Invesco Euro Corporate Bond R EUR Acc |



by Evangelia Gkeka

Invesco Euro Corporate Bond benefits from an experienced lead manager, the support of a well-resourced and stable credit analyst team, and a disciplined and flexible team-oriented process. The retirement of comanager and industry veteran Paul Read in 2021 was a loss for the strategy, but the team’s depth and continuity softened the blow. Read handed over the reins at the end of 2021, while current comanagers Julien Eberhardt and Tom Hemmant remained in place to ensure continuity. At launch in 2006, the duo of Read and Paul Causer was at the helm. In 2016, Invesco announced wider changes in the fixed-income team. Senior analyst Eberhardt was named comanager here alongside Read, and Causer stepped down. At that point, other senior analysts were promoted to co-portfolio managers on various strategies, with Read and Causer relinquishing their responsibilities on some funds. These changes were twofold: succession planning and career development for members of the team. In August 2020, Hemmant, who joined the firm nine years before as a senior analyst, was promoted to comanager, reflecting his contribution over the years. Over 2023-24, the Invesco Henley team and Invesco London have been integrated to create Invesco Fixed Income Europe. The two teams are still based in separate locations and manage their respective funds independently, but they now share more information and benefit from synergies. Invesco Fixed Income Europe includes 13 fund managers in total (nine Henley-based) and 17 credit analysts (nine Henley-based). The main benefit for the Henley office is access to more analysts and more in-depth coverage of investment-grade companies and certain subsectors. Team turnover has been minimal over the years. The approach is benchmark-agnostic, with no formal limits other than a 30% cap on high-yield debt, government bonds, and cash altogether. The managers' macroeconomic outlook guides the portfolio's positioning, though they are also pragmatic in identifying opportunities outside of the central top-down scenario. Given the large allocation to financials in the euro corporate-bond market, we view Eberhardt's analytical background in the financials sector as an asset. From its inception in April 2006 to April 2025, the strategy outpaced both its peers and the Morningstar Category index. In 2022, the fund fell by 12.0%, its worst performance in a calendar year, but still outperformed peers by 1.3% and its category benchmark by 2.3%. Underweight duration in the first quarter of 2022 was the main driver of outperformance, followed by an underweighting in real estate. In 2023, it returned 8.0%, outperforming peers by 0.3% and its category index by 0.1%. Overweight duration contributed, as did a number of core themes within the credit side, such as investment-grade corporates and subordinated financials, while allocation to corporate hybrids, senior banks, and high-yield corporates also helped. In 2024, the fund returned 4.4%, 0.2% below peers and 0.2% ahead of the category index. Increasing allocation to investment-grade and trimming credit risk detracted, as did an underweight in corporate hybrids within real estate. Credit risk contributed, mainly subordinated financials and investment-grade corporates, while corporate hybrids and senior banks also contributed. Morningstar has enhanced the way we assess alpha opportunity for funds, which is a key component in our Morningstar Medalist Rating calculation. More of this strategy's Medalist Ratings than usual may therefore change with this update, even in the absence of changes to pillar ratings or fund costs. |
Morningstar Pillars | |
People | Above Average |
Parent | Average |
Process | Above Average |
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