Forward Guidance Podcast - Interview with Craig Manchuck

This commentary contains the current opinions of the authors as of the date above which are subject to change at any time, are not guaranteed, and should not be considered investment advice. This commentary has been distributed for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation or offer of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed.

There can be no assurance that any specific security, strategy, or product referenced directly or indirectly in this commentary will be profitable in the future or suitable for your financial circumstances. Due to various factors, including changes to market conditions and/or applicable laws, this content may no longer reflect our current advice or opinion. You should not assume any discussion or information contained herein serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Osterweis Capital Management.

Coupon is the interest rate stated on a bond when it’s issued. The coupon is typically paid semiannually.

Duration measures the sensitivity of a fixed income security’s price (or the aggregate market value of a portfolio of fixed income securities) to changes in interest rates. Fixed income securities with longer durations generally have more volatile prices than those of comparable quality with shorter durations.

Treasuries (including bonds, notes, and bills) are securities sold by the federal government to consumers and investors to fund its operations. They are all backed by “the full faith and credit of the United States government“ and thus are considered free of default risk.

Yield is the income return on an investment, such as the interest or dividends received from holding a particular security.

Spread is the difference in yield between a risk-free asset such as a U.S. Treasury bond and another security with the same maturity but of lesser quality.

Investment grade bonds are those with high and medium credit quality as determined by ratings agencies.

Beta is a measure of the volatility, or systematic risk, of a security or a portfolio in comparison to the market as a whole.

A yield curve is a graph that plots bond yields vs. maturities, at a set point in time, assuming the bonds have equal credit quality. In the U.S., the yield curve generally refers to that of Treasuries.

Lipper’s Multi-Sector Income Funds classification includes funds that, by portfolio practice, seek current income by allocating assets among several different fixed income securities sectors (with no more than 65% in any one sector except for defensive purposes), including U.S. government and foreign governments, with a significant portion of assets in securities rated below investment-grade.   

Lipper’s High Yield Funds classification includes funds that aim at high (relative) current yield from fixed income securities, have no quality or maturity restrictions, and tend to invest in lower-grade debt issues.

Lipper’s Alternative Credit Focus Funds classification includes funds that, by prospectus language, invest in a wide range of credit structured vehicles by using either fundamental credit research analysis or quantitative credit portfolio modeling trying to benefit from any changes in credit quality, credit spreads, and market liquidity.

A floating interest rate is an interest rate that moves up and down with the market or an index. 

A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (bonds or loans) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loans, along with the assets of the acquiring company.

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a type of security that involves a collection of securities—such as stocks—that often tracks an underlying index, although they can invest in any number of industry sectors or use various strategies.

The iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. dollar-denominated, high yield corporate bonds.

The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) was a benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lent to one another in the international interbank market for short-term loans.

EBITDA is an acronym for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization.

M&A refers to mergers and acquisitions.

The internal rate of return (IRR) is a metric used in financial analysis to estimate the profitability of potential investments.

Investment grade/non-investment grade (high yield) categories and credit ratings breakdowns are based on ratings from Standard and Poor’s, which is a private independent rating service that assigns grades to bonds to represent their credit quality. The issues are evaluated based on such factors as the bond issuer’s financial strength and its ability to pay a bond’s principal and interest in a timely fashion. Standard and Poor’s ratings are expressed as letters ranging from ‘AAA’, which is the highest grade, to ‘D’, which is the lowest grade. A rating of BBB- or higher is considered investment grade and a rating below BBB- is considered non-investment grade. Other credit ratings agencies include Moody’s and Fitch, each of whom may have different ratings systems and methodologies.

A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a company with no commercial operations that is formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring an existing company. Also known as “blank check companies,” SPACs have been around for decades.

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (Agg) is widely regarded as the standard for measuring U.S. investment grade bond market performance. This index does not incur expenses and is not available for investment. The index includes reinvestment of dividends and/or interest income.

Source for any Bloomberg index is Bloomberg Index Services Limited. BLOOMBERG^® is a trademark and service mark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates (collectively “Bloomberg”). Bloomberg owns all proprietary rights in the Bloomberg Indices. Bloomberg does not approve or endorse this material, or guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information herein, or makes any warranty, express or implied, as to the results to be obtained therefrom and, to the maximum extent allowed by law, neither shall have any liability or responsibility for injury or damages arising in connection therewith.

The S&P 500 Index is widely regarded as the standard for measuring large cap U.S. stock market performance. The index does not incur expenses, is not available for investment, and includes the reinvestment of dividends.

Fund holdings are subject to change at any time and should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

The Fund’s top 10 holdings and portfolio characteristics may be viewed by clicking here.

As of 9/30/2023 the Osterweis Strategic Income Fund did not own Apple, KKR, Apollo Global Management, or Prospect Capital.

Click here to read the prospectus.

Earnings growth is not a measure of future performance.

The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund may invest in debt securities that are un-rated or rated below investment grade. Lower-rated securities may present an increased possibility of default, price volatility or illiquidity compared to higher-rated securities. The Fund may invest in foreign and emerging market securities, which involve greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods. These risks may increase for emerging markets. Investments in debt securities typically decrease in value when interest rates rise. This risk is usually greater for longer-term debt securities. Small- and mid-capitalization companies tend to have limited liquidity and greater price volatility than large-capitalization companies. Higher turnover rates may result in increased transaction costs, which could impact performance. From time to time, the Fund may have concentrated positions in one or more sectors subjecting the Fund to sector emphasis risk. The Fund may invest in municipal securities which are subject to the risk of default.

Osterweis Capital Management is the adviser to the Osterweis Funds, which are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC. [OCMI-447668-2023-10-27]