- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Related

Storm Bond Fund Steady Through Cool May

Industry Report

- Advertisement -

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) Storm Bond Fund, the Norwegian High Yield Fixed income fund managed by Storm Capital Management Ltd. with a primordial focus on Nordic bond markets, continues its strong winning streak despite a muted (by its recent standards) +0.6% return in May, turning in +10.7% returns YTD. This was by comparison with +0.59% returns in the NHX Nordic Fixed Income universe for May so far (+4.58% YTD).

The fund, which has NOK 810 million in AuM, seeks to hold 30 to 40 of the best risk-adjusted high yield bonds across the Nordics at all times, with an investment process based on a top-down market screening of the universe and a bottom-up analysis of individual companies. Its management team is the largest investor in the fund.

In a comment to the month’s performance, Storm Bond Fund Chief Investment Officer Morten E. Astrup explained that due to a large amount of new issues entering the Nordic High Yield market, credit spreads in the secondary market fell relatively flat from the end of April to the end of May, although Q1 2017 returns were largely in line with expectations. The fund’s position in Gulfmark also suffered due to the U.S. Oil Service Index being down roughly -10% in May because of lower trending oil prices. The fund’s objective, however, is to deliver a 10-12% annual return and is therefore currently on target.

The Storm Bond Fund also added Euronav bond issue to its portfolio. Euronav is the world’s largest publicly traded crude tanker company with a market cap of USD 1.2 billion, a strong balance sheet and good liquidity, which the fund considers sustainable during a prolonged period with lower tanker rates. Conversely, the fund sold its position in American Shipping Company above par value.

Mr Astrup observes and anticipates further good value and further yield compression in the Nordic High Yield market going forward due to “increasing inflows in Nordic High Yield funds, still historical high spreads compared to international High Yield markets and a significant share of floating rate notes providing investors with protection from an environment with increasing interest rates.”

Picture: (c) seewhatmitchsee—shutterstock.com

 

 

Subscribe to HedgeBrev, HedgeNordic’s weekly newsletter, and never miss the latest news!

Our newsletter is sent once a week, every Friday.

Glenn Leaper, PhD
Glenn Leaper, PhD
Glenn W. Leaper, Associate Editor and Political Risk Analyst with Nordic Business Media AB, completed his Ph.D. in Politics and Critical Theory from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2015. He is involved with a number of initiatives, including political research, communications consulting (speechwriting), journalism and writing his post-doctoral book. Glenn has an international background spanning the UK, France, Austria, Spain, Belgium and his native Denmark. He holds an MA in English and a BA in International Relations.

Latest Articles

Rising Adoption of Quantitative Investment Strategies Among Nordic Investors

From a high-level perspective, there is a clear trend of increasing adoption of quantitative investment strategies (QIS) among Nordic institutional investors, either through the...

EU Plans Stress Test for Hedge Funds and Non-Bank Firms

European regulators are planning a stress test to identify vulnerabilities beyond the traditional banking sector, focusing on less regulated entities such as hedge funds,...

ALCUR Fonder Continues Hiring Spree

Following two earlier additions this year, ALCUR Fonder continues to expand its portfolio management team at a notable pace. The Stockholm-based hedge fund boutique...

Nordic Private Markets Modernize with Data-Centric Trade Lifecycle Automation

By Anders Stengaard Jensen at Indus Valley Partner: In recent years, asset managers in Nordic countries have accelerated efforts to modernize trade operations, particularly...

Norwegian Hedge Fund Industry Sees Major Boost with New Launch

The Swedish and Danish hedge fund industries remain closely matched in size, with Denmark recently edging ahead of Sweden. While still less than half...

Atlant Funds Hold Up in May Despite Mistimed Market Call

Macroeconomic and market forecasts are notoriously difficult, even for experienced hedge fund managers. What matters more than being right, however, is ensuring that incorrect...

Allocator Interviews

In-Depth: High Yield

Voices

Request for Proposal

- Advertisement -
HedgeNordic
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.