Pictet expands emerging market range with bond fund for Defise

Pictet Asset Management has broadened its emerging market range with the launch of a new corporate bond fund.

The Emerging Market Corporate Bonds fund will offer exposure to the rapidly expanding asset class, and seek to outperform the JP Morgan CEMBI Broad Diversified by 2% per annum over a three to five year horizon.

The strategy has been run since November and since has attracted over $600 million.

Pictet-Emerging Corporate Bonds is being managed by Alain-Nsiona Defise, who joined Pictet Asset Management last year from JP Morgan, where he managing the emerging corporate business.

Defise will be supported by a team of four emerging corporate bonds credit analysts. 

Speaking about the launch, Defise said the fund would allow investors a different means of benefiting from attractive yields and strong fundamentals from companies in emerging markets have to offer.

'When you compare emerging markets companies with those from developed nations, you tend to find lower leverage and higher yields. With nearly 70% investment grade bonds and with default and recovery rates comparable to other asset classes, emerging markets corporate bonds are safer than investors might think,' he added.

Pictet said the fund has been structured as a compartment of the Pictet Luxembourg Sicav and is Ucits compliant.