Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Hedge fund house Atlant Fonder has expanded its fund range with the launch of a Nordic-focused high-yield bond fund. Launched on March 22, Atlant Högräntefond is the first pure fixed-income vehicle under Atlant Fonder’s umbrella, which now houses eight different funds.
“On March 22, we started our first fixed-income fund, Atlant Högräntefond,” the team at Atlant Fonder writes in an announcement. “It is important for us not to have to sell bonds in a bad market environment like the market chaos in March of 2020,” says portfolio manager Taner Pikdöken. “Instead, we always want to be able to be buyers in such a market. Being able to act in such a way leads to a significant excess return over time,” he adds.
“It is important for us not to have to sell bonds in a bad market environment like the market chaos in March of 2020.”
Atlant Högräntefond is a corporate bond fund with a Nordic focus, aiming to return in the range of three to five percent above the risk-free interest rate. Structured as a UCITS fund, Atlant Högräntefond may employ derivative strategies to make portfolio management more cost-effective, improve the fund’s liquidity profile, strengthen risk control, and capitalize on market opportunities. Atlant Fonder has also integrated sustainability issues into their investment criteria, with Atlant Högräntefond excluding investments in companies involved in fossil fuels, among others.
“We always want to be able to be buyers in such a market. Being able to act in such a way leads to a significant excess return over time.”
The Atlant Fonder team has long been warning about Sweden’s immature, illiquid, and occasionally dysfunctional corporate bond market. During March of last year, 35 funds related to the corporate bond market in Sweden closed doors for redemptions amid a liquidity crunch in the country’s fixed-income market. “For several years, we have warned of the poor liquidity in the corporate bond market and asked ourselves who would buy when everyone needs to sell,” Michael Ekelund, the CEO of Stockholm-based asset manager Atlant Fonder, said in April of last year.
“Now that everyone needs to sell, the prices of some bonds are unsatisfyingly low,” he said back in early April. Whereas Atlant Fonder’s suite of hedge funds has been able to capitalize on opportunities in the Nordic corporate bond market, Atlant Högräntefond represents the asset manager’s first pure fixed-income fund. The freshly-launched fund is managed by Taner Pikdöken, Nikos Georgelis, and Anders Kullberg.
