Vontobel Fund - Emerging Markets Corporate Bond

Fixed Income Boutique Emerging Markets Bonds
ISIN
LU2269200726
Valor
58734739
66.19
NAV
As at 27 Aug 2026
1.66%

Investment objective
This actively managed bond fund aims to achieve the best possible investment returns in US dollars.


Key features
While respecting risk diversification, the fund invests across emerging markets and credit ratings predominantly in hard-currency bonds, notes, and similar interest-bearing securities of corporate and sovereign issuers. It may be invested in full in such securities from the high-yield rating segment. Specific limits apply for certain instruments, including distressed, non-rated, convertible, CoCo, or warrant bonds, ABS, and MBS. The fund may use derivatives to achieve its investment objective. It considers specific sustainability criteria in assessing potential investments, combining the promotion of environmental and/or social characteristics with a commitment to sustainable investments. It uses its benchmark for performance comparison. The investment team has full discretion.


Approach
The investment team focuses on spread optimization and event-driven opportunities for a given risk level, based on in-depth research and a proprietary valuation model. It dynamically adapts the portfolio to changing markets, striving to seize opportunities and control risk.

Why invest?

  • Multitude of countries, industries and companies offer true diversification to any portfolio
  • Tried and tested value approach offers stable and recurring income, enhanced by specific event-driven stories
  • Deep knowledge of issuers and their decision makers allows us to pick bottom-up ideas decorrelated from the broader market and global interest rates

 

"In emerging market corporates there are always bonds that offer income and capital gains for an active manager who knows where to look."

Wouter Van Overfelt, Head of Emerging Markets Bonds

Our investment process

We take a deeply contrarian approach to emerging market corporate bonds, aiming to take advantage of the dislocation in valuations that often present themselves in this inefficient and news-flow driven asset class.

We take a four-step process, which combines top-down strategic themes and bottom-up analysis with a focus on maximizing credit remuneration. The fund managers deliberately avoid global rates risk and currency risk, instead concentrating on the credit component.

infograph-product-em-corp_en

Investment opportunity – emerging corporates are a growing asset class

The size of the emerging market corporate debt universe comes as a surprise to many investors. At 2 trillion US dollars, the emerging market corporate bond universe is twice the size of US dollar denominated emerging sovereigns1. With an average rating of BBB-, the credit quality of the corporates is better than their sovereign counterparts1. Also, it is the asset class within emerging market debt with the lowest duration and volatility1. With the multitude of countries, industries as well as unique issuers in different phases of the economic cycle, there is a broad set of opportunities available, providing a combination of favorable yield and income. As the growth differential versus developed markets is increasing in the emerging markets’ favor, this space is set to rise further.

The main story though is the prolific inefficiencies in the emerging corporate bond space, which makes it an active manager’s paradise. We take advantage of these inefficiencies by complementing our tried and tested value-driven strategies with event-driven opportunities. As contrarian, bottom-up investors, we actively seek stories which other managers avoid. What’s more, we exploit the situations that they sometimes provoke! These trades are highly rewarding, truly diversified strategies, but above all, decorrelated from the broader markets because price action is issuer specific. In a nutshell we aim for, pure, uncorrelated and idiosyncratic alpha!

1. Source: J.P. Morgan, as of 31.12.2018

Investment philosophy – inefficiencies lead to opportunities

Segmented markets and risk aversion offer high return, low volatility and decorrelated opportunities. Our investment philosophy rests on two inefficiencies and sources of performance:

infograph-boutique-fixed-income-em-inefficiencies_en

Investment team

The fund is managed by Wouter Van Overfelt of the Emerging Market Bonds team. The team also has at its disposal the full capabilities of the wider Zurich based Fixed Income boutique. This optimal team structure enables proactive early idea generation and implementation.

Insights

All data is as at 31 Jul 2026 unless otherwise indicated.

Historical performance (net return %)

Cumulative performance

1M YTD 1Y 3 yrs p.a. 5 yrs p.a. Since Inception
AHN (hedged) CHF -0.8% 0.8% 1.6% 3.3% -3.9% -11.7%
Benchmark -0.8% -0.8% 0.8% 2.9% -1.2% -4.9%

Performance for calendar years

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
AHN (hedged) CHF 3.5% 5.6% -7.5% -17.0% 3.5% NA NA NA NA NA
Benchmark 4.1% 3.2% 4.5% -14.7% -0.2% NA NA NA NA NA

Portfolio characteristics

Portfolio Benchmark
Volatility 4.7% 3.7%
Sharpe Ratio 0.5
Information Ratio 0.2
Tracking error 1.9%
Modified Duration 4.2 4.1
Average Coupon 7.0% 5.6%
Yield To Maturity 7.9% 6.3%
Yield To Worst 7.8% 6.2%
Average Rating BB BBB
Number of positions 303.0 1’897
Active Share (country, issuer, ISIN) 45% / 84% / 88%
[3 years annualized]
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future performance. Performance data does not take into account any commissions and costs charged when shares of the fund are issued and redeemed, if applicable. The return of the fund may go down as well as up, e.g. due to changes in rates of exchange between currencies. The value of the money invested in the fund can increase or decrease and there is no guarantee that all or part of your invested capital can be redeemed.

