Anaxis Income Advantage: Beyond Carry

In today’s uncertain economic and monetary environment, the Anaxis AM team wishes to highlight the positioning, investment philosophy, and key characteristics of its Anaxis Income Advantage (AIA) fund. This global bond fund stands out for its flexibility, strong ESG commitment, and original multi-driver approach. Managed without a benchmark, and with no exposure to sovereign bonds or derivatives, AIA focuses on corporate bonds, primarily in Europe.

Beyond Carry: Three Performance Drivers

The strategy rests on three complementary drivers:

• Carry: At the core of the fund, this driver favours long-term investments, capturing attractive coupons and benefiting from bond roll-down effects. This part of the portfolio fluctuates between 50% and 100% of the allocation.
• Spread: It aims to take advantage of undervalued bonds, often overlooked or mispriced by the market, with potential for medium-term price revaluation. This part of the portfolio fluctuates between 0% and 50% of the allocation.
• Tactical: Short-term positions in specific sectors, rate themes or primary market opportunities, generally held for less than one year. This part of the portfolio fluctuates between 0% and 30% of the allocation.

Carry usually accounts for 60–70% of the fund. Spread and Tactical allocations are adjusted according to market conditions. This three-horizon structure ensures continuous portfolio adaptation to cycles and opportunities, while reducing interest rate and credit risks for investors.

Investment Process and Risk Management

The investment framework combines proprietary research (financial, sectoral, technical and legal), rigorous bond selection and a top-down macroeconomic view to adjust geographic and sector exposures. Portfolio construction rules cap single-issuer exposure at 2% and prioritise more liquid issues. Sector allocation favours non-cyclicals for stability, but the investment team maintains flexibility in its approach. On average, the fund holds 120–140 positions.

Over 75% of the portfolio is allocated to Europe, complemented by diversification into the US and emerging markets. Duration is actively managed between 2 and 4 years to optimise this parameter according to credit market conditions. The portfolio currently has a BB- rating.

ESG Objectives and Sustainable Strategy

Classified as Article 9 under SFDR, AIA pursues a dual objective: financial performance and sustainable development. Its ESG approach includes a target to reduce the portfolio’s carbon footprint by 60% between 2018 and 2028 — a goal already achieved. Strict sectoral and normative exclusions apply, covering fossil fuels, polluting industries and non-therapeutic GMOs, while maintaining adequate diversification. A “best-in-class” approach also selects the most responsible issuers within investable sectors.

Performance and Outlook

Thanks to its multi-driver framework, disciplined bond selection and ESG policy, the fund has outperformed European High Yield and Investment Grade ETFs since 2020, with lower volatility and a more sustainable profile. It delivered returns of +7.89% in 2024 and +10.88% in 2023, and is up +4.49% year-to-date (EUR I share - FR0013196219, as at 19 September 2025). In 2023 and 2024, as well as year to date 2025, the Carry, Spread and Tactical drivers all contributed positively to performance.

Conclusion

Anaxis Income Advantage positions itself as a global, actively managed bond fund suitable as a core allocation. It combines long-term performance orientation, resilience in times of uncertainty, and sustainability through ESG integration, while remaining highly adaptable to market cycles. These qualities underpin the success of the strategy and its ability to meet the needs of both institutional and private investors.

More information on the Anaxis Income Advantage fund: https://anaxis-am.com/en/funds/anaxis-income-advantage/ 

Or by email at [email protected]