Since its launch, the investment team for the Cigogne UCITS- Credit Opportunites fund has endeavoured to construct a portfolio that leverages credit market opportunities while maintaining a balanced approach to risk.
The historical pace and magnitude of monetary tightening since March 2022 now seem to be fading. Though always consistent with data, central bankers are taking an increasingly cautious approach, foreshadowing the end of the hiking cycle. The latest economic figures confirm the resilience of activity in the United States and the assumption of a soft landing. In Europe, the economic slowdown needed to reduce inflationary pressures is confirmed and reflects a divergence between the two zones. The deterioration in financing conditions combined with the decline in fiscal policies naturally calls for greater selectivity of investments.
As a result focus has been on diversifying the portfolio with around 70 issuers present to date. The low maturity of the securities (75% of investments have a maturity of less than 3 years) as well as the credit quality of the selected issuers (75% belong to the Investment Grade segment) are all qualitative elements privileged within our management. The multi strategy approach also prevailed, particularly with the implementation of basis arbitrage strategies (simultaneous purchase of a bond and the corresponding protection against the risk of default) in the context of the relative value specialty. Finally, the possibility of combining investment with public and private issuers has also enabled us to take advantage of interesting opportunities in the sphere of sovereigns, reducing the portfolio's sensitivity to corporate refinancing conditions.