Focus on Carmignac’s credit expertise

Published on
23 February 2023
Read time
5 minute(s) read

The credit market today

Risk-free rates and credit spreads rose in tandem in 2022, resulting in record losses in the credit market but also, and even more significantly, a spectacular rise in the yields on credit instruments.

The end of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have brought inflation back to the developed world and forced central banks to place a cost back on capital.

This unprecedented series of events has had direct repercussions on the credit market. Inflation has suppressed demand among not just consumers but also businesses, many of which may have to restructure their production chains, rethink their business models, and adjust their margins.

In this new economic order, we can expect to see favourable conditions for fixed income and levels of carry in the coming years that we haven’t experienced in over a decade.

Now that the main central banks are scaling back their liquidity injections, interest rates and credit spreads should settle at structurally higher levels.

This marked increase in the cost of capital will likely push default rates back up to normal and bring back significant opportunities for generating alpha.

Default rates had been held artificially low for years, prompting too many investors to allocate capital to inefficient projects and companies, meaning we’re now seeing attractive yields in the credit space.

The expected rise in default rates hasn’t yet materialised, but credit spreads already price in an extremely pessimistic outlook for defaults over the next few years. As a result, the market is poised to absorb a substantial rise in defaults while still offering attractive carry.

Higher default rates will naturally fuel the amount of perceived risk in the credit market. And the more fearful investors are of credit, the more opportunities there will be for asset managers who are driven by the fundamentals.

Investing successfully in the credit market means finding a large number of issuers whose risks are overpriced. And unsurprisingly, investors tend to overprice risks when the market as a whole is experiencing a high number of defaults.

It follows that today’s credit market not only offers attractive valuations, but also harbours a wealth of idiosyncratic opportunities enabling us to generate returns from both alpha and beta.

Our main convictions

Our investments are concentrated mainly in investment themes that stand to benefit from the inflationary environment and higher interest rates. These themes include:

  • Commodities sector: Energy producers and the associated services firms are getting a direct boost from the rising energy prices – a trend compounded by years of underinvestment in this sector. What’s more, many issuers offer a combination of solid (and improving) fundamentals, limited interest-rate sensitivity, and attractive credit spreads.

  • Financials: Banks’ and insurers’ profit margins will likely be supported going forward by steepening sovereign yield curves, higher risk premiums, and the end of negative interest rates on deposits.

  • Distressed debt: We’ve invested in a handful of special restructuring situations, which we view as potential opportunities with rewarding “complexity premiums”.

  • Collateralized loan obligations (CLOs): Because these are floating-rate instruments, they can mitigate the negative effects of higher inflation, interest-rate volatility, and higher default rates while offering attractive returns.

Our flagship strategy

Our credit team, established in 2015, is headed by Pierre Verlé and composed of experienced asset managers who employ a fundamentals-based approach. Thanks to their sound technical skills and rigorous investment process, they have a track record of delivering solid returns under a variety of market conditions. They currently manage a portfolio of over €10.9 billion1 in credit-market investments (including IG, HY, DM, EM and CLOs).

Our credit team’s strong performance has earned numerous industry accolades. The team has an AA rating along with a Gold distinction from Citywire in the Bonds–Euro Corporates category, and is a winner of the EuroHedge Award in the Macro, Fixed Income and Relative Value category.

Carmignac Portfolio Credit

  • Strategy AuM: €1067M (30/01/2023)

  • Launch Date: 31/07/2017

Main Characteristics:

  • FX Hedged
  • DM & EM Corporate Credit
  • Max. CLOs exposure: 20%
  • Max. HY exposure: 50%
  • Credit derivatives up to 30%
1

Source: Carmignac. ¹ Across all Carmignac portfolios, as of 30/01/2023. The reference to a ranking or an award is not a guarantee of the future results of the fund or the manager. Morningstar Direct © 2023 Morningstar, Inc. all rights reserved. EUR Flexible Bond Class. EUROHEDGE AWARD 2019. Winner in the “macro, fixed income & relative value” category February 2020. Source and copyright : Citywire. Pierre VERLE and Alexandre DENEUVILLE are rated AA by Citywire for their risk-adjusted performance over a rolling three-year period for all the funds they manage as of October 31, 2022. Carmignac is rated “GOLD” in the “Bonds – Euro Corporates” category by Citywire for its rolling risk-adjusted performance, across the sector, over the period 31/12/2015 – 31/12/2022. Citywire fund manager ratings and Citywire rankings are the property of Citywire Financial Publishers Ltd (“Citywire”) and © Citywire 2023.

