| The fund seeks to preserve shareholder capital and to provide a return exceeding the average return of the European high yield bond market.¹ |
| --- |
| Portfolio comment as of 31/10/2022 |
| European high yield spreads tightened by 36bps to 595bpsin October. Improved market sentiment was helped by falling European natural gas prices and an end to the increased levels of volatility observed in the UK during September as markets reacted positively to the appointment of Rishi Sunak, known for having a more fiscally conservative reputation, as leader of the Conservative Party and the country’s new prime minister. The ECB announced another 75bp hike on October 27th as the combination of high inflation and solid labour markets continues to support hawkish action from global central banks. As a result, government bond yields made new cycle highs with ten-year yields reaching 4.2% and 2.4% in the US and Germany respectively before retracing slightly by the end of the month. In terms of ratings, positive returns were observed across the BB and B segments while the CCC bucket still exhibited negative returns. Returns of the different ratings were BB: 2.10%, B: 1.35% and CCC: -1.19%. The best performing sectors were Automotive, Energy and Transportation whereas the worst performing sectors were Real Estate, Consumer Goods and Utility. In this context, the fund delivered a monthly return equal to 2.21%, bringing YTD performance to -14.38% (BP-EUR). The largest positive effects came from the fund’s selection in Banks, Healthcare and Basic Industry whereas the fund’s underweight to the Energy, Automotive and Transportation sectors detracted from performance. On a single name basis, positive contributions mainly came from an overweight in Stada, Virgin Media and Dufry. The negative contributions primarily came from an overweight in Selecta, TalkTalk, and Emeria (fka Foncia) as well as underweight in Banca Monte dei Pachi di Siena, Renault and ZF Friedrichahfen. |

Translation (ENIT, 2022-10-31):
| Il fondo punta a generare rendimenti superiori rispetto al più ampio mercato obbligazionario high yield europeo.¹ |
| --- |
| Commento al 31/10/2022 |
| Gli spread high yield europei si sono ridotti di 36 pb a 595 pb in ottobre. Inoltre, si è verificato un chiaro cambiamento nel sentimento del mercato, principalmente derivato dal calo dei prezzi del gas naturale in Europa e dalla fine dell'aumento dei livelli di volatilità osservati nei mercati del Regno Unito. La nomina di Rishi Sunak, conosciuto per avere una reputazione più conservatrice dal punto di vista fiscale, è stata accolta positivamente dai mercati. In termini di rating, sono stati osservati rendimenti positivi nei segmenti BB e B, mentre il CCC ha mostrato rendimenti negativi. I rendimenti dei diversi rating sono stati BB: 2,10%, B: 1,35% e CCC: -1,19%. I settori con la performance migliore sono stati Automotive, Energia e Trasporti, mentre i settori con la performance peggiore sono stati Real Estate, Consumer Goods e Utility. In questo scenario, il fondo ha registrato un rendimento pari al 2,21% nel corso del mese, portando la performance da inizio anno a -14,38% (BP-EUR). Infine, la performance positiva potrebbe essere attribuibile al sovrappeso in Stada, Virgin Media e Dufry. I contributi negativi provengono principalmente dal sovrappeso in Selecta, TalkTalk ed Emeria (fka Foncia) e dal sottopeso in Banca Monte dei Pachi di Siena, Renault e ZF Friedrichahfen. |