VIDEO: Higher spreads in the Asian bond market
The Asian US dollar bond market’s liquidity will improve because of its increasing size and number of participants, says Roy Scheepe, senior client portfolio manager for fixed income at ING Investment Management in a video (to view the video, click here).
Trading liquidity in Asia, however, still lags behind that in the US and European bond markets, which could increase the volatility of Asian bonds. Fortunately, investors are generously compensated for that greater volatility.
Spreads for Asian investment-grade bonds are approximately 50% higher than US investment-grade bond spreads.
For high-yield bonds, spreads are 100% higher in Asia than in the US.
ING Investment Management is a leading Asian debt (hard and local currency) player. Its commitment to the asset class dates back to before the Asian financial crisis.
It started managing pan-Asian debt portfolios in October 1996, which makes it one of the most experienced managers and one of the few that have gone through various market cycles.
The ING (L) Renta Fund Asian Debt Hard Currency Fund invests predominantly in US dollar-denominated Asian sovereigns and corporate debt.
The market in which the fund operates has over the past five years tripled in size to $500 billion on the back of strong economic growth.
The fund is managed out of Singapore, where a large and experienced team focuses on identifying the most attractive opportunities in the Asian debt market.
One of the strengths of the ING (L) Renta Fund Asian Debt Hard Currency Fund is its diversified approach. The fund is typically invested in some 100 issuers.
The application of single-issuer limits and the monitoring of single-country and sector limits minimize the fund’s risks. ING Investment Management believes that diversification leads to better risk-adjusted returns.
The fund’s success is illustrated by the awards and ratings it has garnered.
The fund provides investors with a diversified, award-winning solution that benefits from the very attractive yields in the Asian US dollar bond market.