Investing in High Yield Bonds

With rates on the move, keep your goals on track.

Our expertise

At AXA IM, we have experienced, dedicated high yield teams that have been managing portfolios through multiple economic and credit cycles.

The teams are positioned globally across US, Europe and Asia, providing resources to meet the needs of a large, global client base.

The investment teams employ a consistent investment process which has been tested over a range of market cycles and conditions. This process is centred on the philosophy that the key to superior long-term returns in the fixed income market is compounding current income and avoiding principal loss through fundamental credit analysis and macroeconomic research.

Our strategies

AXA IM offers a range of high yield strategies investing within and across regions, sectors and maturities.

Our strategies all follow a robust bottom-up credit research process that focuses on identifying companies with improving credit trends, while the top-down component seeks to identify risks and opportunities associated with the overall economy and market.

In this way we aim to minimise default risk and manage volatility through active management, while pursuing high yielding opportunities and potentially generating capital growth

Visit our fund centre

Why invest in high yield bonds?

High yield bonds offer a number of potential benefits, alongside some specific risks such as higher volatility and higher default rates. For those in a position to take on higher levels of credit risk, high yield bonds may provide a significant yield enhancement to a well-diversified portfolio.

1.
Higher yield and diversification

In addition to higher income than investment grade bonds, high yield often behaves differently to other areas of the fixed income universe so may provide important diversification to a broader fixed income portfolio.

2.
Equity-like return with lower volatility

Like equities, high yield bond prices can increase as a result of improved performance of the issuing company or a wider economic upturn. However, the typically higher income component of high yield bonds means that they are generally less volatile than equities.

3.
Lower duration

High yield bonds are typically issued with shorter maturities than many investment grade bonds (generally less than 10 years) and, therefore, tend to have relatively lower duration. This means a high yield strategy may be less exposed to interest rate risk than most investment grade strategies.

Risks

No assurance can be given that our investment strategies will be successful. Investors can lose some or all of their capital invested. Our high yield strategies are subject to risks including, but not limited to:  liquidity risk, credit risk, counterparty risk and the impact of any techniques such as derivatives. The use of such strategies may also involve leverage, which may increase the effect of market movements and may result in significant risk of losses.

Related Articles

Fixed Income

High yield bonds: Will the rebound continue?

Quick Take

Quick Take with Mike Graham - July 2022

  • by Mike Graham
  • 05 July 2022 (5 min read)
Fixed Income

What the second half of 2022 has in store for markets, inflation and high yield bonds

  • by AXA Investment Managers
  • 18 July 2022 (10 min read)
Investment strategies

Fixed Income

We cover a broad spectrum of fixed income strategies to help investors build diverse portfolios that can be more resilient to economic and market shifts.

Learn more

    Disclaimer

    The information on this website is intended for investors domiciled in Switzerland.

    AXA Investment Managers Switzerland Ltd (AXA IM) is not liable for unauthorised use of the website.

    This website is for advertising and informational purpose only. The published information and expression of opinions are provided for personal use only. The information, data, figures, opinions, statements, analyses, forecasts, simulations, concepts and other data provided by AXA IM in this document are based on our knowledge and experience at the time of preparation and are subject to change without notice.

    AXA IM excludes any warranty (explicit or implicit) for the accuracy, completeness and up-to-dateness of the published information and expressions of opinion. In particular, AXA IM is not obliged to remove information that is no longer up to date or to expressly mark it a such. To the extent that the data contained in this document originates from third parties, AXA IM is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, up-to-dateness and appropriateness of such data, even if only such data is used that is deemed to be reliable.

    The information on the website of AXA IM does not constitute a decision aid for economic, legal, tax or other advisory questions, nor may investment or other decisions be made solely on the basis of this information. Before any investment decision is made, detailed advice should be obtained that is geared to the client's situation.

    Past performance or returns are neither a guarantee nor an indicator of the future performance or investment returns. The value and return on an investment is not guaranteed. It can rise and fall and investors may even incur a total loss.

    AXA Investment Managers Switzerland Ltd.