed maturity funds open for subscription: Diversified Bond Opp. 2025 and EM Bond Opp. 2024. These are the ninth and tenth fixed maturity funds managed by Anaxis.
In spite of the ongoing considerable difficulties associated with the coronavirus crisis, particularly in terms of health, investors should already be thinking about re-investing in order to capitalise fully on the recovery when things return to normal.
Corporate bond funds enjoyed record inflows during the last week of March, and applications to open securities accounts are up sharply in several countries, including Germany, The most optimistic investors are clearly already positioning themselves to start investing again.
So what should they do, given that visibility remains limited and some companies are likely to suffer long-lasting effects from the crisis? Our fixed maturity funds, which invest in the segments offering the best risk-reward ratio, are perfect for this scenario, according to the analysis of our market specialists. The current crisis provides yet another reason to invest in these products.
This crisis, however brutal and sudden it is, highlights the benefits of the strategy and positioning adopted by Anaxis Asset Management ever since it was founded more than a decade ago. In fact, it takes Anaxis and its funds back to their roots. Anaxis has been innovating in this segment since 2009, when it launched its first fixed maturity bond fund, Anaxis Bond Opportunity 2015. At that time, we were in the midst of the subprime crisis.
Ten years on, the situation is remarkably similar: just like in 2009, investors are wary of bad market timing; prices may fall further, which is dissuading them from resuming trading. As in 2009, fixed maturity bond funds offer visibility as regards their return and a pull to par. Consequently, even if prices continue to fall, the yield on offer at the point of investment provides investors with a clear view of their objective right up to the fund's maturity date, regardless of future market developments.
So what yields are our bond funds currently offering? The sharp market downturn means that they are close to historical equity market levels but with a much lower risk. Shareholders are the first to bear losses when problems arise, whereas bondholders are relatively protected and rank second in the queue. At 31 March 2020, Anaxis Diversified Bond Opp. 2025 was offering an annualised yield to maturity of nearly 10% in euros.
Moreover, fixed maturity funds bring together investors with the same investment horizon, which makes their assets more stable, even under the present exceptional circumstances. Over 90% of our fixed maturity fund investors remain invested up to maturity. We have not experienced significant outflows from our funds since this crisis began. Consequently, we do not need to raise cash by selling securities at the worst possible moment in challenging market conditions.
However, there is another risk that has resurfaced from 2009: an increase in the corporate default rate. When it launched its first fixed maturity fund, Anaxis had decided to focus on the fundamental analysis of issuers, with a rigorous bond-picking strategy precisely in order to mitigate any possible weakening of companies and to reduce the default risk. It also focused investment on non-cyclical sectors such as telecoms and healthcare, and excluded financial bonds from its universe.
This strategy remains unchanged to this day. And it is more valid than ever. Anaxis implements a bottom-up investment approach based on financial analysis and an assessment of the creditworthiness of issuers. Because of the particular nature of corporate debt, we keep a particularly close eye on balance sheet liquidity and the external risks that might affect cash flow and the repayment ability. We also consider different scenarios before making any investment. By being selective in this way, we managed to avoid the defaults of Rallye and Thomas Cook in 2019, while a large part of the bond funds of other asset management companies suffered losses on those securities.
Since the beginning of the crisis, we have adapted our stress tests to assess the ability of the companies in our portfolios to cope with the consequences of the health crisis. Very early on, we sold a large number of our positions in the most exposed sectors, such as air transportation and tourism. Our stress tests show that our portfolios are well positioned to weather the current crisis. They also strengthen our confidence in our investment choices. As a result, we are retaining most of our positions.
Moreover, the current yield on a fund such as Diversified Bond Opp. 2025 largely offsets our most pessimistic default rate forecasts. Not investing now would be tantamount to validating these extremely hypothetical forecasts, while the unprecedented monetary and budgetary support should alleviate the impact of the crisis. We see value in certain securities currently available on the market, offering excellent investment opportunities for our fund Diversified Bond Opp. 2025.
Anaxis's bond-picking is even more rigorous than in 2009 now that we have a strict policy of excluding certain business sectors such as oil and pesticides. Beyond the ethical commitment not to invest in non-responsible companies, this policy can also be seen as a risk management tool. Specifically, it enables us to avoid the losses associated with the collapse of the oil sector, which is particularly volatile and unpredictable.
You can trust our team of specialists to steer you through these difficult waters: at Anaxis we have been experts in credit analysis for more than 10 years. Our fixed maturity funds offer the visibility and robustness that are badly needed by investors. We currently have two funds available for subscription. One matures in 2024 and focuses on emerging markets; the other offers an extremely diverse allocation for investors willing to commit until 2025.
Fixed Maturity Funds EN
March 19th 2020 - Update on the management of Anaxis bond funds
Risk asset prices have again fallen sharply in recent days and now reflect a climate of full-blown panic on financial markets. There have been wild market swings across all asset classes (equities, credit, sovereign debt, commodities, etc.)
Below is a summary of the status of our bond funds and an update on the measures taken by our fund management team:
• The losses of our funds range from 5% to 15% depending on their duration. The extent of these losses is significant, but they are still more moderate than those of some funds of the same category.
• As stressed in our previous statement, our funds are structurally more robust, since we focus on non-cyclical sectors in order to reduce the sensitivity of our portfolios. Financials are excluded from our investment universe and we have virtually no exposure to the oil sector.
• As soon as we became aware of the potential extent of the epidemic, we adopted a very proactive approach. We sold the corporate bonds most directly affected by the current situation, for example those of issuers in the tourism and transport sectors. Depending on the portfolio in question, these sales accounted for between 5% and 15% of assets.
