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Specialist in Asia Pacific, Japan, China, India and South East Asia and Global Emerging Market equities.

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Specialists in equity portfolios in Asia Pacific, emerging markets, global and sustainable investment strategies

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Our philosophy is very simple. We are constantly searching for high quality businesses and when we acquire them, we will work relentlessly with them to create long-term sustainable value through innovation, ESG-led and proactive asset management.

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Important Note Click to maximise

This document is a financial promotion for The First Sentier Global Credit Strategy. This information is for professional clients only in the EEA and elsewhere where lawful. Investing involves certain risks including:

  • The value of investments and any income from them may go down as well as up and are not guaranteed. Investors may get back significantly less than the original amount invested.
  • Currency risk: the Fund invests in assets which are denominated in other currencies; changes in exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund and could create losses. Currency control decisions made by governments could affect the value of the Fund's investments and could cause the Fund to defer or suspend redemptions of its shares. 
  • Credit risk: the issuers of bonds or similar investments that the Fund buys may get into financial difficulty and may not pay income or repay capital to the Fund when due. 
  • Interest rate risk: bond prices have an inverse relationship with interest rates such that when interest rates rise, bonds may fall in value. Rising interest rates may cause the value of your investment to fall. 
  • Charges to capital risk: The fees and expenses may be charged against the capital property. Deducting expenses from capital reduces the potential for capital growth.
  • Derivative risk: derivatives are sensitive to changes in the value of the underlying asset(s) and/or the level of the rate(s) from which they derive their value.  A small movement in the value of the assets or rates may result in gains or losses that are greater than the amount the Fund has invested in derivative transactions, which may have a significant impact on the value of the Fund. 
  • Sovereign debt risk: the Fund may invest substantially in government debt which is exposed to political, social and economic risks. In adverse situations, sovereign issuers may not be able or willing to repay the principal and/or interest when due and the Funds may suffer significant losses. 
  • Below investment grade risk: below investment grade debt securities are speculative and involve a greater risk of default and price changes than investment grade debt securities. In periods of general economic difficulty, the market prices of these types of securities may decline significantly. 

For details of the firms issuing this information and any funds referred to, please see Terms and Conditions and Important Information.  

For a full description of the terms of investment and the risks please see the Prospectus and Key Investor Information Document for each Fund. 

If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of our funds for your investment needs, please seek investment advice.

Global Credit

Global Credit Income Strategy

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Strategy Overview

Key Facts

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We go beyond the limits of most credit analysis

An allocation to global credit provides investors with higher yields than those on offer from cash and government bonds and diversification to complement equity exposures. Discover how we go the extra mile to navigate risks and opportunities in global markets.

Why invest with us in global credit?

We offer a range of actively managed strategies, as well as solutions for clients favouring a ‘buy and maintain’ approach. All utilise a proven investment process, incorporating disciplined in-house credit analysis and aiming to exploit relative value opportunities in global markets. We also have a proven ability to tailor bespoke, segregated mandates according to client requirements and have the local expertise to manage specialised regional portfolios. 

  • A proven and differentiated investment philosophy: Since credit market returns are asymmetric, we focus on ‘avoiding the losers’ through rigorous credit analysis, combined with sophisticated portfolio construction focused on diversification. 

  • Consistent long-term performance track record: Favourable risk-adjusted returns generated over 3-5 year time horizons.

  • Multi-dimensional credit research: Credit research focuses on assessing credit risk and identifying deteriorating issuers. Our analysis considers a variety of risk dimensions, enabling significant breadth.

  • Best-in-class Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration: We have a vigorous Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) process that is built in at both the company and product level. More importantly, ESG risk factors are an important consideration in the assignment of credit ratings on individual issuers.

