NEW YORK, Dec. 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guggenheim Investments, the global asset management and investment advisory business of Guggenheim Partners, is pleased to announce that three of its flagship fixed-income mutual funds have achieved 5-year track records and maintained their overall 5-star Morningstar ratings, based on risk-adjusted returns.
The three funds – Guggenheim Floating Rate Strategies Fund, Guggenheim Macro Opportunities Fund, and Guggenheim Total Return Bond Fund – achieved 5-year track records on November 30, 2016, and maintained 5-star Overall Morningstar Ratings TM across various share classes.
Guggenheim’s two other taxable fixed-income funds eligible for star ratings from Morningstar – Guggenheim High Yield Fund and Guggenheim Investment Grade Bond Fund – also maintained their 5-star ratings among various share classes.
“These 5-star ratings from Morningstar provide added validation of how our differentiated approach to investment management has produced strong results for our clients over the long term,” said Guggenheim Chairman of Investments and Global CIO Scott Minerd, who oversees the management of $154 billion in fixed-income assets.
Minerd leads more than 160 fixed-income investment professionals whose responsibilities are segregated into specialized teams based on expertise. Sector teams across the U.S. fixed-income universe, including sectors not included in benchmark bond indices, make specific security selections based on robust, bottom-up, fundamental analysis; Macroeconomic Research and Portfolio Construction Groups independently opine on which sectors have the best relative value; and Portfolio Managers decide which securities best fit a given portfolio in light of its mandate and the top-down sector allocations determined by Portfolio Construction.
Guggenheim’s rigorous and repeatable investment process is grounded in behavioral finance and the Nobel Economics prize-winning work on decision theory done by psychologist Dr. Daniel Kahneman.
“Behavioral finance is hardwired into our investment process,” Minerd said. “In contrast to a star-based system where decisions are made by one person or a small group of people, we believe disaggregating the process ultimately leads to better investment outcomes.”
“As a result, our portfolios look very different from benchmarks in terms of design, structure and allocation. The process by which we’ve segregated duties and allowed people to focus on their specialization improves the work done by each group and our performance overall.”
Guggenheim Total Return Bond Fund maintained its 5-star overall rating for its Class I shares (GIBIX). The fund was rated against 858 funds in Morningstar’s intermediate-term bond category. The total return of the fund’s Class I shares is in the top 1% of its Morningstar category for the trailing 3- and 5-year periods as of November 30, 2016.
Guggenheim Macro Opportunities Fund maintained its 5-star overall rating for its Class I shares (GIOIX). The fund was rated against 218 funds in Morningstar’s nontraditional bond category. The total return of the fund’s Class I shares is in the top 1% of its Morningstar category for the trailing 5-year period and in the top 4% for the trailing 3-year period.
Guggenheim Floating Rate Strategies Fund received a 5-star overall rating for its Class I shares (GIFIX). The fund was rated against 207 funds in Morningstar’s bank loan category. The total return of the fund’s Class I shares is in the top 1% of its Morningstar category for the trailing 3-year period and in the top 4% for the trailing 5-year period.
Guggenheim High Yield Bond Fund maintained its 5-star overall rating for its Class I shares (SHYIX). The fund was rated against 605 funds in Morningstar’s high-yield bond category. The total return of the fund’s Class I shares is in the top 2% of its Morningstar category for the trailing 3- and 5-year periods.
Guggenheim Investment Grade Bond Fund maintained its 5-star overall rating for its Class I shares (GIUSX). The fund was rated against 858 funds in Morningstar’s intermediate-term bond category. The total return of the fund’s Class I shares is in the top 1% of its Morningstar category for the trailing 3-year period, and the performance of the fund’s Class A shares (SIUSX) is in the top 2% for the trailing 5-year period.
“A key factor that drives our investment process is that we view fixed-income markets as inefficient,” said Anne Walsh, Assistant CIO for Fixed Income. “The credit and bonds available in the U.S. fixed-income markets make up about $37 trillion. Less than half of that is reflected in the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index, the industry’s benchmark. We prefer a broader set of choices, particularly because indices rarely lead to superior risk-adjusted returns.”
Advisors and investors can apply Guggenheim’s 5-star rated fixed-income funds in a variety of ways.
Guggenheim Total Return Bond Fund invests primarily in investment-grade fixed-income securities across multiple sectors. The fund employs an active approach, offering the opportunity to capitalize on changing relative values in fixed income.
Guggenheim Macro Opportunities Fund has the flexibility to invest across a broad array of fixed-income securities and offers exposure to the investment team's highest-conviction ideas in the current market environment through an opportunistic investment strategy. As part of an overall fixed-income allocation, the fund may serve as a potential alpha generator, or source of additional risk-adjusted return, as well as a complement to benchmark-dedicated fixed-income strategies.
Guggenheim Floating Rate Securities Fund invests primarily in bank loans and other floating-rate securities and offers opportunities for investors that may help hedge interest rate and inflation exposure. The fund may complement a core fixed-income allocation, providing potential diversification benefits and the potential to maximize current income.
Guggenheim High Yield Fund has the flexibility to invest across a broad array of high-yield securities, including corporate bonds, syndicated bank loans, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, and convertible securities. Investments are made through rigorous credit selection based on proprietary research that incorporates knowledge of companies, industries and capital structures to develop a unique perspective on the worthiness of each investment. An allocation to high-yield securities, when added to a mixed asset portfolio, may provide additional diversification along with higher income and return potential.
