FP Shenkman Hansa High Yield Fund Short Report for the six months ended 31 May 2015 Investment Objective and Policy The Fund s investment objective is to achieve primarily a high level of income and in addition capital appreciation through investment in a broad range of securities, including those listed on the eligible markets and such securities that are not "approved securities" to the extent permitted by the FCA Rules. To invest, in accordance with the FCA Rules, primarily in European high yield securities, but also to invest in countries outside Europe where the Investment Manager deems there to be appropriate opportunities, in each case where the issuer of such securities is incorporated in, or is a government or public body of, a member country of the OECD, as such list may be amended from time to time. The investments will predominantly be a wide range of fixed income securities which will also include for example lower quality corporate and sovereign debt securities and convertible bonds. The fund may invest up to 20% of NAV in securities that are not rated by a credit rating agency. Where securities are rated by either Standard & Poor s (S&P), Fitch Ratings or Moody s credit rating agencies the may invest in securities that are rated CCC- (S&P), CCC (Fitch) or Caa3 (Moody s) or above at the time of purchase. The Fund may invest in other securities consistent with its investment objectives as determined by the Investment Manager and in accordance with the FCA Rules. Subject to the investment and borrowing powers in Appendix 3 of the Prospectus, the Fund will limit its holdings to 6% of net asset value in a single issuer and 20% of net asset value in aggregate in issuers of a single industry sector. The Fund will limit its holdings to 10% of net asset value in issuers of a single domicile country, except where the issuer domicile is a G7 country (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom or the United States), the Netherlands or Luxembourg, in which case there is no limit. Fund Facts Interim/Annual Accounting End Dates Ex-dividend (xd) Dates Distribution/ Accumulation Dates 31 May 30 November 01 December 31 March* *On or before this date Risk Profile The Fund may invest in derivatives to manage its portfolio efficiently, generate additional income and hedge risk related to its underlying investments in accordance with the FCA Rules. These risks include but are not limited to market price risk, interest rate risk, currency risk, liquidity risk and credit risk. Page 1
Charges Share Class Initial Charge Annual Management Charge 31/05/15 Ongoing Charge 31/05/15 Ongoing Charge 30/11/14 A (Euro) 2.00% 0.75% 1.18% 1.07% The Ongoing Charges shows the operating expenses of the Fund including the annual management charges and other expenses. It does not include transaction charges. For more information about charges please refer to Fund Prospectus. Distributions/Accumulations Since the Fund distributes annually, no interim distribution will be made. Comparative Tables Price History Calendar Year Share Class Highest Price ( ) Lowest Price ( ) 2010 A (Inc) (Euro) 100.04 100.00 2011 A (Inc) (Euro) 105.93 98.00 2012 A (Inc) (Euro) 111.20 96.07 2013 A (Inc) (Euro) 113.50 105.04 2014 A (Inc) (Euro) 111.92 105.11 2015# A (Inc) (Euro) 108.13 103.61 # From 1 January to 31 May 2015 Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The price of units and the income from them may go down as well as up and you may get back less then you invested. Comparative Tables Net Asset Value and Revenue History Date Share Class 30 November 2012 A (Inc) (Euro) 30 November 2013 A (Inc) (Euro) 30 November 2014 A (Inc) (Euro) 31 May 2015 A (Inc) (Euro) Net Asset Valuation (prior to distribution) Net Asset Value Per Share ( ) No. of Units Distribution Per Share ( ) 30,120,781 111.20 270,872 6.3305 30,882,325 113.50 272,092 6.9896 29,876,777 110.97 269,242 5.8528 28,687,212 107.03 268,042 N/A Page 2
Portfolio Information Breakdown by investment type 100% 98.47% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 1.78% -0.25% Fixed Securities [95.96%] Cash & Others [4.25%] Forwards [-0.21%] -20% Comparative figures shown above in square brackets relate to 30 November 2014. Comparative Tables (continued) Major Holdings Top 10 Holdings % of Fund 31/05/15 Darling Global Finance BV, 4.75%, 30/05/22 2.34 Celanese US Holdings LLC, 3.25%, 15/10/19 2.08 Kelda Finance No 3 PLC, 5.75%, 17/02/20 1.96 Unitymedia Hessen GmbH & Co KG / Unitymedia NRW GmbH, 6.25%, 15/01/29 1.93 Stonegate Pub Co Financing PLC, 5.32%, 15/04/19 1.78 Huntsman International LLC, 4.25%, 01/04/25 1.74 Cabot Financial Luxembourg SA, 10.38%, 01/10/19 1.67 Ladbrokes Group Finance PLC, 7.63%, 05/03/17 1.65 La Financiere Atalian SAS, 7.25%, 15/01/20 1.61 William Hill PLC, 4.25%, 05/06/20 1.56 Top 10 Holdings Unitymedia Hessen GmbH & Co KG / Unitymedia NRW GmbH, 6.25%, 15/01/29 % of Fund 30/11/14 2.71 William Hill PLC, 4.25%, 05/06/20 2.66 Greif Nevada Holdings Inc SCS, 7.38%, 15/07/21 2.61 Numericable-SFR, 5.38%, 15/05/22 2.60 RPG Byty Sro, 6.75%, 01/05/20 2.57 DFS Furniture Holdings PLC, 7.63%, 15/08/18 2.55 OI European Group BV, 6.75%, 15/09/20 2.53 Constellium NV, 4.63%, 15/05/21 2.48 La Financiere Atalian SAS, 7.25%, 15/01/20 2.27 Pendragon PLC, 6.88%, 01/05/20 2.21 Page 3
