Global High Yield

The strategy seeks to achieve excess return over the ICE BofA Global HY IG Country Constrained Index over a full investment cycle. High current income with capital growth is a secondary objective when consistent with high current income.*

Strategy highlights

Inception date

March 31, 2003

Benchmark

ICE BofA Global HY IG Country Const 100% USD Hgd Index

Total strategy assets

$703.3M

(as of September 2024)

Investment vehicles

We believe outperformance is driven by:

  • Pursuing capital appreciation in credits with improving fundamentals
  • Skeptically investing in deteriorating or stagnant credits based on rigorous scenario analysis
  • Actively managing the top-down portfolio profile based on market outlook
  • Selecting issuers driven by bottom-up fundamental credit analysis
  • Adhering consistently to a risk-controlled process

 

We see multiple opportunities to pursue strong performance: 

  • Wide range of issuers of various size, complexity, and geography
  • Capital structure complexity: senior, subordinate, and secured bonds as well as loans, convertibles, hybrids and preferred, and equity securities
  • Dislocations between cash instruments and derivatives
  • Varied security types including bullet maturities, floating rate notes, call/put option structures, covered bonds, etc.

Tracking error targets are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to revision and may change materially with changes in underlying assumptions. While the investment manager considers tracking error in the investment process, the strategy's composition and performance may vary substantially from that of the target. Achieved tracking error is the result of many factors, including market conditions and there can be no assurance that the tracking error actually reflected in client portfolios will be at levels indicated in the investment objectives.

*No assurance can be given that the investment objective will be achieved or that an investor will receive a return of all or part of his or her initial investment. Actual results could be materially different from the stated goals. Investors should carefully consider the risks involved before deciding to invest. As with any investment, there is a potential for profit as well as the possibility of loss.

Assets may include accounts that are not reflected in the composite.

Investment team

Performance

Annualized composite performance (%) as of September 30, 2024

  MTD QTD YTD 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Global High Yield (gross) 1.34% 4.92% 8.22% 16.00% 3.00% 4.61% 5.25%
Global High Yield (net) 1.30% 4.78% 7.81% 15.42% 2.48% 4.09% 4.70%
ICE BofA Global HY IG Country Constrained Index 1.58% 4.97% 8.51% 15.87% 2.54% 4.02% 4.73%

Calendar-year composite performance (%) as of September 30, 2024

  2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Global High Yield (gross) 12.96% -11.34% 5.90% 6.06% 15.80% -2.53% 8.19% 15.83% -2.92% 2.98%
Global High Yield (net) 12.40% -11.78% 5.37% 5.53% 15.22% -3.02% 7.65% 15.20% -3.55% 2.30%
ICE BofA Global HY IG Country Constrained Index 13.04% -11.86% 3.08% 6.27% 14.40% -1.98% 7.82% 15.69% -3.07% 3.00%

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. An investment in this strategy could lose value. Most recent month-end performance is preliminary. Returns are subject to change.

Periods less than one year are not annualized. Performance is stated in U.S. dollars and includes the reinvestment of dividends and interest.

Literature

Related topics

Strategy

Strategy profile

Important disclosures

 

The Putnam Investments Global High Yield Composite (the "Composite") seeks to achieve excess return over the BofA Global HY IG Country Constrained Index over a full investment cycle. High current income with capital growth is a secondary objective when consistent with high current income. The strategy pursues capital appreciation in credits with improving fundamentals and invests in deteriorating or stagnant credits based on rigorous scenario analysis. Accounts in the Composite pursue exposure across capital structure complexity, including senior, subordinate, and secured bonds as well as loans, convertibles, hybrids and preferred, and equity securities. The Composite's benchmark is the ICE BofA Global HY Investment Grade Country Constrained Index (hedged to USD). Accounts in the Composite may have different but largely similar benchmarks. Leverage is not utilized in any account in this Composite. However, derivatives (such as futures, swaps, options, and forwards) may be used for hedging or non-hedging purposes. The Composite includes all fully discretionary accounts managed by Putnam Investments in this investment style. The Composites inception date was March 31, 2003. The Composite creation date was May 15, 2003.

 

Prior to January 1, 2013, the Composite was benchmarked to the ICE BofA Global High Yield Constrained Index. In 2012, ICE BofA changed the guidelines to the ICE BofA Global High Yield Constrained Index, allowing high-yield debt from non-investment-grade (i.e., emerging-market) countries to be included in the index. Because the Composite's investment strategy focuses on investing primarily in developed nations, the new benchmark, which includes high-yield corporate debt from only investment-grade (i.e., developed) countries, more closely aligns with the goals and investment universe for this strategy.

 

The ICE BofA Global High Yield Investment Grade Country Constrained Index is an unmanaged, USD-hedged index of high yield corporate bonds from those countries that issue investment-grade government bonds.

 

 

Gross performance includes the deduction of transaction costs but does not include the deduction of management fees and other expenses that may be incurred in managing an investment account. A portfolio's return will be reduced by advisory and other fees. Net performance reflects the deduction of a model fee applied on a monthly basis, equal to the actual management fee incurred by a portfolio in the Composite or the highest management fee that would be charged to a prospect of the strategy, whichever is higher. The model fee may change over time. Actual advisory fees may vary among clients with the same investment strategy. The Composite includes all actual, fully discretionary accounts with substantially similar investment policies and objectives managed to the Composite's investment strategy. Benchmarks are generally taken from published sources and may have different calculation methodologies, pricing times, and/or foreign-exchange sources from the Composite. The effect of those differences is generally deemed to be immaterial. The securities holdings of the Composite strategy may differ materially from those of the index used for comparative purposes.