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

September 2019

The month of September turned out to be a positive month for equities. Despite ongoing economic growth concerns, investors reacted positively to fresh announcements of accommodative monetary policy decisions by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve (Fed). The Global Balanced income fund continued to improve its performance for the year adding a further 3.71 percent in September contributing to a total performance of 9.08 percent year-to-date.

Both the ECB and the Fed announced new measures to stimulate the flagging economy. In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced an interest rate cut of 10 basis points to -0.50 percent, and restarted quantitative easing with an asset purchase program (APP) of €20 billion per month. The ECB committed to the reinvestment of maturing securities under the APP for an extended period of time past the date when the key ECB interest rates starts increasing. Moreover, a two-tier system for reserve remuneration will be introduced to exempt the banks’ excess liquidity from a negative deposit rate.

Meanwhile, the U.S Federal Reserve cut its interest rates for the second time in over a decade. The Fed lowered the fed funds target rate by 25 basis points, to the range of 1.75 percent to 2.0 percent, over concerns that the uncertainty over the U.S-China trade war is slowing down the manufacturing sector and weighing on business confidence.

During the month of September, investors favoured the more cyclical sectors. The financial sector was the best performer on the month, followed by energy and materials. However, the more defensive sectors outperformed on a quarterly basis, including the utilities, real estate and consumer staples.

Global HY recorded a total return of +0.46 percent in the month of September, with gains being solely locked from the carry trade, as investors continue to be wary of the geopolitical tensions which are also being reflected in economic data. Given that Global HY holds weighting in EM debt, the latter mitigated the downside experienced in U.S. HY.

As we head into earnings season, the Investment Manager (IM) remains of the opinion that the names held within the fund have further to gain. Nonetheless, the IM remains cautious and continues to monitor the developments in the US China trade war, the Brexit saga and general economic conditions with the aim to adjust the Fund’s positioning to further benefit from market developments.