Artisan High Income Fund underperformed the ICE BofA US High Yield Index during the quarter, as primary detractors included security selection within corporate bonds and exposure to bank loans.
Volatility rose across asset classes during the quarter, driven by a combination of geopolitical conflicts, artificial intelligence-driven disruption fears and private credit concerns.
Artisan High Income Fund doubled its software exposure to 8% of the portfolio at quarter-end, with purchases of debt issued by companies such as Oracle, Ultimate Software Group and Renaissance Learning.
The investment team remains confident in the durability of the broker-led advisory model and increased the Artisan High Income Fund's exposure to the insurance brokerage sector overall during the quarter.
Artisan High Income Fund's investment team believes the shift in market sentiment this year has created a more attractive environment to deploy capital in credit as spreads widened and yields rose.
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images
Performance Discussion
Our portfolio underperformed the ICE BofA US High Yield Index during the quarter. Across asset types, the primary detractors were security selection within the corporate bond component as well as the portfolio's exposure to bank
