Premier's Smith ramps up high-yield exposure

Premier's Paul Smith has taken his funds' high-yield exposure to its highest ever level on an improved outlook for corporates.

The £53m Corporate Bond Monthly Income now has a 15% weighting in high yield, while the £19m High Income Bond has one-third of its assets in this area of the market, which Smith says reflects his growing confidence in the corporate sector. “I have much more confidence in corporates than I do sovereigns. There will be fewer downgrades in the corporate sector this year – they have had a real improvement in their liquidity,” he says. In a more defensive move, Smith has also begun introducing floating rate notes (FRNs) and inflation-linked bonds into the funds over the last few months. ...