Schroders has made three hires to its US credit team, the latest sign that the fund house sees North American fixed income as a growth asset class.
The asset manager has appointed David Knutson, formerly of Legal & General Investment Management America, as head of credit research, with ex-JPMorgan Chase trader Chris Eger joining as a portfolio manager.
Both will report to head of US credit Wes Sparks. A third hire, Achievement Asset Management’s Eric Skelton, will work as a trader for investment grade credit and report to head of trading Gregg Moore.
The additions come after Schroders purchased an alternative credit team from Brookfield Investment Management earlier this year. Brookfield’s asset-backed securities team seek out “higher return opportunities” within fixed income, the asset manager said at the time.
US high yield credit, meanwhile, is seen by some as a rare bright spot as the outlook for income generation continues to darken, notwithstanding the healthy capital gains seen so far this year.
TwentyFour Asset Management said earlier this month that the asset class accounts for 18 per cent of the bond market’s total yield despite accounting for just 4 per cent of fixed income assets.
