Schroders has launched the Schroder Alternative Solutions (Schroder AS) Argentine Bond Fund – a strategy focused on investing across Argentina’s full credit spectrum. The Fund will provide access to bond issuers in a large, growing economy with the aim of delivering investors a high yield, total return strategy.
The strategy will take a research driven, bottom-up approach in order to build a diversified portfolio of issuances across Argentina’s over USD 300 billion investment universe, whilst also managing downside risk. The team will search for opportunities in sovereign debt, provincial debt, corporate debt and local currency. The Fund launched on 29 June 2018.
The strategy will be managed by Fernando Grisales and James Barrineau and the 10 strong emerging market debt team in New York, and advised by the Argentina investment desk, led by Pablo Albina. Pablo is Country Head, Argentina and has 26 years of investment experience, including 20 years as a fixed income fund manager. The investment team is backed by Schroders’ global expertise, with a strong emphasis on local knowledge. The team has an on-the-ground presence in Argentina and local specialists to cover regional issuers in Argentina’s 23 provinces and the City of Buenos Aires.
Nicolas Giedzinski, Head of LatAm Intermediary & Discretionary US Offshore, said: “We have seen strong interest from international clients to have an Argentine bond product that can provide a compelling yield story in a country that moved from a frontier market into an emerging market category. The fund offers our clients a professionally managed, one-stop solution and the opportunity to invest in a specialised, high yield strategy. We have already been implementing this strategy in a local vehicle for a number of years, and now we are bringing our expertise packaged in an international vehicle.”
Fernando Grisales, the Fund Manager, said: “With an International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement in hand and a stable policymaking framework in place, we believe that a single country fund for Argentina could be a great choice for investors seeking to capitalize on these structural improvements.”
Schroders has had a presence in Argentina since 1932 and is the number one independent asset manager in the country. It has the largest position in the Argentine debt market, currently managing more than USD 1.2 billion in Argentina long-only debt.