Guggenheim Investment Grade Bond Fund aims to invest primarily in investment-grade fixed-income securities across multiple sectors. The fund employs a tactical asset allocation strategy, offering the opportunity to capitalize on total return potential created by changing market conditions. It may serve as a core fixed-income allocation or complement a core fixed-income allocation concentrated in a single sector or region of the market.
About Guggenheim Investments Guggenheim Investments is the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners, with $204 billion 1 in assets across fixed income, equity, and alternative strategies. We focus on the return and risk needs of insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, consultants, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors. Our 275+ investment professionals perform rigorous research to understand market trends and identify undervalued opportunities in areas that are often complex and underfollowed. This approach to investment management has enabled us to deliver innovative strategies providing diversification and attractive long-term results.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Source: ©2016 Morningstar Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers. It 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.
The Morningstar Rating for funds, or "star rating", is calculated for managed products with at least a three-year history and does not include the effect of sales charges. Exchange-traded funds and open-end 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 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 is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics.
Morningstar Rankings do not include the effect of a fund’s sales load, if applicable. Other share classes may have different performance characteristics. Morningstar rankings are based on a fund’s average annual total return relative to all funds in the same Morningstar category, which includes both mutual funds and ETFs. Fund performance used within the rankings, reflects certain fee waivers, without which, returns and Morningstar rankings would have been lower. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank is 1 and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100. The top-performing fund in a category will always receive a rank of 1. Multiple share classes of a fund have a common portfolio but impose different expense structures.
The Institutional class for each Fund was rated, based on its risk-adjusted returns, 5 stars for the overall, 3-year, and 5-year periods among 207, 207, and 155 Bank Loan funds (Floating Rate Strategies Fund), 605, 605, and 469 High Yield funds (High Yield Fund), 218, 218, and 152 Nontraditional Bond funds (Macro Opportunities Fund), 858, 858, and 755 Intermediate-Term Bond funds (Total Return Bond Fund), and 5 stars for the overall and 3-year periods among 858 and 858 Intermediate-Term Bond funds (Investment Grade Bond Fund). The Institutional Class for the 1-year period was ranked 15 out of 967 (2nd percentile) Intermediate-Term Bond funds (Total Return Bond Fund), 31 out of 355 (9th percentile) Nontraditional Bond funds (Macro Opportunities Fund), 144 out of 221 (65th percentile) Bank Loan funds (Floating Rate Strategies Fund), 27 out of 967 (3rd percentile) Intermediate-Term Fond funds (Investment Grade Bond Fund), and 33 out of 703 (5th percentile) High Yield Bond funds (High Yield Fund). The Institutional Class for the 3-year period was ranked 4 out of 858 (1st percentile) Intermediate-Term Bond funds (Total Return Bond Fund), 8 out of 218 (4th percentile) Nontraditional Bond funds (Macro Opportunities Fund), 3 out of 207 (1st percentile) Bank Loan funds (Floating Rate Strategies Fund), 7 out of 858 (1st percentile) Intermediate-Term Fond funds (Investment Grade Bond Fund), and 11 out of 605 (2nd percentile) High Yield Bond funds (High Yield Fund). The Institutional Class for the 5-year period was ranked 1 out of 755 (1st percentile) Intermediate-Term Bond funds (Total Return Bond Fund), 1 out of 152 (1st percentile) Nontraditional Bond funds (Macro Opportunities Fund), 7 out of 155 (4th percentile) Bank Loan funds (Floating Rate Strategies Fund), and 10 out of 469 (2nd percentile) High Yield Bond funds (High Yield Fund).
The Funds may not be suitable for all investors. Investments in fixed-income securities are subject to the possibility that interest rates could rise, causing the value of the Funds’ securities and share price to decline. Fixed-income securities with longer durations are subject to more volatility than those with shorter durations. High yield, below investment grade, and unrated debt securities are subject to greater volatility and risk of default than investment grade bonds and may be less liquid. Some asset-backed securities, including mortgage-backed securities and CLOs, may have structures that make their reaction to interest rates and other factors difficult to predict, causing their prices to be volatile; and they are subject to interest rate, credit, liquidity, and valuation risks. Loan investments are often below investment grade or unrated and subject to special types of risks, including credit, interest rate, counterparty, and prepayment risk. The Funds’ use of leverage, through borrowings or instruments such as derivatives, may cause the Funds to be more volatile and riskier than if they had not been leveraged. Please see the Funds’ prospectus for more information on these and other risks.
Read a fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) carefully before investing. It contains the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information, which should be considered carefully before investing. Obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) at www.guggenheiminvestments.com or call 800.820.0888.
Diversification neither assures a profit nor eliminates the risk of experiencing investment losses.
1 Guggenheim Investments total asset figure is as of 09.30.2016 and includes $10.7bn of leverage for assets under management and $0.5bn for assets for which we provide administrative services. Guggenheim Investments represents the following affiliated investment management businesses: Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, Security Investors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, Guggenheim Real Estate, LLC, GS GAMMA Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Partners Europe Limited and Guggenheim Partners India Management.
Media Contact Ivy McLemore Guggenheim Partners 212.518.9859 Ivy.McLemore@guggenheimpartners.com