• Since the beginning of the crisis, our fund management team has been carrying out stress-testing simulations across all of the companies in our portfolios (assumptions regarding the duration of the epidemic, reduced revenue assumptions, flexibility of the cost structure, financial flexibility, etc.) in order to assess their capacity to deal with this crisis. If a company's stress test results are inconclusive, our fund managers do not hesitate to sell the bond in question. Despite the significant price declines of all corporate bonds, the vast majority of the companies in our portfolios have passed our stress tests and have the necessary resources to withstand this crisis.
• The yields offered by our portfolios have increased considerably. The shortest funds have a yield of around 6%, while the longest funds are yielding 10% (in euro). At the same time, the 5-year German government bond yield has fallen to -0.5%.
• Today, our bond portfolios offer high yields, comparable with the long-term performance expected on equity markets, with a risk that bears no comparison with that of equity markets.
• The visibility offered by fixed-term funds is a real plus for our investors in this environment of heightened risk aversion.
Anaxis introduced remote working in all of its European offices on Monday 16 March. This enables us to remain fully operational while complying with the measures put in place by governments to combat this virus.
We wish you and your family all the best in these challenging times. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. You can contact us by telephone or email using our usual contact details.
The equity markets and, to a lesser extent, bond markets have suffered significant losses since 21 February as the coronavirus spread beyond China.
The following is a summary of our funds' current positioning, the investment measures we have taken, and the current outlook:
• Our investment policy aims to generate a reasonable yield by investing selectively in corporate debt, while providing a resilient solution to our clients. As such, in order to reduce volatility in our portfolios, we favour non-cyclical sectors such as telecoms, healthcare and business services.
• Our investment universe does not include financials due to a lack of visibility with respect to their balance sheets and income statements.
• Owing to the volatility of oil prices and for ethical reasons, we have minimal exposure to the oil industry as a whole (<2%).
• As a result, our portfolios are more structurally resilient than those of our competitors.
• We acknowledged the potential scale of the epidemic ever since it became clear that it was spreading outside China, and we sold bonds issued by companies directly affected by the virus (for example in the tourism and transport sectors). Depending on the portfolio in question, these sales accounted for between 5% and 15% of assets.
• Thanks to our positioning and the measures we have taken, our funds have lost less than similar products (up to 40% in some directly comparable cases).
• It is difficult to predict when the epidemic will end or when the market will bottom out. For that reason, we will seize opportunities on a case-by-case basis by investing available cash gradually. We will target corporate bonds that have little sensitivity to the economic slowdown but whose price has fallen in line with the market.
Please contact the Anaxis sales team if you require any additional information.
February 11th 2020 - Why invest in emerging market corporate bonds in 2020?
The current economic situation offers very little clarity on asset returns, especially in the European and US markets: yields are set to remain low, or even negative, for a long time and investment grade can no longer provide a regular return. This inauspicious setting is prompting investors to seek new opportunities in 2020 and they are increasingly turning to emerging markets for these prospects.
Indeed, these markets benefit from many positive factors. Firstly, statistics for 2019 published by the IMF show growth of 6.3% for emerging markets in Asia and 4.9% for other emerging countries, while for the eurozone it is estimated to be 1.4%. This trend is expected to continue over the next few years. Demography also plays a favourable role: the picture differs considerably from the reality in developed countries, as the population is young and growing. This momentum is generating demand in infrastructure, health care and education and stimulating consumption. Lastly, central banks have generally adopted an accommodative stance in order to support growth, especially in the summer of 2019. Interests rates were lowered in many countries, including South Korea and South Africa. In Turkey, interest rates are now 12.75 percentage points below their highest level.
In the corporate sector, successful, innovative and global companies with high growth potential can now be found amongst emerging market issuers; this is a far cry from the outdated notion that reduces these countries to just their sovereign debt or to oil groups. In 2019, income increased for practically all of these companies and the emerging market default rate for high yield issuers was extremely low (1.2%). Moreover, emerging market companies are on average less burdened by debt than their European or US counterparts. They have solid fundamentals, even if emerging market bond spreads are generally higher than those in developed markets. Taking advantage of attractive returns from emerging market countries does not necessarily entail accepting greater risk as regards the quality of companies in the portfolio. This is especially true since the size of emerging market bond markets nowadays allows for the construction of highly diversified portfolios.
Finally, and again contrary to the preconception of large, contaminating groups with little concern for non-financial controversies, many companies in the emerging economies are paying increasingly close attention to environmental questions and how these affect their business. They can therefore be compatible with investors' most stringent SRI criteria.
Our investment approach to emerging market corporate bonds is an appropriate response to the situation at present. The fund management team at Anaxis Asset Management draws on a wealth of expertise in these markets to build a balanced and diversified portfolio. We favour securities with little exposure to economic cycles in order to offer a solid and high-performing investment solution for our clients. The selection of securities also includes an exacting sector filter. In particular, we exclude the weapons, oil and pesticide sectors, whose business activity is incompatible with our commitment on environmental protection.
January 28th 2020 - Should investors resign themselves to negative yields for the bond portfolio?
The drop in sovereign bond yields since January 2018 has upset the credit environment. The eurozone is no exception: its yields are firmly entrenched in the red. The German Bund yield even dropped to -0.72% last summer, reflecting investors' risk aversion.
Investment grade bonds from the biggest corporate issuers have also lost their appeal. On 30 August 2019, Engie was borrowing over seven years – the longest maturity on the market with a negative yield. Meanwhile, the yield on Siemens bonds (A+) hit an all-time low on the corporate bond market: -0.315%.
In total, nearly USD 15 trillion has been invested in government and corporate bonds offering negative yields. This means investors are having to identify new opportunities to generate income for their bond holdings.
Anaxis Short Duration is proposing an attractive solution that reconciles the hunt for yield with credit risk management. The Anaxis Short Duration fund targets short-dated corporate bonds offering a positive yield. Our fundamental approach, combined with wide portfolio diversification and low exposure to cyclical sectors, ensures that investments are liquid and explains the fund's historically low volatility.
