LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aristotle Credit Partners, LLC (“Aristotle Credit”), a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, today announced the launch of the Aristotle Strategic Credit Fund. The objective of the Fund is to seek income and capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in debt securities. The types of debt securities in which the Fund may invest include, but are not limited to, corporate bonds, notes and debentures of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers, and bank loans of U.S. and non-U.S. corporate issuers. The Fund’s investments in foreign securities include securities in both developed and emerging markets. The institutional no-load share class will trade under the symbol ARSSX.
Douglas Lopez, CFA, Michael Hatley, and Terence Reidt, CFA, are the Portfolio Managers and are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. All investment decisions are made by the Portfolio Managers as a team. The executives currently direct various strategies at Aristotle Credit, where they serve as Principals, Portfolio Managers and members of Aristotle Credit’s research team.
In pursuing the Fund’s investment objectives, Aristotle Credit uses a disciplined investment approach that integrates a top-down macroeconomic environment assessment with a bottom-up independent fundamental credit analysis. Aristotle Credit evaluates industries and companies on a global basis and across the credit quality spectrum to assess industry dynamics, and analyzes a company’s financial information, strategic positioning, as well as liquidity of the company’s securities, to determine a security’s relative value. Aristotle Credit looks for investments that are attractively valued (in terms of price, coupon and yield) as compared to their peers. The Advisor typically employs diversified portfolio construction and the Fund’s portfolio will typically be diversified in terms of industry classifications.
“This strategy takes advantage of the broad investment skills possessed by our seasoned portfolio management and research teams across the high yield, bank loan and investment grade corporate sectors,” said Douglas. “We invest with a long-term view and construct focused portfolios. We are pleased to offer the Fund to the open-ended mutual fund marketplace. The strategy previously was only available on a separate account basis for high net worth individuals and institutional clients.”
“This strategy allows our experienced team to shift weightings between high yield, bank loans and investment grade credit to best position the portfolio as opportunities arise from inevitable fluctuations in the corporate credit markets in the future,” Michael added.
Douglas Lopez is a Senior Partner and Portfolio Manager at Aristotle Credit. He has over 24 years of experience and is a member of both the Executive Management Team and the Investment Committee of the firm. Prior to joining Aristotle Credit, Douglas was a Senior Portfolio Manager of Global Credit at Bradford & Marzec, LLC, where he was a member of the Investment Policy and Strategy Committee and Portfolio Management Team. He served as the lead Portfolio Manager for the firm’s high yield portfolios for over 14 years. Prior to that, he was the firm’s Director of Research and managed the credit analyst team, while continuing to serve as the primary analyst for a number of industries. Douglas earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University, Long Beach, and an MBA in Finance from the University of California, Berkeley. Additionally he is a lecturer and advisor to the Student Managed Investment Fund at California State University, Long Beach, and a CFA® charterholder.
Michael Hatley is a Senior Partner and Portfolio Manager at Aristotle Credit and is a member of both the Executive Management Team and the Investment Committee, which is responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of the firm. Michael is also the President and founding partner of West Gate Horizons Advisors, LLC (“WGHA”) which is under common control with Aristotle Credit. He joined ING Capital Advisors, LLC (“ICA”) in 1995 and served in various credit capacities for ICA, becoming President in 2001 and assuming full responsibility for its investment process and portfolio management. In 2005, WGHA was formed to purchase all of the active investment management contracts of ICA. Michael has more than three decades of experience in the area of corporate credit analysis and the management of senior secured bank loan portfolios, and he is responsible for all aspects of portfolio management, trading and risk management for the WGHA investment portfolios. Michael earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri and an MBA in Finance from Indiana University. He also served as a board member of the Loan Syndications and Trading Associations (LSTA), which serves as the Trade Association for the floating rate bank loan market.
Terence Reidt is a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Aristotle Credit. He has over 22 years of investment experience and is also a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining Aristotle Credit, Terence was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Bradford & Marzec, LLC, where he was a member of the Investment Policy and Strategy Committee and Portfolio Management Team. Terence earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA in Finance from University California, Los Angeles. He has also passed the California Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination and is a CFA® charterholder.
About Aristotle Credit Partners
Based in Los Angeles, Aristotle Credit Partners, LLC is an institutional asset management firm focused on value-added credit strategies. The firm’s investment strategies include High Yield Bonds, Bank Loans, Investment Grade Corporate Bonds and other custom credit strategies. As a credit manager, Aristotle Credit opportunistically invests in loans and bonds along the full credit spectrum. Aristotle Credit‘s strategies largely operate in what it believes to be less efficient markets with less interest rate sensitivity than many competing strategies. The investment process seeks to create value primarily through the assessment of macroeconomic environment combined with deep credit research of higher tier credits and disciplined risk management in an effort to provide downside protection.
Aristotle Credit integrates an experienced team managing high yield and investment grade corporate bonds with West Gate Horizons Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor specializing in the management of collateralized loan obligations and bank loans. Aristotle Credit is also affiliated with Aristotle Capital Management, LLC. Please visit www.aristotlecredit.com for more information.
Aristotle Credit Partners, LLC is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about Aristotle Credit including our investment strategies, fees and objectives can be found in our ADV Part 2, which is available upon request.
An investment in the Fund is subject to risks and you could lose money on your investment in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include, but are not limited to, investing in foreign securities, emerging markets and ETFs.
Foreign securities have additional risks including currency rate changes, political and economic instability, lack of comprehensive company information, less market liquidity, less efficient trading markets and differing auditing controls and legal standards. Investments in emerging markets involve even greater risks. The Fund invests in high yield bonds. High yield bonds are debt securities rated below investment grade (often called “junk bonds). High yield bonds are speculative, involve greater risks of default, downgrade, or price declines and are more volatile and tend to be less liquid than investment-grade securities.
Please consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus or summary prospectus that contains this and other information about the Fund is available by calling 1.866.661.6691 or visit www.aristotlefunds.com and should be read carefully prior to investing.
The Aristotle Strategic Credit Fund is distributed by IMST Distributors, LLC.
