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

July 2019

July was a month full of mixed sentiment revolving around uncertainties regarding the Fed’s decision to cut rates along with ECB’s Mario Draghi hinting at easing. Needless to say, investors were seen to take a cautious approach during the month after the rally of June. By the end of July, the Fed cut rates by 25bps and Mario Draghi left rates unchanged after markets had already priced in stimulus as at end July.

The mixed sentiment during July, led the stock market’s performance to be flattish month on month whereas year to date, the stock market is up 19.91%.

Specifically in the Eurozone area, Greece’s election proved to be a positive for the country as the New Democracy party rose to power; the party has promised tax cuts financed by spending cuts in attempt to support growth. On another note, Italy has continued to avoid censure from Brussels over the size of its deficit. In contrast, Brexit remains a major problem for Europe given the new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s target to leave the EU by end October with or without a deal.

On a more general note, the ECB kept rates on hold with the main refinancing rate remaining at 0 and the deposit rate at -0.4 percent, but changed its forward guidance to say that it expects rates to remain the same or at lower levels at least through the first half of 2020. The bank has also pointed that is already making preparations for more quantitative easing. Since markets had already reacted positively to Draghi hinting to a July rate cut which led to a decrease in negative yields, yields made a U-turn after the ECB suggested otherwise. Indeed, we saw the 10-year Bund tumbling to even lower negative levels of circa 0.44 percent from the positive 0.2 percent levels in January and the negative 0.20 percent mid-month.

There were limited developments on the Trade War front apart from a meeting at end of July where it was agreed that talks would resume in September. That being said, macroeconomic data in the U.S improved whereas China’s deteriorated. Due to this, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has finally started to ease monetary policy conditions for consumers and businesses. In order to maintain growth following the U.S tariffs, the PBOC produced a coordinated response in the form of liquidity stimulus and fiscal measures. To underline its easing bias, the PBOC provided another 100bps cut to its reserve requirement ratio, injecting further liquidity.

European High Yield gained 0.794 percent and saw tighter spreads than the U.S from 371bps, in the previous month, to 369bps. U.S High Yield experienced a gain of 0.512 percent and the 10-Year U.S. Treasury yield remained at roughly the same levels as at end June, ending at 2.0144 percent. The U.S bond markets saw spreads tighten from 407bps last month to 393bps, but much less than of its Eurozone counterparts.

The Investment Manager (IM) remains of the opinion that names held in the fund have further to gain as we are in earnings season. Nonetheless, investors should remain cautious due to the uncertainties from the Trade War. The IM has built positions in high conviction names and further aims to benefit the portfolio by adapting to the market scenario. With this in mind, the IM is confident that the stocks in the portfolio should generate alpha for the fund and boost performance.