Climate Transition Global High Yield Fund
+$0.04 / +0.04%
The fund is a globally diversified portfolio of predominantly high yield credits designed to balance financial and climate objectives.
Key differentiators
- Accesses the full range of credit opportunities represented by rapid, large-scale decarbonisation and a global, sector-wide transition
- Takes advantage of fully integrated worldwide fixed income offerings, balancing global portfolio construction and local coverage
- Focuses on companies’ forward transition performance rather than excluding today’s carbon emitters
- Uses Allspring’s Climate Transition Framework to optimise security selection by holistically evaluating the implications of climate change on sector and company fundamentals
Uses a proprietary ESGiQ (ESG Information Quotient) rating system to capture key issues that may be mispriced
General facts
ISIN
LU2672734568
SEDOL
BPG8Y44
Bloomberg
CLTRNGA LX
Minimum investment
$
Fund inception date
6/6/2023
Share class launch date
4/30/2024
Annual management fee
1.00%
Total expense ratio (TER)
1.19%
Benchmark name
ICE BofA Developed Markets High Yield Constrained Index Hedged
Settlement
T+2
Quick resources
Q2 2024 manager update
Watch Sarah Harrison, senior portfolio manager for the Plus Fixed Income team, provide insights on fund performance, opportunities in global high yield markets and key lessons learnt now the fund has reached it’s one-year anniversary.
Transcript
The fund I share class (USD) returned 1.22% in the second quarter. What worked well and what didn’t?
Sarah Harrison: The global high yield market continues to do what it does best and chug along and earn carry. Two non-consensus calls have worked well for us this year. Firstly, an overweight cyclicals and underweight to non-cyclicals. Our view has been that the strength of the consumer, particularly in the U.S., would keep top line for corporates strong, which is positive for cyclicals. Conversely, we believe that corporates would struggle and did struggle in situations in which they had high interest burdens and unsustainable capital structures, which tends to be in the non-cyclical space. Also in our favor, our overweight to Europe versus the U.S. contributed as we saw the ECB (European Central Bank) cut before the Fed (Federal Reserve) in June. An underweight to the stressed part of the market worked less well, but we believe that discipline and security selection will pay off in the long run.
The fund reached its one-year anniversary in June. What did you learn in the first year?
Sarah Harrison: Climate transition is a relatively new concept for the high yield market, so this year has been full of learning. Our main takeaway from a climate perspective is that the view on what is right is evolving and you need to stay on top of the evolution. It certainly helps to be supported by the 15 strong Sustainability team we have here at Allspring. The main takeaway from a financial perspective is that you absolutely can generate competitive performance for traditional high yield funds while investing in this style. Outside of climate transition, market events have reinforced three key lessons learned over the team's average of 22 years of experience. Firstly, avoiding losers is just as important as picking winners. Secondly, high yield portfolio managers are risk managers as well as investors. And finally, paying careful attention to corporate governance can help to avoid defaults.
High yield looks attractive on a real yield basis while credit spreads remain relatively tight. How do you think about that as a portfolio manager and how do you view the market entry point?
Sarah Harrison: There's a great piece written by two of my Allspring colleagues called The Opportunity Cost of Waiting for Goldilocks that I urge you to check out. It's about market timing duration, but it very much applies to market timing fixed income generically. When thinking about allocating to high yield, carry is your friend in up markets and sideways markets and sometimes in down markets, as well. The Global High Yield Index, as of the end of Q2 2024, yielded over 7.5% in dollar terms. Every month that you delay a decision to invest to try to time the market costs you some of that running yield. If you're expecting a steep drawdown in the very near future, by all means, wait. But if your view is similar to ours and that default rates will remain manageable and credit spreads will remain rangebound, there's no time like the present.
Has the high yield market changed with the explosive growth of private credit?
Sarah Harrison: As investors know, there is a spectrum of liquidity in credit products and this is true even in leveraged credit. High yield sits on the liquid end of the spectrum and leveraged credit while private credit sits on the illiquid end of the spectrum. Bank loans are somewhere in the middle. In our view, high yield is complementary to private credit rather than in competition with it. The two are sufficiently different to be able to justify a position in both. Preference between the two boils down to, among other factors, how much do you value liquidity and at what level you value liquidity? If anything, the proliferation of private credit has, in our view, helped to keep default rates low as another source of capital for leveraged credits and has been a short-term positive for the high yield market technical.
Performance
Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Prices, yields and distributions
Historical prices
YTD high | $104.99 | 8/30/2024 |
YTD low | $100.00 | 5/1/2024 |
52-week high | $104.99 | 8/30/2024 |
52-week low | $100.00 | 5/1/2024 |
2023 high | - | |
2023 low | - |
The distribution yield is based on the actual distributions paid by the fund. The distribution yield is calculated by summing the fund’s distributions over the preceding 12 months and dividing that figure by the applicable share price at the end of the period.