Anaxis Short Duration has a seven-year track record. Annualised performance since inception is 2.73% (I units) with annualised volatility of 0.70% over three years. The portfolio contains 158 different issuers and has an average gross yield of 2.01% (as at 31 December 2019).
January 20th 2020 - Anaxis Short Duration fund has been ranked 3rd for its 3-year performance out of 207 funds (Allfunds)
We are proud to announce that the Anaxis Short Duration fund has been ranked 3rd for its 3-year performance out of 207 funds in the euro-denominated short-term fund category on the Allfunds platform. The Anaxis Short Duration fund strives to achieve robust performance, with a unique positioning. The risk profile is conservative at all times, with a majority of non-cyclical companies, very high diversification (approximately 150 securities) and a strong emphasis on liquidity. It applies a short-term approach, holding securities an average of just 10 months prior to early redemption or maturity.
The partnership with the Allfunds platform serves to complement that maintained with the Inversis platform, and optimises the distribution of Anaxis AM funds in Spain.
January 15th 2020 - Happy New Year from Anaxis!
November 26th 2019 - Corporate bonds: why investing requires professional expertise
Is it wise to go it alone without specialists when investing in corporate bonds? It would seem that now, some investors see the asset class as sufficiently homogenous and low risk to justify doing so.
Recent events clearly demonstrate that this is not the case, though. The substantial losses suffered by Rallye are a prime example: its trading price dropped by 50 points in May of this year, undermining certain clients' trust in their portfolio managers.
The high yield corporate bond segment cannot be boiled down to a few flagship securities. Equating the entire universe with the most well-known names is certainly not a recipe for peace of mind. After the trouble at Rallye, the collapse of Thomas Cooke is another illustration of the fact that it can be preferable to opt for lesser known but safer opportunities.
Investing in the corporate bond market requires specific expertise, due diligence and scrupulous risk management – three factors that cannot be simply extrapolated from other asset classes. Informed, cautious management is not just a question of following the recommendations of brokers; after all, it is not their role to provide advice tailored to the financial profile and broader asset allocation of end investors. Those looking to invest directly must be willing to carry out in-depth research into bond issuers and monitor their positions on a daily basis. Otherwise, they run the risk of being disappointed.
To achieve our aim of delivering steady returns in an environment of persistent negative interest rates, our management process comprises several levels of analysis. First, we research the issuer's fundamentals. This entails a rigorous assessment of every aspect of the issuer's business model, competitor landscape, barriers to entry, sector prospects and potential trajectory for turnover and profit. In addition to this research, we carry out an in-depth analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement). It goes without saying that we go through the documentation on the issue itself with a fine-tooth comb, paying close attention to financial, legal and technical elements. These enable us to draw accurate conclusions as to the appeal of the returns on offer relative to the issuer's creditworthiness, the liquidity of the securities, market dynamics and the returns available on comparable bonds.
We also believe that portfolio diversification should be a top priority for every corporate bond investor. It therefore follows that an asset manager should be in a position to monitor a sufficiently wide array of securities and have the expertise and time required to choose between them.
For our Diversified Bond Opp. 2025, for example, our credit specialists cover over 120 issuers every day. The portfolio comprises issuers with diverse geographical origins, operating in a vast array of segments across the industry, commerce and services sectors. As at 31 October 2019, no one segment accounted for more than 15% of it, and the largest position (Ziggo, telecoms) was worth just 1.85%.
More generally, our approach combines in-depth financial analysis of individual issuers and extensive diversification of credit risk. Employed across all of our funds, this approach seeks to offer both performance and peace of mind.
Corporate bonds: why investing requires professional expertise (PDF)
October 21st 2019 - Should investors be resigned to paying negative interest on cash?
The question is relevant in today's economically uncertain environment, forcing central banks to further relax their monetary policies. There is nothing incidental about the measures announced by the ECB on 12 September, which are bad news for any investors with wait-and-see positions, while it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify profitable assets. Of these, the cut in the deposit rate from -0.40% to -0.50% has people especially worried.
With rates potentially poised to remain in negative territory for the foreseeable future, banks are starting to tax customer deposits. Take Switzerland, for instance, where the key rate has been sitting at -0.75% since 2015. Banking institutions such as UBS, Crédit Suisse and Lombard Odier are now charging their Swiss clients for deposits. The phenomenon is all the more concerning in that it's not limited to Swiss banks. Similar measures are expected in France, Germany, Denmark and even Italy.
Under the circumstances, Anaxis Short Duration is a reasonable alternative for investing cash with limited credit risk. The fund invests in short-dated corporate bonds offering an attractive risk-reward. The fund's liquidity and low volatility are ensured by a combination of our fundamental approach, strong portfolio diversification (140 bonds) and low exposure to cyclical sectors.
Anaxis Short Duration boasts a seven-year track record. Its annualised performance since inception is 2.76% (unit I) and its annualised one-year and 3-year volatility 0.92% and 0.70%, respectively. The portfolio's average return currently stands at 2.20%.
Should investors be resigned to paying negative interest on cash? (PDF)
September 24th 2019 - Anaxis funds are now available on Allfunds online platform
Anaxis Asset Management is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with the online platform Allfunds for the distribution of its funds. Allfunds is the leading company in the distribution of funds in Spain. Established in 2000, it has more than EUR 380 billion of assets under management.
This agreement is an important step forward towards the development of Anaxis AM within the Spanish and Italian markets, reinforcing its presence among its clients.
September 17th 2019 - Is liquidity negotiable?
In recent months, several major league European asset managers have been hit with massive redemptions triggered by waning investor confidence. And yet, these firms all boast very strong reputations, top-tier portfolio management infrastructures and solid track records. In each case, it was the presumed illiquidity - weak as it may have been - of one or more funds that was to blame.
Illiquidity, however, is not necessarily a negative attribute for a financial asset. After all, illiquid assets typically offer an additional risk premium. Adding them to a fund can thus boost its risk-reward.
