Global Balanced Income Fund

The Fund seeks to provide stable, long-term capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio of local and international bonds, equities and other income-generating assets. The Investment Manager shall diversify the assets of the Fund among different asset classes. The manager may invest in both Investment Grade and High Yield bonds rated at the time of investment at least “B-” by S&P, or in bonds determined to be of comparable quality, provided that the Fund may invest up 10% in non-rated bonds, whilst maintain an exposure to direct rated bonds of at least 25% of the value of the Fund. Investments in equities may include but are not limited to dividend-paying securities, equities, exchange traded funds as well as through the use of Collective Investment Schemes.

The Investment Manager of the CC High Income Bond Funds – EUR and USD has the duty to ensure that the underlying investments of the funds are well diversified. According to the prospectus, the investment manager has to abide by a number of investment restrictions to safeguard the value of the assets

• We shall invest primarily in a diversified portfolio of listed transferable securities across a wide spectrum of industries and sectors primarily via bonds, equities and eligible ETFs. We may invest in these asset classes either directly or indirectly through UCITS Funds and/ or eligible non UCITS Funds
• We intend to diversify the assets of the Sub-Fund broadly among countries, industries and sectors, but reserve the right to invest a substantial portion of the Sub-Fund’s assets in one or more countries (or regions) if economic and business conditions warrant such investments
• Investments in equity securities may include, but are not limited to, dividend-paying securities, equities, ETFs and preferred shares of global issuers. At our discretion, we may also invest indirectly in equities and equity-related instruments through the use of collective investment schemes. The Sub-Fund will generally, but not exclusively, invest in blue chip issuers listed on Approved Regulated Markets, including equities listed on the Malta Stock Exchange, where applicable
• We shall manage the credit risk and will aim to manage interest rate risk through credit analysis and credit diversity. We may invest in both investment grade (corporate and sovereign) and high yield bonds that have a credit rating of at least “B-” by S&P (or rating equivalent issued by other reputable rating agencies) at the time of investment, provided that the Sub-Fund may invest a maximum of 10% of its assets in non-rated debt securities, including those listed on the Malta Stock Exchange. We will, at all times, maintain an exposure to direct rated bonds, whether investment grade or high yield, of at least 25% of the value of the Sub-Fund
• For temporary or defensive purposes, the Sub-Fund may invest in short-term fixed income instruments, money market funds, cash and cash equivalents. The Sub-Fund may also hold cash and cash equivalents on an ancillary basis or cash management purposes, pending investment in accordance with its Investment Policy and to meet operating expenses and redemption requests.The Sub-Fund may invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) via UCITS-eligible ETFs and/or CIS and securities related to real assets (including but not limited to real estate, agriculture, and precious metals-related securities) such as equities, bonds, and ETFs as well as CISs as long as these constitute eligible assets under the UCITS Directive
• The Sub-Fund may invest in options, futures and forwards for risk management and hedging purposes only (“Hedging Instruments”)
• Other than any margins required for these Hedging Instruments, the Sub-Fund will not employ leverage

October 2021

Consequent to an increased level of money supply through unprecedented monetary stimulus, an uptick in inflation was theoretically warranted. Thus far, current inflation levels proved to be supply rather than consumer driven, and to this extent this tends to trigger more uncertainty on the next moves monetary politicians should take. Whether such price increases are transitory or else persistent, however, is yet an outcome ought to be determined.

The sustainability of inflationary pressures has in October continued to be quite a debate. Largely, investors are of the view that temporary price pressures could well be embedded in more long-term expectations and last even as the growth from reopening fades away. A surge in energy prices, due to an increase in both demand and limited capacity, have made matters worse, amplifying fears around longer-lasting inflationary pressures.

Theoretically, sustainability in price increases is maintained through a continuous rise in demand, and not through overall price rises resultant to a higher cost of production. Supply bottlenecks – in our view the key source to inflationary pressures, is a phenomenon we’ve been witnessing in 2021. Disruptions worsened by a second coronavirus wave, a blockage in the Suez Canal earlier in March, port closures in China, and capacity limitations, are seemingly persisting. Supply issues along with increased demand for goods, led to higher input costs, which were ultimately translated onto customers.

