JPMAM aims to raise £100m for launch of senior loans trust

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is seeking to raise £100m for the launch of an as-yet-unnamed trust investing in senior structured loans.

The trust, which will invest predominantly in the US, will have a target dividend yield of 5%. Senior loans are floating-rate instruments and provide a level of protection should interest rates begin to rise, in contrast to fixed-coupon bonds. They are also usually senior to bonds in a company's capital structure, and difficult to hold in open-ended funds for liquidity reasons. "Bank loans are justifiably drawing attention because they offer a high regular income from a floating rate portfolio of senior securities, protecting investors from credit risk and the threat of rising rate...