Carmignac Portfolio Credit

Access the entire credit spectrum for maximum flexibilityDiscover the fund page

Carmignac Portfolio Credit A EUR Acc

ISIN: LU1623762843
Recommended minimum investment horizon
3 years
Risk indicator*
2/7
SFDR - Fund Classification**
Article 6

*Risk Scale from the KID (Key Information Document). Risk 1 does not mean a risk-free investment. This indicator may change over time. **The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) 2019/2088 is a European regulation that requires asset managers to classify their funds as either 'Article 8' funds, which promote environmental and social characteristics, 'Article 9' funds, which make sustainable investments with measurable objectives, or 'Article 6' funds, which do not necessarily have a sustainability objective. For more information please refer to https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/2088/oj.

Main risks of the fund

Credit: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer may default.Interest Rate: Interest rate risk results in a decline in the net asset value in the event of changes in interest rates.Liquidity: Temporary market distortions may have an impact on the pricing conditions under which the Fund might be caused to liquidate, initiate or modify its positions.Discretionary Management: Anticipations of financial market changes made by the Management Company have a direct effect on the Fund's performance, which depends on the stocks selected.
The Fund presents a risk of loss of capital.

Performance

ISIN: LU1623762843
Carmignac Portfolio Credit1.81.720.910.43.0-13.010.68.21.9
Reference Indicator1.1-1.77.52.80.1-13.39.05.71.0
Carmignac Portfolio Credit+ 4.7 %+ 5.6 %+ 5.5 %
Reference Indicator+ 3.0 %+ 1.6 %+ 1.3 %

Source: Carmignac at 30 Apr 2025.
​Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Performances are net of fees (excluding possible entrance fees charged by the distributor).

Reference Indicator: 75% ICE BofA Euro Corporate index +  25% ICE BofA Euro High Yield index. Quarterly rebalanced.

Related articles

Fixed Income Strategy19 May 2025English

Eastern Building Blocs: Seeking opportunities in Bond Markets

7 minute(s) read
Find out more
Fixed Income Strategy7 May 2025English

Annual Dividends Distribution 2024 - Carmignac Credit

1 minute(s) read
Find out more

Marketing communication. Please refer to the KID/KIID, prospectus of the fund before making any final investment decisions. This document is intended for professional clients.

This material may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior authorisation from the Management Company. This material does not constitute a subscription offer, nor does it constitute investment advice. This material is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, accounting, legal or tax advice. This material has been provided to you for informational purposes only and may not be relied upon by you in evaluating the merits of investing in any securities or interests referred to herein or for any other purposes. The information contained in this material may be partial information and may be modified without prior notice. They are expressed as of the date of writing and are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by Carmignac to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by Carmignac, its officers, employees or agents.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Performances are net of fees (excluding possible entrance fees charged by the distributor). The return may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations, for the shares which are not currency-hedged.

Reference to certain securities and financial instruments is for illustrative purposes to highlight stocks that are or have been included in the portfolios of funds in the Carmignac range. This is not intended to promote direct investment in those instruments, nor does it constitute investment advice. The Management Company is not subject to prohibition on trading in these instruments prior to issuing any communication. The portfolios of Carmignac funds may change without previous notice. The reference to a ranking or prize, is no guarantee of the future results of the UCIS or the manager.

Morningstar Rating™ : © Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; may not be copied or distributed; and is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.

