AXA IM launches fixed term high yield bond fund for Whitbeck

Designed to be held until 2022

AXA Investment Managers has launched a fixed term high yield bond fund for head of US fixed income, Carl 'Pepper' Whitbeck.

The AXA IM Maturity 2022 fund will primarily invest in US high yield bonds and intends to hold securities for five years until the maturity date of the fund. The team will build a diversified portfolio of US high yield bonds at the beginning of the term by investing in names with solid business fundamentals. A sell discipline will apply to any position if an issuer's credit fundamentals deteriorate. At the end of the term in 2022, the fund will self-liquidate and bonds will either be repaid or sold, with the aim of achieving an annualised gross return of 4%-7%, although the company sa...