Composition
Portfolio statistics
Portfolio statistics
(as of 7/31/2024)Fund | Benchmark | |
---|---|---|
Number of Holdings | 252 | 2671 |
Number of Issuers | 209.00 | 1,221.00 |
Effective Duration | 2.95 | 3.06 |
Weighted Average Effective Maturity | 4.48 | 4.33 |
Average Credit Rating | BB- | B+ |
Average Maturity | 11.92 | 8.61 |
Credit Spread Duration | 3.20 | 3.22 |
Placement within the Morningstar Fixed-Income Style Box™ is based on two variables: the vertical axis shows the credit quality of the long bonds owned and the horizontal axis shows interest rate sensitivity as measured by a bond's effective duration. For credit quality, Morningstar combines the credit rating information provided by the fund companies with an average default rate calculation to come up with a weighted average credit quality. The weighted average credit quality is currently a letter that roughly corresponds to the scale used by a leading NRSRO. Bond funds are assigned a style box placement of low, medium, or high based on their average credit quality. Funds with a low credit quality are those whose weighted average credit quality is determined to be less than BBB-, medium are those less than AA- but greater or equal to BBB-, and high are those with a weighted average credit quality of AA- or higher. When classifying a bond portfolio, Morningstar first maps the NRSRO credit ratings of the underlying holdings to their respective default rates (as determined by Morningstar’s analysis of actual historical default rates). Morningstar then averages these default rates to determine the average default rate for the entire bond fund. Finally, Morningstar maps this average default rate to its corresponding credit rating along a convex curve. For municipal bond funds, Morningstar also obtains from fund companies the average effective duration. In these cases static breakpoints are used. These breakpoints are as follows: (i) Limited: 4.5 years or less; (ii) Moderate: more than 4.5 years but less than 7 years; and (iii) Extensive: more than 7 years. In addition, for non-U.S. taxable and non-U.S. domiciled fixed-income funds, static duration breakpoints are used: (i) Limited: less than or equal to 3.5 years; (ii) Moderate: greater than 3.5 years and less than or equal to 6 years; and (iii) Extensive: greater than 6 years.
Credit quality
Credit quality
(as of 7/31/2024)
Type
|
Fund
|
Benchmark
|
---|---|---|
BBB/Baa
|
6.43% | 0.50% |
BB/Ba
|
46.14% | 54.12% |
B/B
|
36.02% | 34.28% |
CCC/Caa and below
|
7.05% | 11.10% |
Cash & equivalents
|
4.36% | - |
The ratings indicated are from Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings Ltd., and/or Moody's Investors Service. The percentages of the fund's portfolio with the ratings depicted in the chart are calculated based on total investments of the fund. If a security was rated by all three rating agencies, the middle rating was used. If rated by two of three rating agencies, the lower rating was used, and if rated by one of the agencies, that rating was used. Credit quality is subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Maturity
Maturity
(as of 7/31/2024)
Maturity Range
|
Fund
|
---|---|
0 - 3 years
|
20.29%
|
3 - 5 years
|
54.70%
|
5 - 10 years
|
23.28%
|
10+ years
|
1.71%
|
Based on ending weights as of month-end. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Holdings
Top Ten Holdings
(as of 7/31/2024)
Security
|
Fund
|
---|---|
CCO Holdings LLC
|
1.46%
|
Iron Mountain Incorporated
|
1.24%
|
TerraForm Power Operating LLC
|
1.04%
|
Ford Motor Company
|
0.88%
|
SS&C TECHNOLOGIE 6.5% 06/01/32
|
0.87%
|
SEAGATE HDD CAYM 8.5% 07/15/31
|
0.85%
|
OUTFRONT MEDIA 7.375% 02/15/31
|
0.82%
|
ASSUREDPARTNERS INC SR UNSECURED 144A 01/29 5.625
|
0.80%
|
Pattern Energy Operations LP
|
0.79%
|
WERNER FINCO LP/INC SR SECURED 144A 06/28 11.5
|
0.79%
|
Based on ending weights as of month-end. Source: FactSet. The information shown is not intended to be, nor should it be construed to be, a recommendation to buy or sell an individual security.
Sector allocation
Sector allocation
(as of 7/31/2024)
Type
|
Fund
|
Benchmark
|
---|---|---|
Consumer discretionary
|
25.24% | 19.88% |
Industrials
|
15.04% | 19.28% |
Financials
|
13.28% | 11.40% |
Consumer staples
|
13.03% | 11.63% |
Communication services
|
12.27% | 15.67% |
Information technology
|
7.82% | 6.28% |
Utilities
|
5.58% | 3.71% |
Energy
|
4.97% | 9.81% |
Real estate
|
2.21% | 2.17% |
Other industrials
|
0.26% | - |
Agencies
|
0.22% | 0.17% |
ABS
|
0.07% | - |
Based on ending weights as of month-end. Source: FactSet. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Geographic allocation
Geographic allocation
(as of 7/31/2024)
Type
|
Fund
|
Benchmark
|
---|---|---|
United States
|
60.29% | 66.97% |
United Kingdom
|
8.54% | 5.32% |
France
|
6.32% | 5.08% |
Italy
|
6.23% | 4.10% |
Germany
|
3.43% | 3.35% |
Spain
|
2.07% | 1.81% |
Canada
|
1.75% | 3.74% |
Netherlands
|
1.23% | 1.39% |
Luxembourg
|
0.97% | 1.63% |
Sweden
|
0.43% | 1.03% |
Based on ending weights as of month-end. Source: FactSet. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Currency allocation
Currency allocation
(as of 7/31/2024)
Currency
|
Share Class
|
Benchmark
|
---|---|---|
British Pound Sterling
|
5.72% | 2.60% |
Euro (EUR)
|
26.70% | 21.57% |
United States Dollar
|
67.58% | 74.99% |
Currency allocation is subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Portfolio composition
Portfolio composition
(as of 7/31/2024)
Credit Assets
|
Allocation
|
Benchmark
|
---|---|---|
ABS
|
0.07% | - |
Corporate bonds
|
99.93% | 99.93% |
Portfolio composition is subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.