Risk and Reward Profile As at 31 MAY 2015 Typically lower rewards Lower risk Typically higher rewards Higher risk Class A (Euro) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The indicator above is not a measure of the risk of capital loss, but an estimated measure of the Fund s price movement over time. It is based on historical data, and thus may not be a reliable indication for the future. The Fund is classified in the category above due to the nature of the investments which include the risks noted below. The indicated risk category is not guaranteed and may shift over time. The indicator is designed to help investors understand the uncertainties both for loss and for growth that may affect their investment. In this context, the lowest category does not mean risk free. The Fund does not provide its investors with any guarantee on performance, nor on monies invested in it. In addition to the risk captured by the indicator, the overall Fund value may be considerably affected by: Credit Risk: Investing in debt securities offers you the chance to gain returns through growing your investment and generating income. However, there is a risk that the institution which issued the debt security will fail, which would result in a loss of income to the Fund, along with its initial investment. Fixed income values are likely to fall if interest rates rise. Distressed or Below Investment Grade Securities Risk: Investing in below investment grade securities increases the risk that the Fund may lose a portion or all of its investment and may cause the Fund to incur higher expenses trying to protect its interest in such investments Liquidity Risk: Below investment grade debt securities may offer less liquidity than investment grade securities because there are insufficient buyers and sellers to allow the Fund to sell or buy investments readily. Derivatives Risk: You should note that returns which are derived from derivatives may be more volatile than returns derived from the asset underlying the derivatives. Certain derivatives may result in gains or losses that are greater than the original amount invested. Currency Risk: Changes in exchange rates may cause the value of investments to decrease or increase An extended discussion of the risks associated with an investment in the Fund is set out in the prospectus. Page 4
Investment Manager s Report Investment Review The net asset value per share of the Fund s Class A (Inc.) as of 31st May, 2015 was EUR 107.43, which represents a total of return of +2.21% for the six month period on a dividend reinvested basis. By comparison, the BofA Merrill Lynch European Currency Non-Financial High Yield 3% Constrained Index (HPID) Euro hedged rose by +4.07% during the same time period, while the BofA Merrill Lynch European Currency High Yield Constrained Index (HPC0) euro hedged and including financial issuers, rose by +3.69% during the same time period. Market performance was largely driven by strong performance of issuers with higher credit ratings from the major credit rating agencies. These bonds tended to benefit from higher price sensitivity to the fall in government bond yields and their perceived lower credit risk. The mid and lower rated debt underperformed, where certain negative credit-specific events in some issuers caused the market to take a more risk-adverse view of the sector. Early on in the period, oil price weakness tended to increase expectations for low inflation/deflation in the European economy and underlined the strong case for the ECB to embark on a quantitative easing (QE) program at the beginning of 2015, thereby limited the negative effects of the weak US high yield market and Russia and Greece on the European high yield market. Macro news showed a trend of improving economic growth. EU area preliminary Q1 GDP was 0.4% quarter over quarter, reflecting positive developments in France and Italy, while recording weaker growth in Germany. Leading indicators continued to point to slow but improving growth in the area, while weak Eurozone inflation indicators initially fanned fears of deflation before recovering in April and May. During Q1 2015, the ECB began its long anticipated EUR 60 billion per month QE program, while adjusting its 2015 Eurozone GDP forecast to 1.5% from 1.0% last December and its inflation forecast to 0% from 0.7% previously. The impass between Greece s creditors and