AXA IM Unveils Euro Global High-Yield Active ETF

AXA Investment Management (AXA IM) has unveiled an actively managed ETF capturing global high-yield corporate bonds.

The AXA IM Global High Yield Opportunities UCITS ETF (AGYU) is listed on Deutsche Boerse, Borsa Italiana and will be listed on SIX Swiss Exchange “soon” with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.45%.

AGYU is classified as Article 8 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

AGYU “focuses” on high yield corporate bonds included in the ICE BofA Developed Markets High Yield index . By excluding emerging markets, the ETF captures around 90% of the global high-yield market.

AXA IM Unveils Actively Managed ETF

On how the ETF implements active management, Olivier Paquier, global head of ETF Sales at AXA IM, told ETF Stream, "Our high-yield team at AXA Investment Managers, led by Mike Graham in the U.S. and Boutaina Deixonne’s team leading the Euro high-yield space drives the active management process. While not the ETF's portfolio manager, they oversee the main high-yield strategies of the firm. He continued, “The integrated process combines a bottom-up approach with analyst-led risk assessment and research, and a top-down approach where where high-yield experts select bonds within AXA IM's house strategy, incorporating ESG considerations from the outset. This results in a model portfolio of 350-450 securities, from 2300 in the index, which is then replicated in the ETF."

In addition, AGYU aims to closely align its portfolio composition and pricing with the benchmark, while differing from the benchmark in terms of weighting.

AXA IM has steadily increased its bond ETF range in the second-half of this year, launching long- and short-duration U.S. treasury ETFs and a Paris-Aligned Benchmark (PAB) emerging market debt ETF.

AXA Investment Managers, meanwhile, recently entered into a sale to BNP Paribas (BNPP) has highlighted the challenges that come with being a medium-sized ETF issuer in the current market backdrop.

This article was originally published on our sister site, etfstream.com.