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

August 2020

The Global Balanced Income fund was up 1.42% for the month of August and down 1.29% for the year. This performance is a result of the prudent stance of the Manager to invest in stocks and bonds, which continue to do well in uncertain times whilst also slowly building a position in those stocks and bonds in beaten down industries a longer-term view on their valuations.

At the start of the summer, when lockdowns were gradually lifted, some hoped that the Covid-19 pandemic would recede during the hotter summer months. However, even though record temperatures were registered in August, the virus has unfortunately continued to spread.

Even though the number of new daily cases in the US has started to decline, some regions- including Europe-are now facing a second wave. So far, better testing and tracing capacity has allowed European policymakers to treat this second wave with targeted measures, including travel restrictions or the requirement to wear a face mask in public, instead of national lockdowns.

On the economic front, high-frequency data, such as travel and navigation app usage, point to continued global growth over the third quarter, albeit at a more moderate pace, particularly in the US, than in May and June. However, these challenges haven’t dented investors’ enthusiasm, which seems to have been lifted by a better-than-expected second-quarter earnings season and by the potential for a viable Covid-19 vaccine in the coming months.

In this context, risk assets continued to rally. Over the month, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose by 2.2% and the MSCI Developed Market Index rose by 6.7%.

The swift and sizeable Covid-19 policy response from central banks and governments has managed to cushion the economic shock and lift markets, as policymakers aimed to build a bridge to the other side of the virus. However, the second wave in Europe reminds us that the battle is far from over and until a vaccine is widely available, economies will likely remain constrained by measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. It is therefore important that governments continue to support consumer incomes and businesses until a vaccine is available or until the virus is brought under control by other means. The extent to which they do so will be key to the outlook from here.

Given the high degree of uncertainty around the outlook for the virus and a vaccine the Investment Manager continues to believe it makes sense to aim for a defensive portfolio taking up selective positions in cyclical stocks with long term value. In this environment, the Investment Manager favours an up-in-quality approach across for stocks with a focus on valuations relative to fundamentals.