Candriam Bds Euro High Yld N EUR Cap |



by Jeana Marie Doubell

On Sept. 23, 2024, Candriam announced that Nicolas Jullien, the group's current head of high yield and credit arbitrage, will assume the role of global head of fixed income on Jan. 1, 2025. He will succeed veteran Philippe Noyard, who is slated to retire in the first quarter of 2025, and who had taken over the global head of fixed income role in 2023. Noyard and Jullien have both risen through the ranks after extensive careers as portfolio managers at Candriam, and this transition seems a natural progression. A 17-year firm veteran, Jullien initially comanaged the firm's high-yield strategies with Noyard for more than a decade before being promoted to lead manager in 2020, and he has kept the strategies in excellent shape since then. The transition has been well anticipated and communicated to investors, which is a welcome example of the parent company's stewardship, though as the changes come into effect we will be looking to better understand the impact they are likely to have on the team's setup. While Noyard had not been involved in the day-to-day running of the strategies for some time, he had played a key role in defining their investment framework and had remained active in the credit committee, which is responsible for extensively vetting any issuers that enter the high-yield portfolios. He also remained as a comanager on a number of high-yield portfolios. His upcoming retirement will likely be a net loss for the team in terms of experience and investment acumen. In addition, Jullien's workload—in particular his people management responsibilities—will predictably increase with his expanded role. While Jullien can rely on an experienced suite of portfolio managers (including Thomas Joret, who leads the firm's global high-yield portfolios), it remains to be seen how he plans to balance his portfolio management responsibilities with other duties. At this stage, this team continues to earn our full confidence. We are not making any changes to the People or Process Pillar ratings for the three strategies under analyst coverage (Candriam Bonds Euro High Yield, Candriam Bonds Global High Yield, and Candriam Bonds Global High Yield SRI), though we will continue to reevaluate the situation as the leadership transition unfolds. |
Candriam Bonds Euro High Yield stands apart from the competition, thanks to its experienced and tight-knit investment team that implements a risk-aware, research-driven process. It earns High People and Above Average Process Pillars. Morningstar has enhanced the process for assessing alpha opportunity for funds, a key component in the 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.” Nicolas Jullien has successfully maintained this fund’s compelling track record since taking over as a lead manager from his predecessor Philippe Noyard in January 2020. Having joined the firm in 2009, Julien first served as a comanager for a decade before taking over the helm when Noyard was promoted to the head of global credit. That transition was a smooth one, and a similar transfer of responsibilities is again underway in 2024. Ahead of Noyard’s 2025 retirement, Julien has been tapped to take over as the global head of fixed income in January 2025. In addition to his new leadership responsibilities (including oversight of the firm’s global bond, investment-grade credit, and emerging-markets debt capabilities), Julien will continue to lead this fund and the high-yield team. A number of factors make this transition less disruptive than it might seem. For one, Thomas Joret (comanager here since 2020 and lead manager on the team’s global high-yield strategies) will be promoted to deputy head of high yield in January 2025—providing valuable support in terms of team management and resource allocation. Joret will also assist Julien with chairing the group’s credit committee. Furthermore, additional support comes from comanager Sichong Qi, named here in 2023, who also maintains research coverage of the automobile sector as one of six dedicated analysts for this team. The investment process is based on fundamentally driven security selection combined with relative value considerations. The managers also use derivatives in moderation to adjust the portfolio's overall credit market sensitivity or to gain exposure to certain highly traded issuers at a lower cost. Unlike many competitors in the euro high-yield bond Morningstar Category, the strategy avoids the financials sector, which the managers argue carries policy risks inappropriate for a high-yield portfolio. That restrained opportunity set has not held the strategy back from beating its more broadly invested peer group. The strategy handily outpaces most euro high-yield bond category peers over three, five, and 10 years, with lower volatility. |
Morningstar Pillars | |
People | High |
Parent | Average |
Process | Above Average |
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