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Offered in a suite of products:

    Our Philosophy

    We believe investors should be compensated for the risks they take — in all market environments and any investment strategy.

    Overview

    More Than Just Income

    Investors’ focus on income with high yield bonds may cause them to overlook the importance of price appreciation. We built this strategy to complement income with capital growth, by identifying relative value opportunities and minimizing defaults based on both top down and bottom up research.

    Benefits

    Compelling Risk-Adjusted Returns

    Diversified Risk Exposure Compliments Portfolio Construction

    High Current Income

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    Principles of Investing

    Focus on Consistency – Avoid Large Concentrated Bets

    When the bond markets experience turmoil the top performing managers have historically taken a hard hit likely due to large bets across various sectors or duration. Diversifying your sources of return may be critical to providing more consistent outcomes.

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    Percent of Top Quartile Managers That Declined in Peer Rank After a Credit Event in the Market

    Source: eVestment, FRED, Northern Trust Asset Management. Data from January 1, 1993 to June 30, 2023. Credit events are defined as quarters where the absolute % change in 10-Year Treasure yield is greater than the average +1 standard deviation. A decline in peer rank is defined as a decline in the trailing 1-year return peer rank from the quarter end before the credit event to the quarter end of the credit event. The analysis was conducted using the eVestment U.S. Core Fixed Income Universe. Historical trends are not predictive of future results.

    Principles of Investing

    We Favor Bonds That Increase Risk-Adjusted Returns

    Bonds at the lower-end of the investment grade universe have historically offered higher risk-adjusted returns with minimal added default risk.

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    Sharpe Ratio by U.S. Credit Quality (last 20 years)

    Source: Northern Trust Asset Management, Morningstar Direct, S&P Global. Sharpe ratio data as of June 30, 2023. Market indices are used for the Sharpe ratio calculations: ICE Bofa AAA US Corporate TR represents AAA, ICE Bofa AA US Corporate represents AA, ICE Bofa A US Corporate TR represents A, and ICE Bofa BBB US Corporate TR represents BBB. Average default rates from S&P Global, Default, Transition, and Recovery: 2022 Annual U.S. Corporate Default and Rating Transition Study. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The rating may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organization. Each rating should be evaluated independently of the other ratings.

    Principles of Investing

    Protect Against Defaults to Deliver Consistent Outcomes in Any Market

    The risk-reward tradeoff between yield and risk needs to be consistently assessed and monitored, as the impact of even 1 – 2% in defaults can quickly erode any previous short-term yield gains.

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    High Yield 3-Year Rolling Returns vs. Default Rate Since 1989

    Source: eVestment, Northern Trust Asset Management. Data as of June 30, 2023. High yield is represented by Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield Index. Past performance is not indicative or a guarantee of future results. Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. it is not possible to invest directly in any index. Indexes are the property of their respective owners, all rights reserved.

    Principles of Investing

    Favor Diversification Over Concentration

    Portfolio concentration can add idiosyncratic risk that we systematically avoid by effective diversification that involves setting individual security weight constraints, diversifying by maturity, industry, sectors, countries and currencies.

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    10 Year Median Peer Group Ranking — eVestment U.S. Core Universe

    More Diversifed Strategies is defined as strategies that rank in top 50% of peer group universe for total number of holdings, Less Diversified Strategies are those that appear in the bottom 50% of the universe. Historical trends are not predictive of future results. Source: eVestment, Northern Trust Asset Management. Data as of June 30, 2023.

    Principles of Investing

    Avoid Speculative Derivative Bets That Increase Risk

    We purposefully avoid esoteric securities and short-term speculative positions that can be costly during times of stress in order to avoid unintended outcomes that may occur with the increased complexity and risk.

    5 / 5

    Median Manager Peer Group Ranking Return During 20% Market Corrections (eVestment U.S. Core Universe)

    The use of derivatives was determined by a field in eVestment that asks if the manager uses derivatives in the management of the product. Historical trends are not predictive of future results. Source: eVestment, Northern Trust Asset Management. Data as of June 30, 2023.

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    How It Works

    Select Investments With Attractive Risk-Reward Profiles Versus Peers

    Perform top-down, bottom-up research across the high yield risk spectrum

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    How It Works

    Align Credit Allocation With Economic Outlook

    Set credit weights for optimal performance based on proprietary outlooks

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    How It Works

    Construct a Portfolio That Balances Income and Growth

    Manage duration, yield curve and sector allocation purposefully while accounting for liquidity and credit risk

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    How It Works

    Trade With Efficiency to Exploit Opportunities and Mitigate Risks

    Buy on improving fundamentals and relative value, sell on deteriorating credit quality and leverage our trading scale

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    Who it's for

    Investors Seeking to Generate Higher Income

    Income and risk/reward profile compare favorably to investment-grade bonds.

    Investors Seeking to Lower Interest Rate Risk Within Their Portfolios

    Purposeful risk management strategy aims for lower interest rate risk than intermediate investment grade bonds.

    Investors Seeking Capital Appreciation at Lower Risk Than Equities

    Fundamental credit research seeks securities that appear to be attractively valued versus peers in order to capture potential favorable spread compression.

    Portfolio

    Select a Strategy
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    eVestment Universe
    Benchmark
    Inception Date
    Investment Vehicles Available

    Team Expertise

    We measure success as achieving investor outcomes and delivering an exceptional client experience.

    Eric Williams

    Portfolio ManagerRead Bio

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    Contact Us

    Interested in learning more about our investment strategies? 

    Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. It is a method used to help manage investment risk.

     

    All securities investing and trading activities risk the loss of capital. Each portfolio is subject to substantial risks including market risks, strategy risks, advisor risk, and risks with respect to its investment in other structures. There can be no assurance that any portfolio investment objectives will be achieved, or that any investment will achieve profits or avoid incurring substantial losses. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee returns or eliminate risk in any market environment. Risk controls and models do not promise any level of performance or guarantee against loss of principal. Any discussion of risk management is intended to describe NTAM’s efforts to monitor and manage risk but does not imply low risk. This information is general in nature and should not be construed as tax advice. Please consult a tax advisor or professional as to how this information may affect your particular circumstance.

     

    Not FDIC Insured | May Lose Value | No Bank Guarantee

    Northern Trust Asset Management is composed of Northern Trust Investments, Inc., Northern Trust Global Investments Limited, Northern Trust Fund Managers (Ireland) Limited, Northern Trust Global Investments Japan, K.K., NT Global Advisors, Inc., 50 South Capital Advisors, LLC, Northern Trust Asset Management Australia Pty Ltd, and investment personnel of The Northern Trust Company of Hong Kong Limited and The Northern Trust Company.