MacKay Shields | Global Credit Team

The Global Credit Team manages a number of income-oriented fixed income strategies ranging from credit, emerging markets, high yield and bank loans. Our experience in managing fixed-income portfolios encompasses most sectors, securities and markets, and also includes asset allocation as a key component in many of our strategies. We seek to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns by eliminating those risks for which the compensation is insufficient among bonds and across sectors. A team of investment professionals with an average of 18+ years of investment experience work together to manage our global fixed-income strategies and seek to deliver solid investment performance for our clients.

The longstanding investment philosophy of our global credit strategies is rooted in our strong beliefs:

Our basic tenet is that bonds have limited upside (mature at par) but significant downside potential (default with no recovery).
We believe that strong risk-adjusted returns can best be achieved by using a highly disciplined investment approach designed to identify and eliminate any uncompensated risks.
Bottom-up research complemented with a top-down macroeconomic overlay can help identify those securities having the most attractive risk/return profiles.

Market inefficiencies may be exploited by experienced investment professionals with expertise in security selection and analysis.

We manage portfolios using a disciplined process that combines both top-down and bottom-up analysis with rigorous risk management. Our top-down review focuses on important economic underpinnings of the market’s risk cycle and is fueled by our understanding and appreciation for the significance of monetary policy and its impact on capital markets. Our bottom-up analysis feeds continuously into our macro analysis to help identify significant changes in financial market conditions, real economic developments and areas of credit excess. As part of this review, we analyze a progression of 35 quantitative and qualitative factors to evaluate individual credits, which are historically the largest drivers of our portfolio returns, in order to identify inappropriate or uncompensated risk. Risk management is imbedded throughout our entire process, with a special focus on credit risk, interest rate risk, structure risk and liquidity risk.

Bank Loans

Objective

Bank Loans seeks to outperform the benchmark by eliminating uncompensated risk from investments in bank loans, sometimes referred to as leveraged loans or bank debt. The strategy strives to achieve an information ratio of greater than 1.

Investment Universe

Typically invests in bank loans of below investment grade issuers.

Global High Yield

Objective

Global High Yield seeks to outperform the benchmark by eliminating uncompensated risk from investments in below investment grade securities. The strategy strives to achieve an information ratio of greater than 1.

Investment Universe

Typically invests in below investment grade securities using an integrated top down and bottom up approach to management.

High Yield Active Core

Objective

High Yield Active Core seeks to outperform the benchmark by eliminating uncompensated risk from investments in below investment grade securities. The strategy strives to achieve an information ratio of greater than 1.

Investment Universe

Typically invests in below investment grade securities using an integrated top down and bottom up approach to management.

Investment Grade Credit

Objective

Investment Grade Credit seeks to outperform the benchmark by eliminating or reducing uncompensated risk from investments in corporate credit securities. The strategy strives to achieve an information ratio of greater than 1.

Investment Universe

Typically invests in the universe of securities represented by the Barclays Credit Index.

Short Duration High Yield

Objective

Short Duration High Yield seeks to provide an attractive risk adjusted return through eliminating uncompensated risk with investments in below investment grade securities. The strategy strives to achieve an information ratio of greater than 1.

Investment Universe

Typically invests in below investment grade securities and can also use cash and derivatives to lower the duration of the portfolio, pursuant to client guidelines.

Eric Gold

Team Head &
Senior Portfolio Manager

Steven Friedman

Chair of Investment Policy Committee &
Senior Macroeconomist

Portfolio Management

Global Credit

Emerging Markets Debt

Fundamental Research

10

Macro & Quantitative

4

Risk Management

4

Trading

5

ESG & Sustainability Inititatives

4

Teams

Global Credit Team

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