On the downside, it can be problematic when illiquid assets are held by a fund offering daily liquidity because it can potentially generate an imbalance between fund assets and liabilities. What's more, when the concentration ratio is too high it exacerbates the fund's illiquidity and raises questions in terms of the valuation and governance of portfolio companies.
Taking all these risks into account, here at Anaxis we are highly attentive to the liquidity of our portfolios. Over the course of the last ten years, we have developed an entire toolbox for risk management, aimed in particular at assessing the liquidity of each instrument that is (or may be) included in our portfolios. We also work towards being able to sell our positions in their entirety, with a limited price impact, in various market configurations.
To that end, we focus on diversifying the number of lines in each fund, limiting our concentration ratio in each bond, and restricting investments in bonds not rated by S&P, Moody's or Fitch.
The following limits are strictly applied across our entire bond fund range:
• a maximum position per bond of 2% in the High Yield segment and 3.5% in the Investment Grade segment
• a maximum concentration ratio of 2% of the issue volume
• exposure to non-rated bonds < 25%
Although these constraints restrict our investment universe, they speak strongly to the reasonable, transparent and robust portfolio management policy implemented for our investors.
Is liquidity negotiable? (PDF)
August 22nd 2019 - Anaxis AM congratulates the Swiss men's Epée team, winner of the bronze medal
On the 19th July 2019, the men's Epée team won the bronze medal against the China team for third place at the World Fencing Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The Swiss team was composed of:
Link to the article in swiss-fencing.com (in French)
Anaxis is proud to be an official sponsor of the Swiss Fencing Federation since 2005. This team is among the best in the world. Fencing requires anticipation, agility and precision, which are qualities we endorse at Anaxis.
March 11th 2019 - Annual coupon distribution for the Anaxis Short Duration fund (payment on the 17/05/19): EUR 6.00 for the E2 class and USD 25.00 for the U2 class.
March 11th 2019 - Annual coupon distribution for the EU Bond Opp. 2022 fund (payment on the 17/05/19): EUR 2.05 for the E2 class and EUR 2.55 for the I2 class.
March 11th 2019 - Annual coupon distribution for the US Bond Opp. 2021 fund (payment on the 17/05/19): EUR 1.00 for the E2 class.
January 28th 2019 - The advantages of a short duration fund in current markets
Conservative management of a low-duration fund reconciles the search for yield and peace of mind, according to Pierre Giai-Levra, Chief Investment Officer of Anaxis Group.
The German 10-year eased 19 bp to 0.24% over the last 12 months, but most sovereign spreads ended up higher than a year ago, especially in Italy, Ireland and Belgium. At the same time, the European corporate market (BB-B ex financials segment) shed 2.86% in 2018. At end-December, the market generated an average yield of 4.66%. Sectorwise, cyclical issuers were the most affected by the risk aversion that dominated the market since the end of summer. The retail and consumer sectors recorded the steepest decline.
Against this backdrop, low-duration funds offer an attractive solution for institutional investors interested in managing the volatility of their portfolio without giving up on generating yield above inflation (1.9% for the euro zone in 2018). In addition to low exposure to interest rate risk, this strategy proves robust when risk aversion climbs and credit spreads widen.
Not all funds are created equal, however. Performances varied in 2018, deepening the divide between portfolio managers. Above all, it is important to focus on high-quality securities and draw on analytical expertise to implement a broad diversification in a continuously changing investment universe.
The advantages of a short duration fund in current markets
October 01st 2018 - Anaxis Asset Management is launching Diversified Bond Opp. 2025, a new fixed-maturity fund offering investors yield and visibility
Anaxis is launching Diversified Bond Opp. 2025, a new dated bond fund maturing on 31 December 2025. The fund invests in bonds issued by manufacturers and non-financial service companies in all geographic regions, with maturities near 2025. The investment management team applies a fundamental approach, stringently selecting each issue, drawing on in-depth credit analysis. With this new UCITS fund, our 8th target-maturity fund, Anaxis Asset Management has expanded its range of dated bond funds after pioneering the segment for almost a decade now.
The low interest environment makes it challenging for investors to allocate the bond portion of their portfolio. For those willing to accept the risk inherent to corporate bonds (Investment Grade and non Investment Grade) on an investment time-horizon ending on the 31th December 2025, the fund targets attractive yields.
- Visibility: selection of bonds with maturities close to the fund's target maturity.
- Yield-to-maturity close to 6% at launch date.
- Diversification in terms of issuers and sectors in order to limit concentration risks.
- Dynamic, cautious portfolio management in order to manage credit risk.
- The investment team boasts an extensive track record in managing fixed-maturity funds.
Launch date : 4th October 2018
EUR Units E1, E2, I1, I2 : FR0013330719, FR0013330727, FR0013330750, FR0013330768
USD Units U1, J1 : FR0013330735, FR0013330776
CHF Units S1, K1 : FR0013330743, FR0013330784
Jean-Julien Goettmann, jjgoettmann@anaxiscapital.com / Tel. +41 22 716 18 21
Anaxis Diversified Bond Opp 2025 EN
July 27th 2018 - Anaxis AM congratulates the Swiss men's Epée team, world champion
On the 26th July 2018, the men's Epée team won the gold medal against the South Korea team in the final at the World Fencing Championships in Wuxi, China. An unprecedented result for the Helvetic team. The Swiss team was composed of :
December 19th 2017 - Anaxis funds are now available on Fundstore web platform
Anaxis Asset Management is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with Banca Ifigest for the distribution of Anaxis' funds through the Italian online platform Fundstore.
https://www.fundstore.it/
October 16th 2017 - Anaxis European Bond Opp. 2022 is now available on Online Sim web platform
Along with the existing range of funds, Anaxis European Bond Opp. 2022 is now available through the Italian online platform OnlineSim.
