GE Asset Management is considering rolling out emerging market debt and bank loan strategies. The Stamford, Conn.-manager has grown its assets by 20% for the past five years and it is boosting the marketing of its fixed-income strategies to bolster growth, said Jack Boyce, senior v.p. of institutional investment services.
GEAM manages a small portfolio of bank loans and it has been managing emerging market debt for the last 12 months as part of its core-plus strategy. Boyce said it is getting to grips with market demand for these asset classes and is considering launching dedicated strategies for the sectors.
Kathy Karlic, cio of fixed income, said in a rising rate environment bank loans are especially attractive because they could dampen the duration effect on a portfolio. As for emerging market debt, GEAM has beaten appropriate benchmarks over the last year and has country managers around the world, which is a competitive advantage as the firm is on the ground in emerging market economies, she said.
Since GEAM decided to boost the marketing of its fixed-income strategies 15 months ago, it has brought in approximately $2 billion in new bond business, including $500 million in insurance portfolios. GEAM manages $84 billion in fixed-income portfolios for insurers and $17 billion in total return fixed income, which includes the assets of the GE pension plans.