In the month, inflationary pressures have led markets to price in a faster pace of policy tightening from central banks across the world. Notably, the U.S. 10-year benchmark Treasury yield hit a high of 1.7 per cent over the month of October. Larger increases in shorter-dated yields caused interest rate curves to flatten.

From an economic viewpoint, the path towards a full recovery has all-in-all proved bumpier than previously anticipated. A vaccination drive taking long to pick-up speed along with a more severe wave of infections, lessened the pace of the recovery, giving rise to doubts about the sustainability of economic growth. Economic data is now showing stronger signs. Albeit earlier witnessing a slight deceleration in the pace of expansion, data points are seemingly maintaining the recent pace. Leading economic indicators continue to revolve in expansionary territory while inflation data remains on an upward trajectory.

Business activity in the Euro economic area, previously witnessing a strong recovery momentum and reaching its peak in July, continued to moderate, as October’s Composite PMI data – a useful gauge of economic health in the two key sectors, appears to have just past the peak rate of growth. Supply issues are said to have been a major headwind to businesses.

In October, Eurozone Composite PMI was revised slightly lower to 54.2 from a preliminary estimate of 54.3 and lower than the previous month’s reading of 56.2. Although revolving in expansionary territory, October’s reading maintained its recent downward trend, pointing to the slowest growth in private sector activity in six months. Meanwhile, Eurozone inflation was estimated at 4.1 per cent in October 2021, higher than September’s actual 3.4 per cent and above economist expectations of 3.7 per cent. October’s flash reading is the highest since July 2008, further raising concerns about the ECB’s narrative that recent price spikes are seen as temporary and that the economy requires low borrowing costs. Month-on-month, inflation increased by 0.8 per cent – the highest monthly rate since March 2021, preliminary estimates showed.

From the U.S., manufacturing PMI stood at 58.4, downwardly revised from a preliminary estimate of 59.2, and down from 60.7 in September. Although the pace of expansion slowed to the weakest for ten months due to smallest increase in production levels since July 2020 amid capacity constraints including material shortages, October’s reading pointed to a sharp improvement in the health of the US manufacturing sector. Services PMI, previously showing signs of weakening, was in October revised higher to 58.7, from a preliminary estimate of 58.2, and 54.90 in the previous month. The expansion proved to be the sharpest and quickest since July 2021. Also, the upturn was faster than the series average, with firms linking the increase to rising client demand and rise in new business. Meanwhile, annual inflation rate in the U.S. surged to 6.2 per cent in October, above forecasts of 5.8 per cent, and higher from 5.4 per cent in the previous month. Upward pressure was broad-based, with energy costs recording the biggest gain.

In balance, October proved negative for the corporate credit market. U.S. corporate credit outperformed its European counterparts.

Investment grade bonds (the highest quality bonds as determined by a credit rating agency) proved mixed. U.S. investment grade, the best performer for the month saw a gain of 0.25 per cent while European investment grade lost 0.70 per cent. In the more speculative segment, U.S. corporate credit outperformed its European counterparts registering a loss of -0.18 per cent against a 0.64 per cent loss.

Equity markets in October rebounded strongly following a nightmarish September. Tesla led the consumer discretionary charge into the month, accompanied by the strong rebound in the technology sector and follow on performance from large energy caps. Developed markets equities ended the month higher, pointing to a clear gap between them and EM equities. The S&P 500 managed a whopping 7.21%, as investors deemed the last month’s slump as a good entry point. All sectors rallied, but those with the highest market capitalization within the index performed better (consumer discretionary and technology). In Europe, the EuroStoxx50 and the DAX gained 5.00% and 2.81% respectively, as good macro indicators and positive financial releases from the corporate sector construed to a general feel-good market sentiment, led by consumer discretionary and technology.

In the month of September, the CC Global Balanced Income Fund rose by 0.89 per cent. On a year-to-date basis the sub-fund is up 12.03 per cent, performing strongly against its internal comparable benchmark, namely given its overweight position in equities and overweight positions within the HY space.