New products and changes introduced over the last week include the Credit Opportunities Fund from T. Rowe Price; three funds from Invesco; and three actively managed subaccounts added by Nationwide Financial to one of its VA series.
In addition, TMC Bonds and Codestreet launched a dealer-only dark pool for corporate bonds and Manning & Napier added a dedicated distribution channel.
Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:
1) T. Rowe Price Launches Credit Opportunities Fund
T. Rowe Price has announced the launch of the Credit Opportunities Fund (PRCPX), which invests in a variety of credit-related instruments across the corporate capital structure.
PRCPX, managed by Paul Karpers, has few constraints, allowing it to take advantage of an array of credit instruments that offer compelling risk/return trade-offs. It offers exposure to areas of the credit markets that may not be closely followed by many participants in the traditional asset management industry and, therefore, may be mispriced. PRCPX is expected to be volatile, with greater risk than a typical high-yield fund.
2) Invesco Adds Three Funds
Invesco has launched the Invesco Global Infrastructure Fund (GIZAX), Invesco Strategic Income Fund (SIZAX) and Invesco Strategic Real Return Fund (SRRAX).
GIZAX seeks to provide total return through growth of capital and current income, and may also provide investors with a hedge against potential inflation and an opportunity for portfolio diversification. The fund will invest in equity securities of companies with infrastructure assets in theU.S.and abroad, including up to 20% in master limited partnerships, and be managed by the real estate team.
SIZAX will look to provide current income, and secondarily long-term growth of capital, by investing primarily in U.S.and foreign debt securities, including emerging market debt securities. The team will broadly pursue income across such global fixed income sectors as high yield and investment grade credit, emerging markets, bank loans, and foreign and U.S. government securities.
SRRAX will seek to mitigate the effects of unanticipated inflation and to provide current income. The fund will employ a diversified approach to managing inflation risk by using different fixed income asset classes, including Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), high-yield bonds and bank loans, which have the potential to perform well in inflationary environments while still offering competitive yield.
