Investment Strategy
The Berenberg EM Local Bonds fund pursues a global (ex-euro) bond strategy in local currencies that invests in both developed and emerging market bonds and actively manages the weighting of the two segments relative to each other depending on their relative attractiveness. Its primary objective is to benefit from the yield advantage of foreign currency bonds over euro investments and the appreciation of (foreign) currencies against the euro. Using a systematic investment approach, the economically strongest countries are selected, taking into account fundamental, momentum and sentiment indicators. The duration is actively managed at the country level and is generally in the short- to medium-term maturity range.
- Global investment strategy in local currency bonds (ex EUR)
- Active positioning against a market benchmark
- Average duration is between 2 and 5 years
- Investment segments are mainly (quasi) government bonds in local currency
Learn more about our Berenberg Fixed Income investment philosophy
Further details on the opportunities and risks of this fund can be found in the sales prospectus.
Indexed performance
Performance in 12-month periods
Currencies
Sectors
Countries
Asset classes
Top Holdings
Monthly market comment
The month of February was characterized by (geo) political events, in particular tariff threats by the new US administration and the initiation of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. While the tariff threats increased the volatility of emerging market currencies, particularly in Latin America and Asia, Eastern European currencies performed positively against the euro on the back of speculation about peace negotiations in Ukraine. At the macro level, 10-year US interest rates fell significantly by 30 basis points as the first signs of uncertainty among US consumers and an associated economic slowdown emerged. The overweighting of Eastern European currencies and the increased duration in US interest rate-dependent countries paid off positively, enabling the fund to record a 0.5% increase in value in the highly volatile market environment in February.
Portfolio Management
Wei Lon Sung
Wei Lon Sung has worked in fixed income portfolio management at Deka Investment since 2018, with a focus on emerging markets. He joined Berenberg in 2023 and contributes his expertise in the fundamental selection of emerging market bonds in local and hard currencies. He holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Mathematics from Goethe University Frankfurt.
Sebastian Burbank
Sebastian Burbank has been with the company since October 2024. Before joining Berenberg, he worked for 3 years at Deka Investment as a portfolio manager for global bonds and currencies. He focused in particular on local and hard currency bonds in the emerging markets. He holds a Master's degree in Finance from Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Essen.
