Phoenix Companies' Asset Management Division has launched a new low-duration core-plus fund, the first low-duration product for the Hartford, Conn.,-based manager. The fund was launched in response to investor demand for a short product as the yield curve has flattened, according to David Albrycht, portfolio manager of $4 billion in fixed income. Albrycht is managing the new fund.
The fund has been seeded with $15 million from the company's own money and is benchmarked against the Merrill Lynch Medium-Quality 1-3 Year Index and the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index. The core segment of the fund will include investment in Treasuries, agencies, investment-grade corporates, commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and taxable municipal bonds. The plus segment will invest in emerging markets, high-yield bonds and mortgages that fall below investment grade. The fund has a mandate of investing in no more than 35% below investment grade and targets a duration of 2.4-2.7 years.