American Beacon Advisors, a provider of investment advisory services to institutional and retail markets, has added a new mutual fund, American Beacon SiM High Yield Opportunities Fund (Ticker: SHOIX), to its established family of low-cost mutual funds.
The fund seeks to achieve high current income and capital appreciation. Its sub-advisor, Strategic Income Management LLC (SiM), takes a long-term approach to the high yield markets and employs a philosophy centred on identifying secular trends and themes. Gary Pokrzywinski, Chief Investment Officer, and Brian Placzek, Head of High Yield Research, have primary responsibility for the Fund’s day-to-day management and financial analysis. Pokrzywinski and Placzek have worked together for more than a decade and bring 26 years of experience in fixed income financial markets, and investment management and financial analysis, respectively.
"American Beacon is very pleased to offer SiM’s disciplined and methodical process for pursuing income through the high yield markets," says Gene L Needles Jr President and CEO of American Beacon Advisors. "This fund reflects our focus on partnering with specialised investment management firms to consistently offer clients an even wider range of opportunities that support their asset allocation needs."
The fund seeks to maximise current income by investing in a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities that are generally rated below investment grade. SiM uses a core top-down philosophy to identify sectors, industries and companies that will benefit from positive long-term trends. It also identifies those that are undergoing a change in dynamics that can be capitalised on due to market volatility. Once potential investment opportunities are identified, SiM uses bottom up research to assess the fundamental strengths and weaknesses of individual securities.
"SiM’s high yield portfolio management philosophy is distinguished by its structure and ability to take advantage of market sector volatility," says Pokrzywinski. "We are pleased to partner with American Beacon and bring our unique strategy to their clients. We believe that by concentrating on secular trends and themes through a clear understanding of industry characteristics, we’re positioned to provide a structurally compelling portfolio over a complete market cycle."
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the fund’s net assets will be invested in non-investment grade securities. The Fund may invest up to 35% of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers, including up to 25% in emerging markets securities.
