Swiss franc bonds
Focus on active, customer-oriented and sustainability-aligned investment solutions
In the past few years, falling interest rates have been the main performance driver in the Swiss bond market, which benefited passive investment solutions. But now bond markets seem to be shifting to a new regime. Careful active management of investment risks will become much more important because purely passive skimming of market risk premiums will no longer be sufficient in the future to benefit from the attractive risk-return characteristics of CHF bonds. Successful active investment solutions will also require a transparent and sound sustainability approach.
Our active and sustainability-aligned investment solutions give you access to the entire CHF bond universe. We focus on government bonds as well as corporate bonds across all rating categories and sectors and can thus reflect any investment preferences.
Our investment philosophy.
We believe that the CHF fixed income market offers investment opportunities both due to its limited liquidity and size and the segmentation of investors. As Swiss fixed income specialists our role is to identify and exploit any inefficiencies we find.
In the area of corporate bonds, we focus on the entire rating spectrum from AAA to B. In doing so, we rely on a disciplined and sound credit selection process that focuses on both issuer creditworthiness and credit valuation.
We actively and carefully manage investment risk with the goal of generating sustainable returns1. The consideration of the entire capital structure, the focus on sustainability and the specific knowledge in the crossover area (BBB-BB) have contributed to convincing results.
Sustainability pays off in many ways.
States and companies that can provide answers to the challenges of the future generally have greater development potential. We therefore offer sustainable investment solutions through continuous development and integration of state-of-the art sustainability metrics and standards. Investing our managed assets with a sustainable approach is standard procedure.
Our investment approach includes the application of four different layers:
- Negative screening: applying strict exclusion criteria;
- Positive screening: considering ESG practices and decarbonization trajectories;
- Preference for green, sustainable or social bonds;
- Active engagement process with a dedicated stewardship team.
Why LOIM for Swiss Fixed Income?
- Consistent outperformance with outstanding and long-standing track records1: Since the launch of our fund range in 2008, we have significantly outperformed the relevant benchmarks almost every year. Our flagship product – the Swiss Franc Credit Bond Strategy– was launched in 2008 and is one of the first active investment solutions in the area of CHF corporate bonds.
- A proprietary, disciplined, sound and sustainability-aligned investment process: we believe that finding investment opportunities requires different skills than those needed to replicate a benchmark. Therefore we separate the benchmark replication and performance generation and make efficient use of the diverse and broad knowledge of our investment specialists. We do not believe in the added value of consensus committees and decisions and hand over responsibility directly to the investment specialists, who are allowed to apply their knowledge on their own responsibility within a given risk budget. Our credit analysts not only write reports on issuers, but also apply their knowledge directly as portfolio managers, resulting in better and more efficient decisions.
- A team of investment experts with many years of experience: our investment specialists are characterized by many years of experience, specific and complimentary knowledge, a high degree of personal responsibility, perseverance in the search for optimal investment solutions and curiosity about new investment strategies. We avoid the risk of inertia that comes from too much stability by constantly rethinking and expanding our investment solutions.
- Clear commitment to sustainable investment solutions: we pursue a transparent sustainability approach, combining our established investment process with a comprehensive sustainability analysis. As a Swiss sustainability pioneer and due to our large in-house capacities in this field, we aim to remain ahead of the curve with regard to sustainability in the investment industry.
The reasons that speak for us:
- Outstanding and long-standing track records for active investment solutions;
- Access to experienced and dedicated investment specialists;
- Recognized provider of customized investment solutions for institutional clients;
- Broad network: We are an established player in the CHF capital market and have access to many issuers and new issues;
- Proactive customer service and excellent as well as customized reportings;
- Multiple award winning manager (Lipper, Morningstar, Citywire).
.jpg)
These ratings may change over time.
1Target performance/risk represents a portfolio construction goal. It does not represent past performance/risk and may not be representative of actual future performance/risk.
Investment team.
 | Markus Thöny |
 | Yannik Zufferey |
 | David Perez Senior Portfolio Manager and Credit Analyst |
 | Flavio Schuster Portfolio Manager and Credit Analyst |
 | Philipp Burckhardt |
 | Giovanni Bizzozero Junior Portfolio Manager |
 | Marco Di Fante |
Sub-fund information.
Important information.
FOR PROFESSIONAL INVESTOR USE ONLY.
This document is issued by Lombard Odier Asset Management (Europe) Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”), and entered on the FCA register with registration number 515393.
Lombard Odier Investment Managers (“LOIM”) is a trade name.
This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to purchase or sell any security or service. It is not intended for distribution, publication, or use in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be unlawful. This document does not contain personalized recommendations or advice and is not intended to substitute any professional advice on investment in financial products. Before entering into any transaction, an investor should consider carefully the suitability of a transaction to his/her particular circumstances and, where necessary, obtain independent professional advice in respect of risks, as well as any legal, regulatory, credit, tax, and accounting consequences. This document is the property of LOIM and is addressed to its recipients exclusively for their personal use. It may not be reproduced (in whole or in part), transmitted, modified, or used for any other purpose without the prior written permission of LOIM. The contents of this document are intended for persons who are sophisticated investment professionals and who are either authorised or regulated to operate in the financial markets or persons who have been vetted by LOIM as having the expertise, experience and knowledge of the investment matters set out in this document and in respect of whom LOIM has received an assurance that they are capable of making their own investment decisions and understanding the risks involved in making investments of the type included in this document or other persons that LOIM has expressly confirmed as being appropriate recipients of this document. If you are not a person falling within the above categories you are kindly asked to either return this document to LOIM or to destroy it and are expressly warned that you must not rely upon its contents or have regard to any of the matters set out in this document in relation to investment matters and must not transmit this document to any other person. This document contains the opinions of LOIM, as at the date of issue. The information and analysis contained herein are based on sources believed to be reliable. However, LOIM does not guarantee the timeliness, accuracy, or completeness of the information contained in this document, nor does it accept any liability for any loss or damage resulting from its use. All information and opinions as well as the prices indicated may change without notice. Neither this document nor any copy thereof may be sent, taken into, or distributed in the United States of America, any of its territories or possessions or areas subject to its jurisdiction, or to or for the benefit of a United States Person. For this purpose, the term "United States Person" shall mean any citizen, national or resident of the United States of America, partnership organized or existing in any state, territory or possession of the United States of America, a corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any state, territory or possession thereof, or any estate or trust that is subject to United States Federal income tax regardless of the source of its income.
Source of the figures: Unless otherwise stated, figures are prepared by LOIM.
Although certain information has been obtained from public sources believed to be reliable, without independent verification, we cannot guarantee its accuracy or the completeness of all information available from public sources.
Views and opinions expressed are for informational purposes only and do not constitute a recommendation by LOIM to buy, sell or hold any security. Views and opinions are current as of the date of this presentation and may be subject to change. They should not be construed as investment advice. No part of this material may be (i) copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form, by any means, or (ii) distributed to any person that is not an employee, officer, director, or authorised agent of the recipient, without Lombard Odier Asset Management (Europe) Limited prior consent. In the United Kingdom, this material is a marketing material and has been approved by Lombard Odier Asset Management (Europe) Limited which is authorized and regulated by the FCA.
©2022 Lombard Odier IM. All rights reserved.
