JPM Global Corp Bd I2 (acc) EUR |
by Evangelia Gkeka
JPMorgan Global Corporate Bond benefits from a well-resourced team and is led by an experienced bench of four portfolio managers. Lisa Coleman, JPMorgan's head of global credit, has been at the helm since the strategy's inception in March 2009. Coleman boasts more than four decades of experience and joined JPMorgan in 2008 after an eight-year stint at Schroders, most recently as head of global credit strategies. She is based in the US alongside Lorenzo Napolitano, who has been involved in the strategy since 2012. The duo is mainly responsible for the US credit portion, while the two London-based comanagers, Andreas Michalitsianos (since 2013) and Usman Naeem (who joined the team in 2015), look after the European credit exposure. The disciplined investment process exploits the full extent of resources available to the team. The macro credit strategy, formulated by the wider fixed-income group (including Coleman), shapes the portfolio's credit-risk stance and market tilt (US dollar, euro, and sterling). The managers then determine relative sector positioning and rely on a team of 21 dedicated investment-grade credit research analysts for implementation of their top-down views. Given the pure-play approach here, duration is kept close to that of its benchmark, the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Corporate Index. Exposure to non-investment-grade credit (including subordinated financials) was historically limited to 10%, a moderate level compared with peers, but since 2021 the limit here has increased to 20% (although it is unlikely that level will be fully used here). The strategy's conservative style has seen it lag the market when high yield has rallied; still, the long-term track record of its clean share class C was ahead of peers and its Morningstar Category index from its inception in 2011 to the end of February 2024. The strategy declined by 14.5% in 2022, underperforming peers by 55 basis points. Security selection marginally detracted, in particular exposure to the banking sector. Duration slightly contributed to performance, mainly small underweight exposure for most of the first half of the year. In 2023 it returned 8.9% and outperformed peers by 42 basis points. Security selection helped, with the biggest contributors in banking, USD energy, and utilities. Overall, Coleman's leadership and significant experience in credit markets, combined with the disciplined team-based investment process and the depth of resources available, are among the positives here. |
Morningstar Pillars | |
People | Above Average |
Parent | Above Average |
Process | Above Average |
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