July 26th 2017 - Anaxis AM congratulates the Swiss men's Epée team, vice world champion
The men's Epée team became vice champion against the French team in the final at the World Fencing Championships in Leipzig. The Swiss team was composed of :
Link to the article in Le Temps (in French)
May 15th 2017 - Annual coupon distribution for the Anaxis Short Duration fund: EUR 22.03 for the E2 class and USD 33.49 for the U2 class.
May 15th 2017 - Annual coupon distribution for the Anaxis Bond Opportunity Europe 2018 fund: EUR 3.10 for the E2 class.
May 09th 2017 - Anaxis Asset Management is launching European Bond Opp. 2022, a new fixed-maturity fund offering investors yield and visibility
Anaxis is launching European Bond Opp. 2022, a new dated bond fund maturing on 31 December 2022. The fund invests in corporate bonds maturing close to 2022, in the industrial and non-financial services sectors mainly European. The investment management team applies a fundamental approach, stringently selecting each issue, drawing on in-depth credit analysis. With this new UCITS fund, successor of Anaxis Bond Opportunity Europe 2018, Anaxis Asset Management strengthens its range of maturity bond funds.
In the current low government interest rates environment, for investors ready to broaden their investment universe, the European corporate bond market offers attractive yield which the European Bond Opp. 2022 fund is seeking to capture. The fund targets an annualised net return of 3% over the German sovereign bond 2022.
- The fund's fixed maturity and low duration provide protection against interest rate fluctuations.
Launch date : 10th May 2017
EUR Units E1, E2, I1, I2: FR0013221033, FR0013221041, FR0013221074, FR0013221082
USD Units U1, J1: FR0013221058, FR0013221090
CHF Units S1, K1: FR0013221066, FR0013221108
March 22nd 2017 - Anaxis Asset Management is launching US Bond Opp. 2021, a new fixed-maturity fund offering investors yield and visibility
Anaxis is launching US Bond Opp. 2021, a new dated bond fund maturing on 31 December 2021. The fund invests in corporate bonds maturing close to 2021, in the industrial and non-financial services sectors mainly US. The investment management team applies a fundamental approach, stringently selecting each issue, drawing on in-depth credit analysis. The new UCITS fund, successor of Anaxis Bond Opportunity US 2017, completes the existing range of managed funds.
The yield spread between US and European bonds has widened sharply over the past two years, to the benefit of US yields due to the strength of the US economy. For investors ready to broaden their investment universe, the US corporate bond market harbours potential yield which the US Bond Opp. 2021 fund is seeking to capture, in order to achieve its annualised objective of outperforming the US sovereign bond maturing on 31.12.2021 by 3% net of management fees, i.e. 5%.
- 5% annualised performance objective.
Launch date : 28th March 2017
October 10th 2016 - Anaxis Asset Management is launching Anaxis Income Advantage, a UCITS fund benefitting from a global and flexible approach to corporate bond market
This new corporate bond fund complements the existing product range and responds to the investors' needs, who have expressed a strong interest in this type of products. The fund adopts a more global and flexible approach in order to capitalise on the best opportunities in the credit market.
Anaxis Income Advantage is a discretionary UCITS fund which is actively managed, based on in-depth fundamental issuer analysis. The fund focuses on companies with well-defined sustainable business models, which are protected by high entry barriers and benefit from strong growth momentum and a flexible cost structure. The fund does not invest in the financial sector, which has low visibility due to the lack of transparency.
On launching the fund, Thibault Destrés, who is co-managing the portfolio, declared "like our current range of funds, Anaxis Income Advantage adopts a conviction-based approach, drawing on an investment process centred on bond-picking, but deploying a more global and flexible strategy, which enables us to incorporate our best ideas and capitalise on credit market conditions and economic and financial outlook".
- 5% annualised performance objective, net of fees.
- Dynamic and flexible management to control credit risk.
- Global investment universe (portfolio heavily focused on developed markets).
- Broad regional and sector diversification.
- Investment strategy free of constraints in terms of rating, index and maturity.
Anaxis AM is launching Anaxis Income Advantage
September 20th 2016 - AAM European Equities successfully celebrated its 2nd anniversary this summer
Since its launch date on 16 June 2014, AAM European Equities has significantly outperformed the DJ Stoxx Europe 600 index used as base of comparison, generating a capital gain of 9.25% (Unit I) versus 0.93% with lower volatility of 16.70% vs. 20.36% respectively.
Dividend yield on European equities has never been so high compared to the risk free rate.
Ever since the 2008 financial crisis, many investors have steered clear of equities (deemed too risky) and have only kept the bare minimum in equity allocations. This fear of short-term volatility coupled with their goal of minimising risk is causing investors to neglect the diversification of their portfolio and thus reduce their long-term performance.
At the present time, with negative money market rates in the euro zone and government bond yields at record lows, European equities are a critical driver of performance in a portfolio.
In Europe, equities offer a dividend yield of around 3.80% versus a yield of -0.60% for the 5-year Bund; the gap between the dividend yield offered by Stoxx 600 companies and the risk-free rate has never been larger.
AAM European Equities combines a cautious investment approach with the objective of outperforming a conventional approach to European equities.
As explained by the fund's co-manager, Benoît Ducatillon, "Our qualitative and defensive approach is what makes our AAM European Equities fund a cornerstone investment in any portfolio. We go for high-quality European companies offering solid profit growth visibility and paying attractive dividends. We avoid any positions in companies undergoing a transition (often inexpensive but on the decline), boasting strong yet uncertain growth (often too expensive) or operating in sectors too closely linked to the economic cycle.
The independence of the Anaxis Group and the stability of the Management team guarantee the consistency of our disciplined investment approach over time, irrespective of whatever investment trends happen to be popular on the markets. This is key to achieving success for both our investment approach and our investors."