Our strategies

Floating rate Global Credit strategy

  • Our ‘flagship’ and longest-running strategy, launched more than 20 years ago
  • Primarily investment grade, with dynamic high yield exposure providing industry diversification
  • Benchmark unaware, active style
  • Floating rate provides protection against interest rate rises. Duration is fully hedged
  • Highly diversified, with exposure to ~400 names

 

Fixed rate Global Credit strategy

  • Predominantly investment grade, with opportunistic high yield exposure
  • Benchmark aware, active relative value
  • Fixed rate standard credit benchmark

 

Investment Grade Credit strategy

  • Investment grade only, so an ideal solution to complement existing allocations to high yield
  • Buy-and-maintain, benchmark unaware style with low turnover
  • Fixed rate ‘smart’ credit benchmark

 

We’re obsessive about risk management

In our view, investing in credit is as much about risk management as it is about return management. Credit market returns are asymmetric; there is typically limited upside potential and risks are concentrated on the downside. We are value-based investors with an unrelenting focus on risk management. By completing thorough credit research, we aim to identify deteriorating issuers. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) assessments form a critical component of the research process. 

In security selection and portfolio construction, we aim to combine the most compelling risk-adjusted opportunities into well diversified portfolios.

  • Our focus is on issuers where risks are evolving, as changes can influence performance outcomes over time. 
  • We have world class ESG research capabilities and our responsible investment (RI) processes are highly rated by global consultants. 
  • Specialist analysts share information around the globe to support a global suite of credit products.
  • Internal Credit Ratings directly influence portfolio construction decisions, underlining the importance of disciplined research. 
“ESG issues have a direct impact on an issuer's risk and therefore its probability of default. If a company manages ESG risks poorly, we don’t have confidence that other risks are being well managed.”

Ky Van Tang

Co-Head of Credit Research

Case study

General Electric – losing power?

US-based conglomerate General Electric (GE) has been beset by questionable corporate governance practices, lack of transparency and a string of unexpected strategic announcements. The broader market appears to have extended GE some goodwill due to its ‘brand name’ rather than assessing the firm on underlying facts, though this appears to be changing gradually. 

Our ESG risk rating on the company was initially raised in late 2017 and again in late 2018. Consequently, internal credit ratings have been consistently below the external ratings agencies. Our assessment on the credit and ESG risks, along with uncertainty on the company’s strategy and future credit profile prompted us to sell GE bonds in our global credit portfolios. 

Risk assessment:

- GE reduced the size of its Board amid significant operating deterioration, underlining the governance risks present. There have been repeated changes in leadership, which disrupt the business and can result in continual shifts in company strategy. Repeated negative surprises and management changes are red flags in terms of internal controls and suggest a lack of cohesion in strategy. Accordingly it is difficult to envisage what the company might look like in the medium term. 

- Our greatest concern is that cash flow will be insufficient to service the company’s enormous debt load. At this stage we are unconvinced that the firm’s current plan to retain the Power, Renewable Energy and Aviation subsidiaries – along with parts of GE Capital – will remain intact. This is a serious concern from a credit perspective as underlying businesses face serious headwinds and as management priorities are spread thinly. Further, GE Capital’s debt is now guaranteed by the parent. We think GE Capital could be breakeven at best and could require significant capital contributions in the near term. 

 

For illustration purposes only. Reference to specific securities (if any) is included for the purpose of illustration only and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell the same. All securities mentioned herein may or may not form part of the holdings of First Sentier Investors portfolios at a certain point in time, and the holdings may change over time.

Responsible Investment

Our corporate RI strategy is based upon three strategic pillars of quality, stewardship and engagement.

For Global Credit, the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) assessment impacts the internal credit rating (ICR) provided by the Credit Analysts via our Credit Research process.

Learn more about the Global Credit team's approach to Responsible Investment

“Our credit analysts are tasked with monitoring the credit risk profile of individual borrowers. The aim is to remove deteriorating issuers from portfolios before default risk starts to affect valuations.”

Mike Arnold

Co-Head of Credit Research

Meet the investment team

Tony Togher

Head of Fixed Income, Short Term Investments and Global Credit

Craig Morabito

Senior Portfolio Manager

Ben Samuel

Portfolio Manager

Ky Van Tang

Co-Lead, Credit Research

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