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Archive
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 Dealing with uncertainty in asset allocation
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[+/-] summary May 12, 2010
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Given the inherent uncertainty involved in predicting the erratic short-term behaviour of financial markets, there is no substitute for a thorough due diligence process. Only by understanding a particular manager’s investment philosophy and process is it possible to accurately gauge the likelihood they will be able to regularly hit stated performance objectives.
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2010 Stable Value Supplement
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[+/-] summary April 19, 2010
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Aviva Investors has recently been published in a supplement on Stable Value Funds, which was inserted into the April 19 issue of Pensions & Investments and distributed in print to a circulation of 50,000 investment professionals and online to 80,000 registered users. The supplement featured quotes from Tim Reimer, Senior Vice President of Alternative Strategies for Aviva Investors North America, and a full page advertisement.
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2010 Global High Yield Bond and Bank Loan Outlook: The Flight to Credit Risk
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[+/-] summary January 29, 2010
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The global high yield bond and U.S. bank loan markets posted record-high returns for the year 2009. While another such year is not in the cards mathematically in 2010, we believe attractive returns can be realized with the improving fundamental backdrop of declining default rates and spreads that are wider than the historical average.
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2010 Economic and Market Outlook
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[+/-] summary January 19, 2010
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Unprecedented global monetary and fiscal stimulus actions have helped pull the North American economy out of the deep recession and have systematically stabilized the financial markets.
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Commercial Real Estate Outlook: Difficult environment still offers opportunities
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[+/-] summary January 15, 2010
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Commercial real estate fundamentals are likely to remain for several years before any significant rebound. Increasing vacancies, decreasing effective rents and increasing capitalization rates will put downward pressure on valuations through the first half of 2010. Despite the continued downward pressure, there are opportunities to employ commercial real estate capital even in this very difficult environment.
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Is the CCC Beta Rally Over? An Argument for BB Rated Bonds
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[+/-] summary January 11, 2010
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by Jeremy Hughes, CFA, High Yield Portfolio Manager, Aviva Investors North America, Inc.
History suggests that the days of outsized relative returns for CCC bonds compared to BB bonds are numbered. It will require alpha via careful security selection to generate superior performance in CCC securities in the future, not merely an effort to load up on beta via any CCC issue. The recent outsized returns in CCC and below rated bonds are pointing towards more compelling valuations in particularly BB and also B rated bonds.
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High Yield Bank Loans: The Case for a Strategic Allocation
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[+/-] summary December 4, 2009
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by Christopher Langs, CFA, High Yield Portfolio Manager, Aviva Investors North America, Inc.
There are compelling arguments for investors to use high yield bank loans – or corporate loans with credit ratings below those of investment grade loans – as a standalone strategy or asset class, or to complement a high yield bond strategy.
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Benchmarking High Yield Bonds: The Case for a Peer Group vs. an Index
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[+/-] summary November 4, 2009
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by Todd Youngberg, CFA, Senior Vice President, Head of High Yield, Aviva Investors North America, Inc.
For certain institutional fixed income strategies, an index benchmark is less effective than a peer group when measuring the added value. We recommend using an institutional peer group rather than an index for a high yield bond benchmark.
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Securitized Markets Gain Benefits from TALF, PPIP
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[+/-] summary September 9, 2009
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by Bill Bemis, CFA, Vice President, Securitized Portfolio Manager, Aviva Investors North America, Inc.
The distress of the economic recession and financial crisis left investors and lenders averse to any form of risk taking.
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Global High Yield Bond Market Outlook: The "Return" of Beta
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[+/-] summary August 24, 2009
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by Todd Youngberg, CFA, Senior Vice President of High Yield, Aviva Investors North America, Inc.
There was a systemic meltdown in the global credit markets in the fourth quarter of 2008, but beta has returned with a vengeance in 2009.
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Shifts in fixed income make manager selection more important than ever
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[+/-] summary July 29, 2009
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by Ross Junge, CFA, Senior Vice President of Portfolio Management, Aviva Investors North America, Inc.
The perception of fixed income as a mundane and sleepy asset class has a lot in common with black and white television: They’re both terribly out of date.
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The High Yield Bond Market: Strong Start to 2009
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[+/-] summary April
27, 2009
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by Todd Youngberg, CFA, Senior Vice President of
High Yield, Aviva Investors North America, Inc.
The high yield bond market has raced out of the gates in 2009 with strong year-to-date
performance. In fact, high yield bonds have outperformed nearly all major asset
classes through mid-April. In our global high yield bond market outlook published
January 12, titled "The Power of the Coupon," we upgraded our view for high yield
bond allocations from marketweight to moderate overweight. While spreads have tightened
225 basis points – from +1,677 at year end to +1,452 on April 15 – we believe the
argument for an overweight in high yield bonds remains strongly intact. With a market
yield of 17.6% and an average price of $63, the total return potential from both
coupon and price return continues to be very attractive.
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