First State Investments' U.S. High Yield strategies mark three-year anniversary with top-decile performance

First State Investments (FSI), a leading global asset manager, recently marked the three-year anniversary of its high yield group's U.S. composite strategies with top-decile rankings, versus institutional peers, for the three-year period ending June 30, 2020.

The FSI Broad1, Select, Quality and Short Duration high yield composites generated three-year annualized gross returns of 5.00%, 4.83%, 5.03% and 3.71%, respectively. All four composites outperformed their ICE BofA high yield benchmark indexes.

According to eVestment, a global leader in institutional investment data and analytics, the FSI Broad, Select, Quality and Short Duration composites were ranked in the 4th, 5th, 5th and 3rd percentiles in their respective institutional peer groups.

"We're pleased to celebrate the three-year anniversaries of our high yield strategies, which are managed by our New York-based team, and we continue to achieve superior results for our clients in a challenging environment," said Bachar Beaini, managing director of the Americas region for First State Investments.

The firm's high yield strategies seek to combine dynamic fundamental, bottom-up credit selection with a top-down portfolio risk management process. Matt Philo and Jason Epstein are co-heads and senior portfolio managers of the high yield team and have led the strategies since inception.

Philo said, "As co-managers, Jason and I are executing on our time-tested investment process that has proved to be successful for global investors. We are dedicated to our inclusive, team approach, which has resulted in a strong credit culture and positive outcomes for clients."

Epstein added, "Volatile market conditions in the first half of 2020 reaffirmed our conviction that effective investing in the high yield market is first and foremost about risk control. We expect both challenges and opportunities to continue in high yield and are confident in our team's investment process."

Philo joined First State Investments in May 2016 and has more than 30 years of industry experience. Before First State Investments, he was head of high yield at MacKay Shields. Epstein, who joined the firm in September 2016, has 18 years of experience and was previously a managing director of high yield for Oak Hill Advisors.

1The performance of the FSI Broad High Yield composite is hypothetical as the assets of the Select High Yield strategy and the Quality High Yield strategy have been combined to create the Broad High Yield Strategy.

About First State Investments

Sydney-based First State Investments, known as First Sentier Investors in Australia, is a global asset manager with approximately US$148 billion managed on behalf of investors worldwide, as of June 30, 2020. FSI is a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) www.firststateinvestments.com.

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SOURCE First State Investments