ESG data summary
Product involvement 3
Portfolio | Benchmark | |
---|---|---|
Controversial Weapons exposure | 0.00% | 0.08% |
Oil Sands exposure | 0.00% | 0.03% |
Small Arms exposure | 0.00% | 0.02% |
Thermal Coal exposure | 0.00% | 0.21% |
Tobacco exposure | 0.00% | 0.34% |
UN Global Compact non-compliant exposure | 0.00% | 0.07% |
¹ Data is sourced from MSCI ESG Research where companies are rated on a scale of 0 – 10 (0 - worst, 10 - best). Weighted average scores exclude effects of unrated securities.
² ESG Risk Ratings measure exposure to and management of ESG risks. Lower risk scores reflect less ESG risk. Sustainalytics ESG Risk Scores measure ESG risks on a scale of 0 – 100 (0 - no ESG Risk, >40 - Severe ESG Risk).
³ Carbon emissions includes operational and first-tier supply chain greenhouse gas emissions. Data sourced from S&P Trucost Limited.
⁴ Source: Allspring Global Investments. This report contains information developed by Sustainalytics. Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third-party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at https://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers. Copyright © 2023 Sustainalytics. All rights reserved.
Documents
The team employs a sector specialist model whereby tenured investment professionals are supported by rigorous credit research to source opportunities across global fixed income markets.
Key risks
Debt securities risk: Debt securities are subject to many factors, including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates and an issuer’s ability and willingness to make payments when due.
Global investment risk: Securities of certain jurisdictions may be affected by uncertainties such as international political developments, currency fluctuations and other developments in the laws and regulations of countries in which an investment may be made. These may result in rapid and extreme changes in securities prices.
High yield securities risk: High yield securities are rated below investment grade, have a higher risk of default and prices may be more volatile than higher-rated securities of similar maturity.
ESG risk: Applying an ESG screen for security selection may result in lost opportunity in a security or industry resulting in possible underperformance relative to peers, ESG screens are dependent on third party data and errors in the data may result in the incorrect inclusion or exclusion of a security.
Convertible securities risk: These instruments can be converted into common stock because of the occurrence of certain predetermined trigger events including when the issuer is in crisis resulting in possible price fluctuations and may be subject to redemption at the election of the issuer.
Contingent convertible bonds risk: These instruments can be converted from debt into equity because of the occurrence of certain predetermined trigger events including when the issuer is in crisis resulting in possible price fluctuations and potential liquidity concerns.
Currency risk: Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time and can be affected unpredictably by intervention (or the failure to intervene) by relevant governments or central banks, or by currency controls or political developments.
Leverage risk: The use of certain types of financial derivative instruments may create leverage which may increase share price volatility.
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Investors should note that, relative to the expectations of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, this fund presents disproportionate communication on the consideration of non-financial criteria in its investment policy.
The ongoing charges/total expense ratio (TER) reflects annual total operating expenses for the class, excludes transaction costs and is expressed as a percentage of net asset value. The figure shown is from current KID. The investment manager has committed to reimburse the Sub-Fund when the ongoing charges exceed the agreed upon TER. Ongoing charges may vary over time.
Any benchmark referenced is for comparative purposes only, unless specifically referenced otherwise in this material and/or in the prospectus, under the Sub-Funds’ Investment Objective and Policy.
†Promotes environmental and social characteristics but does not have a sustainable investment objective
†While the Sub-Funds listed above have access to both internal and external ESG research and integrate financially material sustainability risks into their investment decision-making processes, ESG-related factors are considered but not determinative, permitting the relevant Sub-Investment Managers to invest in issuers that do not embrace ESG; as such, sustainability risks may have a more material impact on the value of the Sub-Fund’s investments in the medium to long term. The investments underlying these Sub-Funds do not take into account the EU criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities.
The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or star rating, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% 3-year rating for 36–59 months of total returns, 60% 5-year rating/40% 3-year rating for 60–119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% 5-year rating/20% 3-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent 3-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
© 2024 Morningstar. 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. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.