QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORT PREPARED FOR PROFESSIONAL CLIENTS ONLY // AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2015 NEWTON GLOBAL HIGH YIELD BOND FUND PERFORMANCE DISCLOSURE Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investments and the income from them is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise due to stock market and currency movements. When investments are sold, investors may get back less than they originally invested. For a full list of risks applicable to this fund, please refer to the Prospectus. QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS Performance: The delivered a negative return and was behind its comparative index. Activity: The participated in new issues from Frontier Communications and Center Parcs. Sales included Genel, Metalloinvest and Nitrog. Outlook & Strategy: We expect defaults to pick up in the commodity space and are concerned that there may be contagion across all sectors. We believe the s government bond positions and options should act as a hedge if this occurs. 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE PERFORMANCE (%) INVESTMENT MANAGER Newton Investment Management: Newton follows a distinct global thematic investment approach and conducts extensive proprietary research. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY (%) Annualised 1M 3M YTD 1YR 2YR 3YR 5YR Sterling Income -4.20-5.67-4.75-6.91-2.12 0.89 2.21 Comparative -2.76-4.84-1.69-3.25 1.97 3.75 6.09 Sector -2.19-3.09-0.99-1.84 1.62 4.03 4.58 No. of funds in sector 23 23 22 22 21 20 18 Quartile Sterling Income 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Source for all performance: Lipper as at 30 September 2015. Performance is shown for Sterling Income Shares unless otherwise stated. Total return including income net of UK tax, ongoing charge and performance fee (where applicable). The impact of an initial charge (currently not applied) can be material on the performance of your investment. Further information is available upon request.
PERFORMANCE COMMENTARY The quarter saw a complete reversal in risk assets as concerns grew regarding commodity prices, China s economy and stock markets, the emerging-market debt burden and rising idiosyncratic credit risk, as demonstrated by both the Volkswagen scandal and Glencore. The US Federal Reserve s close decision not to begin increasing short-term interest rates only helped to increase concerns regarding global growth and added to the volatility in the market, as investors demonstrated their aversion to risk. Government bond yields fell in most major developed markets as the asset class was the obvious beneficiary in this environment. RISK ASSETS REVERSED AS CONCERNS GREW The delivered a negative return in the third quarter of 2015, underperforming its comparative index. The main reason for the underperformance was the s large holding in Sprint, which was downgraded to a CCC rating by Moody s, resulting in significant selling pressure (as some investors are not allowed to hold CCC issues). We continue to believe that Sprint is a turnaround story and, moreover, we feel that the high value of its assets should more than cover its debt obligations. Given the sell-off in commodities, it is no surprise that energy and basic goods (which includes metals & mining companies) were among the worst-performing sectors. However, almost all other sectors suffered and produced negative performance. ACTIVITY REVIEW While the manager was able to participate in a couple of attractive new issues, there was a focus on de-risking the portfolio. LITTLE PRIMARY ACTIVITY OVER THE QUARTER There was little primary activity in either Europe or the US over the quarter. The only new issues that the participated in were US telecommunications company Frontier Communications, which came at a very attractive price given market conditions, and UK holiday company Center Parcs. Most of the s trading activities in the quarter were focused around sales in order to meet outflows, as well as to de-risk the portfolio. Notable sales during the quarter were Genel (energy), Metalloinvest (iron ore) and Nitrog (chemicals). The added positions in US long bonds (30-year) as well as 10-year Treasuries and New Zealand government bonds. We also purchased call options on the US long bond. 2
INVESTMENT OUTLOOK Over the third quarter, the continued to de-risk by increasing its positions in government bonds and selling commodity-related exposure as well as other high-beta bonds, as we continue to anticipate significant volatility going into the year-end. WE ANTICIPATE VOLATILITY GOING INTO THE YEAR-END The global commodities sector has taken on a significant amount of debt since the 2008 financial crisis, much of which is not serviceable at current commodity prices. We expect defaults to pick up in the commodity space and, given the quantum of debt in this sector, are concerned that there may be contagion across all sectors resulting in heightened risk aversion. We believe the s government bond positions and options should act as a hedge if this occurs. In terms of geographic positioning, the remains significantly overweight Europe relative to the US, as we continue to believe that this is justified by credit fundamentals as well as technicals (given the European Central Bank s quantitative-easing programme). 3
