fund
This is one of our rated funds. They’re the ones our experts believe will do well for investors over the longer term. Top of the class!
AXA Global High Income Z Gross
A global high yield bond fund investing predominantly in US high yield bonds with some European exposure.
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98.38p
Price (Inc)
These are the shares in the fund that pay out an income to clients. The income is made up of the total dividends – the money a company can pay out to its investors – from the companies in the fund.
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246.20p
Price (Acc)
These are the shares in the fund that don’t pay out an income to clients. Any dividends – the money a company can pay out to its investors – are reinvested into companies in the fund. Despite no income, the shares should be worth more over time. Good incentive, eh?
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0.00%
Initial chargeSome funds charge you when you first invest, which is aptly known as the initial charge. They’re usually between 3-5% but at Bestinvest, we usually don’t charge you a penny!
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0.50%
Annual management charge
This is how much the fund management company charges to run the fund. It’s like paying a babysitter, dog sitter or house sitter (that makes well-informed, heavily researched changes to improve your baby/dog/house when needed).
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0.55%
Ongoing charges
This stands for Ongoing Charges Figure. It’s the cost of running a fund and includes admin fees, manager fees, administration costs, etc.
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4.70%
Yield
How much the fund is currently paying out in income to investors. It’s NOT to be confused with the overall growth of a fund – a very different thing indeed. It’s also NOT a guarantee of future pay-outs, just a snapshot. This is more what it’s not than what it is…
This fund is invested principally in US high yield corporate bonds to provide a higher level of income. US domiciled names are selected by Axa's US office, whilst Pan European domiciled names are managed from Axa's London office. The fund is benchmarked for reference purposes only against the Merrill Lynch Global High Yield Index, no formal benchmark constraints apply to the construction of the fund. Non-sterling denominated investments are hedged back to sterling. The fund’s IA peer group is the Sterling High Yield Sector. Bonds issued by major governments and companies will be more stable than those issued by emerging markets or smaller corporate issuers; in the event of an issuer experiencing financial difficulty, there may be a risk to some or all of the capital invested. Any historical or current yields quoted should not be considered reliable indicators of future performance.
Fund summary
| Sector | £ High Yield |
| Structure | OEIC |
| Launched | November, 2008 |
| Size | £135m |
| Yield | 4.70% |
| Charging basis | Income |
| Dividends paid | 28 Feb, 31 May, 31 Aug, 30 Nov |
Charges
| Standard initial charge | 0.00% |
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.00% |
| Annual management charge | 0.50% |
| Ongoing charges figure | 0.55% |
Allocation
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Investment process
The management team attempt to identify companies with improving fundamentals at relatively attractive levels of credit risk. A conservative, value approach to investing in this asset class is employed by the portfolio managers. The focus of the fund is very much on income generation, seeking to minimise default risk and rating deterioration through broad portfolio diversification, as opposed to targeting high capital returns. The US and European portfolios are run independently from their respective locations with a consensus agreement being reached on top down strategies and sector risk. Performance attribution expectations: 5% duration management, 10% sector selection, 85% security selection. The neutral US high yield position is 80% of the portfolio.
This provides a means of gaining core exposure to the US dominated, global high yield corporate bond market. Historically the mandate has offered a relatively more defensive means of gaining exposure to this asset class, characterised by relatively lower volatility and drawdowns. The portfolio is highly diversified and benefits from well-resourced and experienced teams located in Europe and the US. The current fund objective was adopted in November 2003.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 0.00%
- 17/18 -0.01%
- 18/19 0.01%
- 19/20 0.00%
- 20/21 -0.07%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years -0.02%
- 5 years -0.01%
- Career -0.04%
- 3 years 60.60%
- 5 years 69.50%
- Career 62.90%
Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index.
James Gledhill / Carl Whitbeck
Whitbeck is a US fixed income portfolio manager/analyst with AXA Investment Managers. Prior to joining AXA Investment Managers in 2002, he was an analyst in the investment banking division of Lehman Brothers, where he performed financial analysis on companies in the consumer and retail sectors and worked on a variety of M&A and high yield transactions. He holds a B.A. from Williams College and has the CFA professional designation. Gledhill joined Axa Global Investors as Head of Global Credit in 2011. Previously he had been a fixed income manager at Henderson, having joined the group in 2009 following their take over of New Star Asset Management. Gledhill started his investment career at M&G in 1992 as a trainee fund manager on the UK equity desk, switching to the global fixed interest team in 1995. He joined New Star in 2002. He is a graduate of Oxford University.
Track record
James Gledhill / Carl Whitbeck has 8.8 years experience of managing mutual funds in this sector. Over this period the average monthly return relative to the benchmark index has been -0.04%. During the worst period of relative performance (from September 2013 - September 2016) there was a decline of 7% relative to the index. The worst absolute loss has been 14%.
Periods of worst performance
| Absolute | -14.00% (January 2020 - March 2020) |
| Relative | -7.00% (September 2013 - September 2016) |
About the MRI
Our unique indicator: the Bestinvest Manager Record Index (MRI) measures the likelihood that the fund manager is adding value through their decisions. It is based on their performance record over the course of their career, adjusted for the amount of risk taken. MRI is an important contributor to our fund rating system but it is also vital to take account of qualitative factors. It is also very important to select funds to form a cohesive portfolio with an appropriate overall risk level.
Allocation
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Top 10 holdings
Data accurate as at 31 July 2020
| 1% | Kenan Advantage Group Inc 7.875% 07/31/2023 |
| .9% | Kronos Acquisition Holdings Inc 9% Bds 15/08/23 Usd2000 144a |
| .8% | American Midstream Partners Lp 9.5% 12/15/2021 |
| .8% | Ascend Learning Llc 6.875% Bds 01/08/25 Usd1000 |
| .8% | Bway Holding Co 7.25% 04/15/2025 |
| .8% | Camelot Finance Sa 4.5% Bds 01/11/26 Usd1000 |
| .8% | Change Healthcare Hldgs Llc 5.75% Bds 01/03/25 Usd2000 |
| .8% | Polaris Intermediate 8.5% Bds 01/12/22 Usd2000reg S |
| .8% | Solera Llc/Fin Inc 10.5% Bds 01/03/24 Usd2000 144a |
| .8% | Watco Cos Llc / Watco Finance Corp 6.5% Bds 15/06/27 Usd2000144a |
| Source: Trustnet |
Sector breakdown
| B | 41.00% |
| BB | 29.00% |
| CCC | 20.00% |
| Money Market | 6.00% |
| BBB | 2.00% |
| Non-Rated | 1.00% |
Portfolio
The fund currently holds approximately 460 individual securities. The neutral US high yield position is 80% of the portfolio. Average weighted credit quality will be about B.
Constraints
The fund will consist of 100% US/Pan European high yield securities. There are no specific geographic allocation constraints. Maximum exposure to any one sector 20%.