Lamirel eyes emerging market debt for sterling credit portfolio

AXA's senior portfolio manager Julie Lamirel is planning to add emerging market debt to her £20m Sterling Credit Short Duration Bond fund due to the attractive yields on offer.

There is only one investment grade BBB-rated EM bond in the fund, issued by the Development Bank of Kazakhstan and hedged back into sterling, but Lamirel wants to increase exposure in this area. “It has good yield and risk/reward; the economy is growing in this part of the world.” The bond had a 5.27% yield at issuance in December, she added. The manager is unconcerned about rising inflation and rates in the region, as she has tools to hedge against it. “We have the flexibility to hedge duration and can use futures to do this. We are active in EMs and this is a possibility for the s...