CREDIT QUALITY BREAKDOWN (%) AAA 8.9 0.0 AA 1.8 0.0 A 0.7 0.0 BBB 3.5 0.0 BB 34.0 51.3 B 48.8 36.2 CCC & below 5.6 12.6 Cash -3.3 0.0 TOP 10 HOLDINGS (%) US TREASURY 5.7 SPRINT CAP CORP 5.7 VIRGIN MEDIA FIN 4.3 NUMERICABLE 4.2 ZIGGO BOND FIN 3.0 CROWN NEWCO 3 3.0 TSY CORP OF VICTORIA 2.7 AGROKOR 2.5 BOPARAN 2.5 UNITYMEDIA 2.4 Source: BNY Mellon Investment Management EMEA Limited Portfolio holdings are subject to change at any time without notice, are for information purposes only and should not be construed as investment recommendations. MATURITY DISTRIBUTION (%) Years 0-1 yr -2.7 0.0 1-3 yrs 9.4 16.7 3-5 yrs 22.8 25.7 5-7 yrs 23.7 30.6 7-10 yrs 29.4 22.2 10+ yrs 17.5 4.8 ASSET ALLOCATION (%) Media 23.2 Consumer 22.6 Telecommunications 18.3 Industrial 16.9 Government guaranteed / agency 2.7 Asset Backed / Securitisation 2.6 Finance 2.6 Others 11.1 ACTIVE MONEY TOP OVERWEIGHT (%) Media 23.2 8.5 Telecommunications 18.3 9.8 Government guaranteed / agency 2.7 0.0 Asset Backed / Securitisation 2.6 0.0 ACTIVE MONEY TOP UNDERWEIGHT (%) Industrial 16.9 32.8 Finance 2.6 9.4 Utilities 1.0 3.7 Technology 2.0 3.8 Consumer 22.6 22.9 PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS Duration (in years) 6.4 4.0 No. of issuers 91.0 1,640.0 4
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE Income by investing in a wide range of bonds and similar debt investments issued by companies throughout the world. GENERAL INFORMATION Total net assets (million) 127.81 Distribution yield (%) 6.55 Comparative BofA ML Glbl HY excl Bank Cap & Jr Sub TR (GBP Hdgd) IA Sector High Yield Lipper sector Lipper Global - Bond Global High Yield type ICVC domicile UK manager Parmeshwar Chadha Alternate Howard Cunningham Base currency GBP Currencies available GBP launch 02 Oct 2000 Distribution dates Monthly DEALING 09:00 to 17:00 each business day Valuation point: 12:00 London time STERLING INCOME SHARES SHARE CLASS DETAILS Inception date 30 Jul 2005 Min. initial investment 1,000 Ongoing charge 1.15% Annual mgmt charge 1.00% ISIN GB0009633073 Bloomberg NEEHYBI LN Sedol 963307 Registered for sale in: AT, DE, ES, GB TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS FUND PLEASE CONTACT US: 0500 66 00 00 brokersupport@bnymellon.com www.bnymellon.co.uk +44 (0)20 7163 2367 internationalsales@bnymellon.com www.bnymellonim.com Source: BNY Mellon Investment Management EMEA Limited Any views and opinions are those of the investment manager, unless otherwise noted. IMPORTANT INFORMATION This is a financial promotion for Professional Clients. BNY Mellon Investment Management EMEA Limited (BNYMIM EMEA) is the distributor of the capabilities of its investment managers in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Investment managers are appointed by BNYMIM EMEA or affiliated fund operating companies to undertake portfolio management services in respect of the products and services provided by BNYMIM EMEA or the fund operating companies. These products and services are governed by bilateral contracts entered into by BNYMIM EMEA and its clients or by the Prospectus and associated documents related to the funds. You should read the Prospectus and Key Investor Information Document (KIID) for each fund in which you want to invest. The Prospectus and KIID can be found at www.bnymellonim.co.uk. For marketing purposes only. Investments should not be regarded as short-term and should normally be held for at least five years. This material may not be used for the purpose of an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction or in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful or not authorised. This material should not be published or distributed without due authorisation from the issuer. To help continually improve our service and in the interest of security, we may monitor and/or record your telephone calls with us. The is a sub-fund of BNY Mellon Investment s, an open-ended investment company with variable capital (ICVC) with limited liability between sub-funds. Incorporated in England and Wales: registered number IC27. The Authorised Corporate Director (ACD) is BNY Mellon Managers Limited (BNY MFM), incorporated in England and Wales: No. 1998251. Registered address: BNY Mellon Centre, 160 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4LA. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNYMIM EMEA, BNY MFM, and any other BNY Mellon entity mentioned are all ultimately owned by The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Issued in the UK by BNYMIM EMEA, BNY Mellon Centre, 160 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4LA. Registered in England No. 1118580. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. MIS0067-311215 MIC020-311215 Issued on 16/10/2015