Investment Strategy
The investment objective of the fund is to achieve an appropriate and steady performance. In order to achieve this objective, at least 70% of the fund is invested in euro-denominated corporate bonds with an investment grade rating. Bonds are selected on the basis of fundamental aspects, risk/return factors and sustainability criteria. The strategy pursues an active management approach in conjunction with continuous risk management. Derivatives can also be used to manage interest rate, credit and currency risks.
- Core portfolio positioned close to the index plus our best ideas in the high-conviction portfolio
- Adding bonds with a rating below investment grade possible
- Integration of sustainability in the investment process and company analysis
- Risk management at portfolio and individual bond level
Further details on the opportunities and risks of this fund can be found in the sales prospectus.
Monthly market comment
The dominant topic on the market was the special federal/state/local government infrastructure fund of EUR 500 billion, which was approved by both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat in mid-March. In addition, it was decided that the debt brake would be suspended for defense and security spending. Forecasts assume that the additional expenditure could increase the debt ratio by 10 percentage points. At the same time, a clearly positive effect on the development of GDP is expected. In view of the improved medium-term growth prospects, yields on 10-year German government bonds rose by 33 basis points to 2.73%. Risk premiums, on the other hand, were influenced by the looming tariff dispute with the USA. These rose by 9 basis points for investment grade bonds and by as much as 39 basis points for high-yield bonds.
Portfolio Management
Felix Stern
Felix Stern joined the Asset Management division of Berenberg in 2000 as a fixed income portfolio manager. Currently he is heading the fixed income selection team within the Asset Management and is responsible for institutional mandates. As a senior portfolio manager he is responsible for the selection of corporate and financial bonds as well as short-term bond market investments. He is also the lead manager for several of Berenbergs institutional mutual funds. Prior to joining Berenberg, he worked several years for the Market Research department of British American Tobacco, Germany. Felix is a CCrA - Certified Credit Analyst (DVFA) and also has a German Diploma in business economics from the Fernuniversität in Hagen.
Dr. André Meyer-Wehmann
André Meyer-Wehmann has been with the company since October 2024. His focus is on the quantitative selection of investment grade bonds. Before joining Berenberg, he worked as a quantitative multi-asset portfolio manager at MainSky Asset Management and as a Credit Risk Methodology Specialist at Deutsche Bank. He holds a PhD in Finance and a Master of Science in Quantitative Finance from Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, where he is a lecturer. Prior to that, he completed a Bachelor of Science in General Management at EBS Business School. Mr. Meyer-Wehmann is also a CFA charterholder.