Asset Backed Securities

After a hectic first half of the year, most investors, including us, were hoping for a dull summer to recharge our batteries, but it seems there’s no respite from the CLO machine.

As many of you know, with the roots of our business firmly embedded in the European ABS market, we have long sought to dispel the myths surrounding our market by explaining its underlying mechanics and how investors can fully exploit its unique properties.  

TwentyFour Partner and Portfolio Manager, Douglas Charleston, explains how ABS markets have performed in Q2 2021 and provides his outlook for the year ahead.

We have a high opinion of Kensington as a mortgage lender and when we score it for ESG as part of our investment analysis it performs very well even without this latest Green initiative, but we do feel it can stretch further.

The remarkable pace of change in the markets as the global economy reopens points to opportunities in higher yielding bonds, with financials in particular set to benefit, says TwentyFour Asset Management CEO and portfolio manager Mark Holman.

2021 looks set to become a post-financial crisis record year for European CLO issuance and refinancings, but amid the rush of activity we are seeing a concerning trend for weaker documentation in refinanced deals that in our view investors need to fight against.

In TwentyFour's ABS update on Monday 10th May 2021, Aza Teeuwen provided an update on investment themes and positioning in the ABS market.

TwentyFour AM partner and portfolio manager Douglas Charleston discusses how ABS markets have performed in the first quarter of 2021 and provides his outlook for the rest of the year.

In terms of execution, it is difficult to assess any ‘ESG premium’ in Brass 10 given the overall strong demand, and in our view it’s still early to weigh the importance of a ‘social’ label for ABS investors.

For most investors this deal would likely be considered a liquidity position, and at a spread of 15bp this is certainly not the sexiest proposition the European ABS market has to offer, but what is interesting about this latest instalment from the STORM platform is what makes the deal ‘Green’.

For fixed income investors, we think floating rate European ABS bonds could be an allocation consideration to help improve return prospects and reduce volatility.

Last week UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) announced the sale of its final mortgage loan portfolios, bringing to a close a decade long chapter of state ownership.