During early 2014, Loomis Sayles Strategic Income Fund managers grew increasingly cautious. Co-manager Elaine Stokes argued that while corporate-bond valuations were consistent with the late stages of a business cycle, absolute yields left little upside, and financial markets had been overly complacent about geopolitical risks.
This fund has plenty of charms
To provide a cushion, and dry powder should riskier credits sell off, the team added exposure to short-term Treasuries sitting at 19.3% in July 2014, up from 6% in late 2013. In addition to being cautious on credit, the fund also continued to dial down interest-rate risk by reducing its average duration.
Still, the resulting portfolio has been far from tame, with a roughly 5% stake in equities, close to a third of assets in high yield, 8% in convertibles, and a 19% unhedged non-dollar stake. Those positions helped the fund prosper in the first half of 2014 against the backdrop of generally strong stock markets, but the fund would still likely feel pain if equity and credit markets turned stormy, as had been the case in 2008 and in 2011.
That said, the fund has plenty of charms. The team here, anchored by veteran Dan Fuss, is impressive and is supported by considerable investments in analysts and quantitative resources. The team has demonstrated a knack for uncovering undervalued names that has helped the US-domiciled version of the strategy to an 8.2% 10-year annualised gain that tops nearly all of its peers'.
Kathleen Gaffney's October 2012 departure came as a surprise to many external observers who viewed her as long time manager Fuss' eventual successor. However, the success of this fund and the Loomis Sayles fixed-income line-up has depended on more than one or two individuals for some time, and Gaffney leaves behind a strong team.
Investors should note that the portfolio of this recently launched OEIC version was, at the time of writing, still being gradually aligned with the portfolio of the core strategy. Over the short term, this could lead to performance that diverges slightly from that of the US fund. Yet, over the long term, we believe the fund remains a strong choice for investors with the requisite risk tolerance. The fund retains its Gold Rating.