AAM European Equities uses a non-benchmarked conviction-based strategy based first and foremost on extensive financial analysis, excluding any form of speculation or market timing. In keeping with its bottom-up investment philosophy, rooted in the analysis of company fundamentals, the fund invests in European equities, excluding the financial sector due to its relative lack of transparency, and prefers more robust sectors.
The portfolio managers select companies with a solid business model, generating high margins, protected by strong barriers to entry, and generating high return on invested capital.
In this line-up, the portfolio managers place great importance on allocating the fund's assets to companies offering the most attractive valuations, in a bid to establish a safety buffer and maximise investor returns.
Drawing on this philosophy and approach, the fund limits the risk of significant variations in the portfolio during periods of stress and is able to beat both its benchmark index and its peers over the course of an economic cycle.
At 30 June 2016, specialist website Citywire ranked AAM European Equities top decile in terms of total return, lowest volatility and max drawdown over one year, all styles combined.
AAM European Equities successfully celebrated its 2nd anniversary
August 04th 2016 - Anaxis wishes Swiss fencers good luck in Rio
The Swiss Fencing team, who takes part in the Olympic Games 2016, has arrived in Rio de Janeiro. Anaxis wishes all selected athletes good luck and every success:
Tiffany Géroudet
Peer Borsky
Max Heinzer
Fabian Kauter
Benjamin Steffen
In the hope that they will bring back a medal to contribute to the visibility of the Swiss fencing. The last Olympic title for Switzerland dates back to 2004 in Athens, won by Marcel Fischer, gold medalist in individual épée.
Epée individual women: Saturday August 6th
Epée individual men: Tuesday, August 9th
Epée team men: Sunday, August 14th
June 02nd 2016 - 2016 Bol d'Or Mirabaud regatta: Anaxis Asset Management and AXON Racing are taking up the challenge on board the Flying Phantom
April 01st 2016 - Our new advertising campaign at Geneva Airport
March 23rd 2016 - Coupon distribution for the Anaxis Bond Opportunity Short Duration fund: EUR 25.85 for the E2 class, 31.29 USD for the U2 class and CHF 14.03 for the S2 class.
March 23rd 2016 - Coupon distribution for the Anaxis Bond Opportunity Europe 2018 fund: EUR 3.46 for the E2 class.
March 04th 2016 - Anaxis funds are now available on Online Sim web platform
Anaxis Asset Management is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement for the distribution of Anaxis' funds through the Italian online platform.
February 15th 2016 - Tribute to the Swiss fencing team's performance
As an official sponsor of the Swiss Fencing Federation since 2005, Anaxis would like to pay tribute to the Swiss fencing team's performance and congratulate them on qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Anaxis is proud to support fencing, a demanding sport that requires great technical, strategic and tactical skill. Combining the qualities of analysis, anticipation and speed, it is a discipline that helps develop self-control, courtesy and respect for others.
This athletic philosophy is one we strive to use each and every day in our business, and is reflected in our professionalism and our determination to contribute to the success of our clients.
www.swiss-fencing.ch
January 31th 2016 - AAM European Equities Fund: Preliminary review of the fund's first 18 months
Over 1 year, specialised website Citywire has ranked AAM European Equities at 138/1000 in terms of performance, 90/1000 in terms of volatility and 84/100 in terms of max drawdown in the Equities Europe category. Since it was launched, the fund has generated a return of 11.18% with volatility of 15.9% (I unit). By comparison, the STOXX Europe 600 index posted 2.56% with volatility of 19%.
AAM European Equities was launched in June 2014 with the purpose of giving investors access to European equities with lower volatility than the indices. The fund aims to benefit from the experience of Anaxis Asset Management's fund managers in fundamental company analysis and rigorous stock picking.
Benoît Ducatillon, one of the managers of the AAM European Equities fund, has said "Overall, we are very pleased with the fund's performance. It is proving more resilient than the indices in times of stress and uncertainty on the markets. With our positioning on resilient, growing sectors, we can expect to achieve annualised EPS growth of 12.7% over 5 years, versus 5% for the STOXX Europe 600."
January 12th 2016 - ANAXIS AM sera présent au Congres Fonds-Professionell de Mannheim 2017
Comme en 2016 ANAXIS AM sera présent au Congres Fonds-Professionell de Mannheim les 25 et 26 Janvier 2017 : Stand 99 au niveau 1
Nous ferons une présentation le mercredi 25 Janvier 2017 à 16h35 en salle 12 sur « Comment obtenir de solides rendements grâce aux fonds obligataires ».
July 06th 2015 - Anaxis AM launches Anaxis Bond Opportunity EM 2020
At the launch of the Anaxis Bond Opportunity EM 2020 fund on 6 July 2015 Pierre Giai-Levra, Chairman of Anaxis Asset Management, shared the reasons leading up to the creation of this product.
Why launch a new high yield bond fund today?
We're launching this fund to capture the investment opportunities offered by companies in emerging countries. Compared to the European and US segments, this segment offers higher returns for an equivalent credit quality. Emerging countries have seen the advent of issuers with solid fundamentals and strong returns, and we know how to analyse and select these issues. Volatility is a little higher, but is still within an acceptable range for investors with a given investment horizon. Our analysts have identified 42 attractive issues. The target portfolio offers an annualised return of 7.02%.
What sets this product apart from its rivals?
Anaxis Bond Opportunity EM 2020 has a set maturity and investment period of 5 and a half years (until 31 December 2020). It relies on a highly selective investment approach. We only invest in corporate bonds with strong currencies (mainly USD and EUR). We are not index trackers. Our strategy is to select bonds based on an in-depth financial analysis of the issuers (i.e. a bond picking strategy). We do not make any macroeconomic bets or short-term speculative plays. By implementing this investment strategy, we are able to build a robust portfolio that is less sensitive to market fluctuations. Finally, we believe a fund with a set maturity is particularly appropriate for a more volatile asset class such as this.
Why choose Anaxis AM?
