19 March 2014
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Artisan Partners announced today that it has launched the Artisan High Income Strategy. The strategy is managed by the Artisan Partners Credit team. The Credit team is led by portfolio manager Bryan C. Krug. Mr. Krug joined the firm in December 2013 to start Artisan’s sixth autonomous investment team. Mr. Krug has 14 years of industry experience and 7 years of portfolio management experience leading a high-yield investment strategy.
Artisan Partners CEO Eric Colson said, “We are excited for Bryan and his team to begin managing the High Income Strategy. It fits well within our business model of offering high value-added investment products with institutional viability. We have designed the strategy to allow Bryan and his team the investment freedom to distinguish this product with their fundamental research and disciplined investment process.”
In regards to the new strategy Mr. Krug said, “The High Income Strategy is structured in a way that will let us take advantage of what we believe are the best opportunities in the non-investment grade credit market. We believe our repeatable, high conviction investment process will allow us to achieve attractive risk- adjusted returns over a full credit cycle.”
Investment Risks: Fixed income investments entail credit and interest rate risk. In general, when interest rates rise, fixed income values fall and investors may lose principal value. High income securities (junk bonds) are fixed income instruments rated below investment grade. High income securities are speculative, have a higher degree of default risk than higher-rated bonds and may increase the strategy’s volatility. Loans carry risks including the insolvency of the borrower, lending bank or other intermediary. Loans may be secured, unsecured, or not fully collateralized, and may infrequently trade, experience delayed settlement, and be subject to restrictions on resale. Private placement and restricted securities are subject to strict restrictions on resale and may not be able to be easily sold or accurately valued. International investments involve special risks, including currency fluctuation, lower liquidity, different accounting methods and economic and political systems, and higher transaction costs. The use of derivatives may create investment leverage and increase the likelihood of volatility and risk of loss in excess of the amount invested.