Access to the Funds may be subject to restrictions regarding certain persons or countries. This material is not directed to any person in any jurisdiction where (by reason of that person’s nationality, residence or otherwise) the material or availability of this material is prohibited. Persons in respect of whom such prohibitions apply must not access this material. Taxation depends on the situation of the individual. The Funds are not registered for retail distribution in Asia, in Japan, in North America, nor are they registered in South America. Carmignac Funds are registered in Singapore as restricted foreign scheme (for professional clients only). The Funds have not been registered under the US Securities Act of 1933. The Funds may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, for the benefit or on behalf of a «U.S. person», according to the definition of the US Regulation S and FATCA.
The risks, fees and ongoing charges are described in the KID (Key Information Document). The KID must be made available to the subscriber prior to subscription. The subscriber must read the KID. Investors may lose some or all their capital, as the capital in the funds are not guaranteed. The Funds present a risk of loss of capital.

The Funds’ prospectus, KIDs, NAVs and annual reports are available at www.carmignac.com/en, or upon request to the Management Carmignac Portfolio refers to the sub-funds of Carmignac Portfolio SICAV, an investment company under Luxembourg law, conforming to the UCITS Directive. The French investment funds (fonds communs de placement or FCP) are common funds in contractual form conforming to the UCITS or AIFM Directive under French law.

  • In France, Luxembourg, Sweden: The risks, fees and ongoing charges are described in the KID (Key Information Document). The KID must be made available to the subscriber prior to subscription. The subscriber must read the KID. Investors may lose some or all their capital, as the capital in the funds are not guaranteed. The Funds present a risk of loss of capital. The Funds’ prospectus, KIDs, NAV and annual reports are available at www.carmignac.com/en, or upon request to the Management.

  • In the United Kingdom: the Funds’ respective prospectuses, KIIDs and annual reports are available at www.carmignac.com/en-gb, or upon request to the Management Company, or for the French Funds, at the offices of the Facilities Agent at BNP PARIBAS SECURITIES SERVICES, operating through its branch in London: 55 Moorgate, London EC2R. This document was prepared by Carmignac Gestion, Carmignac Gestion Luxembourg or Carmignac UK Ltd. FP Carmignac ICVC (the “Company”) is an Investment Company with variable capital incorporated in England and Wales under registered number 839620 and is authorised by the FCA with effect from 4 April 2019 and launched on 15 May 2019. FundRock Partners Limited is the Authorised Corporate Director (the “ACD”) of the Company and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Registered Office: Hamilton Centre, Rodney Way, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3BY, UK; Registered in England and Wales with number 4162989. Carmignac Gestion Luxembourg SA has been appointed as the Investment Manager and distributor in respect of the Company. Carmignac UK Ltd (Registered in England and Wales with number 14162894) has been appointed as a sub-Investment Manager of the Company and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with FRN:984288.

  • In Switzerland: the prospectus, KIDs and annual report are available at www.carmignac.com/en-ch, or through our representative in Switzerland, CACEIS (Switzerland), S.A., Route de Signy 35, CH-1260 Nyon. The paying agent is CACEIS Bank, Montrouge, Nyon Branch / Switzerland, Route de Signy 35, 1260 Nyon.

  • In Spain : The Funds are registered with the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores) under the following numbers: Carmignac Sécurité 395, Carmignac Portfolio 392, Carmignac Patrimoine 386, Carmignac Absolute Return Europe 398, Carmignac Investissement 385, Carmignac Emergents 387, Carmignac Credit 2027 2098, Carmignac Credit 2029 2203, Carmignac Credit 2031 2297, Carmignac Court Terme 1111.

The Management Company can cease promotion in your country anytime. Investors have access to a summary of their rights in English on the following links: UK ; Switzerland ; France ; Luxembourg ; Sweden.

For Carmignac Portfolio Long-Short European Equities: Carmignac Gestion Luxembourg SA in its capacity as the Management Company for Carmignac Portfolio, has delegated the investment management of this Sub-Fund to White Creek Capital LLP (Registered in England and Wales with number OCC447169) from 2nd May 2024. White Creek Capital LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with FRN : 998349.

Carmignac Private Evergreen refers to the Private Evergreen sub-fund of the SICAV Carmignac S.A. SICAV – PART II UCI, registered with the Luxembourg RCS under number B285278.