The Anaxis team is made up investment professionals boasting extensive experience in credit analysis and management of high yield bond portfolios. Our portfolio managers have worked for major financial institutions in Europe, the United States and Asia. Anaxis manages a range of bond funds with set maturities designed to meet different risk profiles. Anaxis Bond Opportunity EM 2020 is the latest addition to this range.
What will the portfolio's composition be?
The portfolio will consist primarily of high yield bonds issued by emerging company corporates. For credit risk management purposes, the portfolio management team may invest in Investment Grade or government bonds. We look for companies boasting excellent fundamentals and a clear, sustainable business model. We like companies benefiting from strong barriers to entry, solid growth momentum and a flexible cost structure. The fund will not invest in financials, which are too unpredictable in our view. We also favour non-cyclical sectors such as Telecoms, Healthcare, Transport and Agri-Business. In terms of country allocation, we try to steer clear of countries that are too high-risk. For example, the portfolio does not hold any positions in Venezuela and just one position in Russia. Finally, we like short or average-duration bonds, in order to limit interest rate risk. All of these choices are aimed at optimally meeting our investors' needs: namely to generate an attractive return while minimising risks.
May 18th 2015 - Coupon distribution for the Anaxis Bond Opportunity Short Duration fund: EUR 64.40 for the E2 class, 55.43 USD for the U2 class and CHF 54.41 for the S2 class.
May 18th 2015 - Coupon distribution for the Anaxis Bond Opportunity Europe 2018 fund: EUR 5.73 for the E2 class.
February 13th 2015 - What will be the main drivers of the high yield bond markets in 2015?
December 12th 2014 - What is the impact of the oil drop on High Yield markets?
December 01st 2014 - Registration of Anaxis AM funds for sale in Spain
Anaxis AM is further expanding in Europe. We are pleased to announce that Anaxis Bond Opportunity 2015, US 2017 and Europe 2018 are now registered for sale in Spain (passport issued by the CNMV). All three funds are thus eligible for tax benefits ("traspaso") in this country.
October 27th 2014 - The attractiveness of high yield bonds has increased substantially due to renewed risk aversion
The latest economic statistics in Europe coupled with geopolitical risks have caused credit spreads to widen and government bond yields to drop. And yet default rate forecasts remain low. For example, Moody's has projected a default rate of 2% for the next 12 months (vs. about 10% in 2009 and 4% between 2011 and 2013). So high yield bonds have gained significantly in appeal.
Yield-to-maturity shows even more clearly how attractive this asset class is in the current climate: while the German government bond yields 0.03% for an end-2018 maturity, our high yield bond portfolio, Anaxis Bond Opportunity Europe 2018, offers 6.90%. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US government bond yields 0.74% for an end-2017 maturity, versus 6.64% for our Anaxis Bond Opportunity US 2017 portfolio.
October 03rd 2014 - Solid Q2 2014 results for the companies held in portfolio by Anaxis AM
Results release season for the second quarter of 2014 has ended, providing yet another opportunity to confirm the solidity of Anaxis AM's bond picking strategy on the high yield market. Amid high volatility and macroeconomic concerns, particularly over growth in Europe, attractive returns can still be generated for investors when one knows how to pick healthy companies.
Looking at Anaxis AM's products, 15% of the European companies held in our portfolio beat the consensus and 68% were in line. Our US companies fared even better, with 23% beating and 71% in line with the consensus. These solid results can largely be attributed to the quality of the business models and fundamentals of the companies selected and to Anaxis AM portfolio managers' preference for defensive, non-cyclical sectors.
April 22nd 2014 - Is the High Yield market better prepared to face a possible rate rise?
October 30th 2013 - Anaxis AM : What are the opportunities in the High Yield credit market for the end of 2013 ? (France Info Interview)
July 18th 2013 - Anaxis AM : Perspectives on the credit market (France Info Interview)
June 18th 2013 - Anaxis AM analyses the new interest rates' environment and its consequences on High Yield bonds
May 29th 2013 - Anaxis AM launches Anaxis Bond Opportunity Europe 2018
Boursorama, 29th May 2013
For the launch of Anaxis Bond Opportunity Europe 2018 on the 6th June 2013, Pierre Giai-Levra, chairman of Anaxis Asset Management, explains the reasons behind the creation of this product:
Why launching a new high yield fund today?
The credit market has experienced a very good year 2012 and has continued to appreciate during the first quarter 2013. Today, we consider that the market is globally well valued and even somewhat expensive on certain segments and issues. However during the last 18 months the market has offered more and more diversity thanks to a great number of primary issues. These bonds are offered by new issuers on the credit market, some with excellent profiles, as they refinance their bank loans with bonds. In this context, our analysts have selected 63 bonds which represent very good investment opportunities. As of today, the targeted portfolio offers an annualized return of 6.05% with a maturity of 31th December 2018.
What distinguishes this product from its competition?
Anaxis Bond Opportunity Europe 2018 is a bond picking fund relying on a comprehensive fundamental approach. It does not follow any indices. Our strategy aims to select bonds based on a thorough financial analysis. We do not bet on macroeconomic events or speculate on short-term moves. Our methodology enables us to build a robust portfolio, which can navigate all types of market conditions.
Why investors should select Anaxis AM?
For the last 10 years, Anaxis has provided high performance and resilient investment solutions to its investors. It benefits from a team of experienced and recognized investment professionals on the high yield credit market, all coming from large financial institutions in Europe, the US and Asia. Moreover Anaxis AM is totally independent which ensures the continued implementation of its conviction based approach over time. All the existing High Yield funds managed by Anaxis AM exhibit good track records.
What will be the sector and country allocation of the portfolio?
The portfolio will be mainly comprised of European high yield corporate bonds. In order to modulate credit risk, the management team may also decide to allocate to Investment Grade bonds and to government bonds. The fund does not invest in bonds issued by financial companies that we consider to be too unpredictable. We favour defensive sectors such as Telecoms, Healthcare, Transportation, Food etc. Country wise, we are mainly invested in Core Europe and remain careful on peripheral countries.