the Syriza party in the country s bailout negotiations persisted through May and raised concerns about a default. UK elections surprised with a strong victory for the incumbent conservative party, which gained a parliamentary majority. In corporate news, May was a busy period with Q1 reporting showing broadly in line results. The trend was helped, in many cases, by a tailwind from the stronger US dollar relative to the Euro. Earlier in the period, UK retailer House of Fraser gave a positive update on Christmas trading, showing record sales with LFL up 8%. William Hill pointed to a positive outlook but experienced poor results from football betting in January. The auto sector, benefiting from a better economic growth outlook, reported improvements, with Peugeot, Fiat and Faurecia (auto parts) showing sales growth for the quarter, reporting continuous growth for just over 18 months. Consumer-related issuers showed mixed results with travel-related business experiencing growth in top line, while cinemas reported drops for Q1. We also saw improvement at UK auto retailer Pendragon, German heating meter maker Techem and Swedish cable TV operator Comhem. High yield company initial public offerings and mergers & acquisitions were active. Among them, initial public offerings from Swiss mobile operator Sunrise and DFS, the UK furniture retailer. Metal packaging firm Rexam confirmed a bid from Ball Corp. New fallen angels, former investment grade issuers, joined the European high yield market. Petrobras (Brazilian oil and gas) was downgraded on concerns about corruption charges and liquidity pressures, while Gazprom (Russian oil & gas) was downgraded following the weak Russian macroeconomic background. Since December 31st, 2014, a total of EUR 55.8 billion of new bonds were issued, an increase of 1.1% over the same period last year. The European high yield new issue market was active, with deals coming from Altice, International Game Technology and ZF North America among the largest. The price source for the above calculation are derived from Bloomberg Page 5
Investment Manger s Report (continued) Outlook Economic data continues to point to expansion of activity for the Eurozone albeit at a modest pace. With the threat of deflation waning, government bond yields had been going through an upward adjustment from extreme low levels. Further rises in government bond yields in the core of the Eurozone may be tempered by the prospect of ECB s determination to offset any potential negative developments stemming from Greece. With the risk of a Greek exit from the Euro rising as a result of the breakdown in the bailout negotiations, credit spreads in high yield have scope to rise in the near term. However, on market and credit fundamentals, the European high yield market is enjoying a tailwind of easy monetary policy and improving economic growth that should prevail in the second half of the year, permitting spreads to tighten. We continue to expect default rates to remain subdued given the improving economy, the low level of leveraged buyout related issuance and relatively low issuer refinancing required over the next year. European high yield bond spreads should continue to narrow as a result, generating positive returns relative to government bonds. Among risks to the positive market backdrop are a potential disorderly Greek Euro exit and the continuing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and in other regions to the east of Europe. Investment Manager Shenkman Capital Management Inc May 2015 Significant Events There were no significant events which took place during the period which require disclosure in these financial statements. The information in this report is designed to enable shareholders to make an informed judgment on the activities of the Fund during the period it covers and the result of those activities at the end of the period. The long Report and Accounts are available free of charge on request. For more information about the activities and performance of the Fund during the period and previous periods, please contact. Authorised Corporate Director Depositary Investment Manager Auditor Fund Partners Limited Cedar House, 3 Cedar Park Cobham Road, Wimborne Dorset, BH21 7SB Customer Service Centre: : +3531 440 6555 National Westminster Bank Plc 135 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3UR Shenkman Capital Management, Inc 461 Fifth Avenue 22 nd Floor New York 10017 USA, Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP 25 Farrington Street London, EC4A 4AB www.fundpartners.co.uk Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the FCA and the PRA Registered with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission Page 6 Please note that telephone calls may be recorded for monitoring and training purposes, and to confirm investors' instructions