All data is as at 27 Aug 2026 unless otherwise indicated.

Fund data
Portfolio Manager Wouter Van Overfelt/Cécile Sati
Fund Domicile Luxembourg
Fund Currency USD
Share Class Currency CHF
Year End 31 August
Benchmark J.P. Morgan CEMBI Broad Diversified (CHF hedged)
Share Class Launch Date 16 Dec 2020
Distribution Type Distributing
Last distribution 4.04 (24 Nov 2025)
Swing Pricing Eligible Yes
SFDR Classification Article 8
Fund Registrations AT, CH, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IT, LI, LU, NL, NO, PT, SE, SG
Share Class Registrations CH, LU, SG
Nav Information
Highest since launch 109.87
Lowest since launch 64.24
Fund size in mln. USD 1,148.57
Share class size in mln. CHF 0.71
Fees And Expenses
Management Fee 0.55%
Max Management Fee 0.82%
TER* 0.90% (28 Feb 2026)
OCF 0.90% (28 Feb 2026)
Luxembourg Taxe d Abonnement 0.05%
Identifiers
ISIN LU2269200726
Valor 58734739
Bloomberg VMCBAEH LX
WKN A2QKTS
Parties
Investment Manager Vontobel Asset Management AG, Zürich
Depositary State Street Bank International GmbH (Luxembourg Branch)
Management Company Vontobel Asset Management SA, Luxembourg
Swiss Paying Agent Bank Vontobel AG
Swiss Representative Vontobel Fonds Services AG

Available Share Classes

Share class Currency ISIN Distrib. Type Launch date Management Fee TER*
A USD LU2033400107 Distributing Retail 29 Aug 2019 1.10% 1.42% (28 Feb 2026)
AHN (hedged) CHF LU2269200726 Distributing Retail 16 Dec 2020 0.55% 0.90% (28 Feb 2026)
AQN USD LU1914926925 Distributing Retail 30 Nov 2018 0.55% 0.87% (28 Feb 2026)
B USD LU1750111707 Accumulating Retail 19 Jan 2018 1.10% 1.42% (28 Feb 2026)
H (hedged) CHF LU1944396107 Accumulating Retail 16 Dec 2020 1.10% 1.45% (28 Feb 2026)
H (hedged) EUR LU1944396289 Accumulating Retail 28 Mar 2019 1.10% 1.45% (28 Feb 2026)
HI (hedged) EUR LU1750111533 Accumulating Institutional 19 Jan 2018 0.55% 0.86% (28 Feb 2026)
HI (hedged) CHF LU1923148958 Accumulating Institutional 8 Jan 2019 0.55% 0.86% (28 Feb 2026)
HN (hedged) EUR LU2171257319 Accumulating Retail 19 May 2020 0.55% 0.90% (28 Feb 2026)
HN (hedged) CHF LU2269200999 Accumulating Retail 16 Dec 2020 0.55% 0.90% (28 Feb 2026)
I USD LU1305089796 Accumulating Institutional 13 Nov 2015 0.55% 0.83% (28 Feb 2026)
N USD LU1750111616 Accumulating Retail 19 Jan 2018 0.55% 0.87% (28 Feb 2026)
S USD LU2046631813 Accumulating Institutional 13 Sep 2019 0.00% 0.21% (28 Feb 2026)

Subject to change, without notice, only the current prospectus or comparable document of the fund is legally binding.

* TER includes performance fee where applicable

All data is as at 31 Jul 2026 unless otherwise indicated.

Rating Structure

Regional Exposure

Major bond positions

Bond Allocation
11.875% Cia General 28.11.2030 Senior 1.7%
9.5% SAMPA Finance 07.07.2031 Senior 1.6%
6.625% Poinsettia Fin 17.06.2031 Reg-S Senior 1.5%
12.75% Aragvi Fin Intl 26.05.2031 Senior 1.2%
8.75% MM Mirage Bluewater 29.06.2029 Senior 1.1%
4% Samarco Minera 30.06.2031 FRN Senior 1.1%
8.125% FS Luxembourg 11.02.2036 Reg-S Senior 1.0%
8.5% Ron Alt Sis 10.10.2029 Reg-S Senior 1.0%
5.625% Brazil 21.02.2047 Senior 1.0%
9% GDZ Elektrik 15.10.2029 Senior 1.0%