What types of companies and of bond issues are favoured by Anaxis AM?
We select companies that have excellent fundamentals with clear and focused business models. We favour companies that benefit from strong barriers to entry, good dynamics and flexible cost structures. We also prefer issues that have short or medium term durations in order to limit interest rate risk. In doing so, we are able to respond to our investors' need of attractive and robust yield.
April 23rd 2013 - Anaxis AM : What are the opportunities on the credit market today ? (France Info Interview)
Jean-Julien Goettmann, head of Anaxis Asset Management, gives his perspective on the the credit market and the opportunities that are offered today.
Interview by Antoine Verlain, La Côte Bleue
March 07th 2013 - Anaxis Press : Are High Yield bonds still a good investment ?
Source : Boursorama
Source : Morning Star Pro
January 27th 2013 - As sponsor of the Swiss Fencing Federation, Anaxis congratulates the Switzerland men's national epee team (Max Heinzer, Fabian Kauter, Benjamin Steffen and Florian Staub) for its World Championship title obtained yesterday in Legnano (Italy).
We congratulate also Max Heinzer for his World Championship title won today. Anaxis has been the official sponsor of the Swiss Fencing Federation since 2005 (www.swiss-fencing.ch)
December 03rd 2012 - Anaxis Asset Management launches a US corporate bond fund
Source : Morningstar Pro
October 26th 2012 - Coupon distribution for the Anaxis Bond Opportunity L fund: 2.61 EUR for the EUR D class
July 04th 2012 - EU Summit: A New Impulse - Interview with Pierre Giai-Levra, Anaxis's CIO
June 21st 2012 - As sponsor of the Swiss Fencing Federation, Anaxis congratulates the Swiss national men epee team (Max Heinzer, Fabian Kauter, Benjamin Steffen and Florian Staub) for their gold medal obtained yesterday at the European Championship held in Legnano (Italy)
Anaxis has been an official sponsor of the Swiss national fencing team since 2005. www.swiss-fencing.ch
May 02nd 2012 - For Anaxis AM, fixed maturity funds have points to make :
April 25th 2012 - Important tax information for German investors
Accumulated Deemed Distributed Income for Anaxis Bond Opportunity 2015 per 31 December 2011 - E1 class EUR 39.4408709, S1 class CHF 36.4820078, U1 class USD 32.9860724, J class USD 44.9640098, for E2 class EUR 0, for S2 class CHF 0, for U2 class USD 0.
April 24th 2012 - Negative real returns : What is the alternative ? Comment by Anaxis AM
Source : Morningstar Professional
April 03rd 2012 - Lunch / Presentation - The European corporate bond market - Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Geneva
March 30th 2012 - Morningstar: " For Anaxis, High-Yield offers opportunities but thorough selection is key "
Source: Morningstar professional
January 19th 2012 - Coupon distribution for the Anaxis Bond Opportunity L fund: 2.60 EUR for the EUR class and 2.14 USD for the USD class
September 07th 2011 - Sabre Style Arbitrage fund wins the best market neutral fund in Europe - World Finance Awards 2011
May 25th 2011 - Coupon distribution for the Anaxis Bond Opportunity L fund: 2.36 EUR for the EUR class and 2.29 USD for the USD class
May 18th 2011 - Sabre wins the best equity market neutral hedge fund award for the 2011 Hedge Funds Review
March 03rd 2011 - Sabre wins the best market neutral manager category for the 2011 Hedgeweek Awards
February 02nd 2011 - Sabre launches UCITS III version of its award winning Sabre Style Arbitrage Fund
January 27th 2011 - Sabre wins the best equity market neutral & quant strategies category for the 2010 EuroHedge awards
December 15th 2010 - Coupon distribution for the Anaxis Bond Opportunity L fund: 2.35 EUR for the EUR class and 2.28 USD for the USD class
November 23rd 2010 - Launch of the Anaxis Bond Opportunity 2015 fund
November 16th 2010 - Anaxis organise its quarterly conference call on the Anaxis Sabre Style Arbitrage Fund
November 08th 2010 - Gianmarco Mondani, CIO of Arkos Capital, is meeting clients and prospects in Paris
August 26th 2010 - Anaxis Sabre Style Arbitrage Fund is now a constituent of the HFRI Equity Hedge (Total) Index
June 17th 2010 - Presentation of the Anaxis Sabre Style Arbitrage Fund at the Crillon hotel in Paris
May 28th 2010 - Sabre Style Arbitrage wins the Hedge Fund Review Award 2010
May 18th 2010 - Sabre Style Arbitrage wins the Hedge Fund Week award as "Best Equity Market Neutral"
February 11th 2010 - World Invest Absolute Strategy fund has been awarded "Best Relative Value UCIT III fund"
December 03rd 2009 - Anaxis and Cantab Capital Partner organise a conference on "Benefits of systematic investment strategies" at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich
December 02nd 2009 - Anaxis and Cantab Capital Partner organise a conference on "Benefits of systematic investment strategies" at the Métropole hotel in Geneva
December 01st 2009 - In partnership with Banque Transatlantique, the Opera 2 note becomes the Anaxis Brongniart Flexible fund
September 29th 2009 - Anaxis and Arkos Capital organise a conference on "Experience in managing UCITS III and absolute return strategies" at the Métropole hotel in Geneva
June 11th 2009 - Anaxis and Sabre Fund Management organise the Anaxis Sabre Style Arbitrage presentation at the Royal over-seas league in London
June 05th 2009 - Launch of Anaxis Bond Opportunity L
March 27th 2009 - Brongniart Rendement receives the 2009 Lipper Award, 1st in the Euro zone category
March 15th 2009 - Brongniart Rendement is awarded "Best European large cap fund in 2009"
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