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AGM EGM invitation Jan 2026
Articles of Association Apr 2016
Notification to Investors Jun 2026
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Notification to Investors Apr 2020
Notification to Investors Nov 2019
Sales Prospectus Jul 2026
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Sustainability Related Disclosures
Exclusion Framework Jan 2026
Periodic Disclosure Aug 2025
Pre-contractual Disclosure Jul 2026
Statement on principal adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors Jun 2026
Sustainability Related Disclosures Jan 2025
Swiss Climate Scores Jul 2026
Financial Reports
Annual Distribution Nov 2025
Annual Distribution Nov 2024
Annual Report Aug 2025
Distribution Dates Jan 2026
Quarterly Distribution Jun 2026
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Quarterly Distribution Dec 2025
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Quarterly Distribution Dec 2024
Quarterly Distribution Sep 2024
Quarterly Distribution Jun 2024
Quarterly Distribution Mar 2024
Semi-Annual Report Feb 2026
Semi Annual Distribution Apr 2026
Semi Annual Distribution Apr 2025
Semi Annual Distribution Apr 2024
Semi Annual Distribution Apr 2023
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Dealing Information
Holiday Calendar 2026 Jan 2026
List of Active Retail Share Classes Jan 2025
Policies
Sanctioned Countries Oct 2022
Shareclass Naming Convention Jan 2026

RISKS

When seeking to achieve its investment objective the Sub-Fund is subject to General Risks, to Investment Fund Risks, to Investment Management Risks and to Other Risks. Investing in the Sub-Fund implies the following risk factors which are described in detail in the section Risk Factors of the Sales Prospectus.

Investment Fund Risks

  • There is no guarantee that the fund will achieve its investment objective or that you will get back the amount you originally invested.

  • The value of your investment can go up or down in response to changes in economic conditions, interest rates, exchange rates, or company creditworthiness. Events such as pandemics, wars, or natural disasters can cause significant and unpredictable market disruptions worldwide.

  • If a key service provider (such as the investment manager or depositary) fails or becomes insolvent, this could cause delays in processing your transactions or result in financial losses for the fund.

  • In difficult market conditions, it may not be possible to sell certain investments quickly or at a fair price, which could mean the fund is unable to meet your redemption request promptly or may have to apply tools such as temporary restrictions on withdrawals.

Investment Management Risks

  • Bonds and other debt securities can fluctuate in value due to changes in interest rates and the creditworthiness of the issuer, meaning you may receive less than you invested.

  • If a borrower fails to meet its financial obligations (such as paying interest or repaying principal), the value of the fund's investment in that issuer could fall significantly. In extreme cases, the fund could lose the full amount invested in that issuer.

  • When interest rates rise, the value of bonds and other fixed-income investments typically falls, and vice versa. Early repayments of bonds may also mean the fund has to reinvest at lower rates, reducing returns.

  • High yield (or 'junk') bonds offer higher interest payments but carry a significantly greater risk of the issuer defaulting or the bond losing value. These bonds are more sensitive to economic downturns and can be harder to sell in stressed markets.

  • Investing in bonds issued by companies in severe financial difficulty or bankruptcy carries a very high risk of losing the capital invested. Recovery of funds can be uncertain, lengthy, and subject to legal proceedings.

  • Contingent convertible bonds ('CoCos') can be written down or converted into shares at a discount if the issuer's financial position weakens, potentially causing significant or total loss of the invested amount. Coupon payments can also be cancelled at the issuer's discretion without triggering a default.

  • Derivatives such as options, futures, and swaps can magnify gains but also amplify losses, and if used incorrectly or in unfavourable market conditions could result in substantial or total loss. There is also a risk that the counterparty to a derivative contract defaults on its obligations, further increasing potential losses.

  • Total return swaps allow the fund to gain exposure to assets without owning them directly, but introduce the risk that the counterparty fails to meet its obligations, potentially resulting in losses for the fund. In such a scenario, losses are generally limited to the net unpaid amounts under the swap agreement.

  • Investing in emerging markets carries greater risks than developed markets, including less stable governments, weaker regulatory oversight, lower liquidity, and restrictions on moving money in and out of the country. These factors can result in significant price swings and potential losses.

  • When the fund invests in assets denominated in a different currency to the fund's reference currency, movements in exchange rates can increase or decrease the value of your investment independently of how the underlying assets perform. Not all currency exposure may be hedged.

  • Active currency trading strategies are highly speculative and depend heavily on the portfolio manager's ability to forecast exchange rate movements; if these forecasts prove incorrect, the fund can suffer substantial losses.

  • Applying ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria may cause the fund to avoid certain investments or sectors, which could positively or negatively affect performance compared to funds that do not apply such criteria. ESG data from third parties may be incomplete or inaccurate, and there is no universally agreed standard for what qualifies as a sustainable investment.

Other Risks

  • Environmental, social, or governance events (such as climate change, social controversies, or poor corporate governance) can negatively impact the value of the fund's investments. 

Neither the Sub-Fund, nor the Management Company nor the Investment Manager make any representation or warranty, express or implied, with respect to the fairness, correctness, accuracy, reasonableness or completeness of an assessment of ESG research and the correct execution of the ESG strategy.

Any index or supporting data referred to is the intellectual property (including registered trademarks) of the applicable licensor. Any product based on an index is in no way sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the applicable licensor and it shall not have any liability with respect thereto. Refer to vontobel.com/terms-of-licenses for more details.

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