Managed Account

Polen U.S. Opportunistic High Yield

  • Average Yield

    9.8%

    As of 03-31-2025

  • Effective Duration

    2.1 years

    As of 03-31-2025

  • YTD Return (Net)

    0.37%

    As of 03-31-2025

  • Inception Date

    03-31-1998

Investment Objective

Our U.S. Opportunistic High Yield strategy seeks to outperform a broad-based U.S. high yield index with similar or lower risk over a full credit cycle.

Performance

Seeks Growth & Capital Preservation (%)
Qtr YTD 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr Inception
Polen U.S. Opportunistic High Yield (Gross) 0.48 0.48 5.86 4.72 9.84 6.05 7.67
Polen U.S. Opportunistic High Yield (Net) 0.37 0.37 5.39 4.27 9.33 5.56 6.94
ICE BofA U.S. High Yield Index 0.94 0.94 7.60 4.83 7.21 4.91 6.05
S&P UBS Leveraged Loan Index 0.61 0.61 7.02 7.09 8.89 4.98 4.89

Data shown (%) as of recent calendar quarter end. The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Current performance may be lower or higher. Periods over one year are annualized. The gross performance returns for the Polen Credit Opportunistic High Yield Composite set forth above are presented gross of all fees except for trading expenses, deal-related legal expenses, and withholding taxes. Net returns reflect the application of actual management and performance-based fees to gross returns. Returns are provided as supplemental information and complement a GIPS Composite report.

Portfolio Statistics*
As of 03-31-2025
US Opportunistic HY SMA ICE BofA US High Yield
Alpha 1.80 -
Beta 0.77 1.00
Sharpe Ratio 0.61 0.45
Upside Capture 85.38% 100.00%
Downside Capture 69.19% 100.00%
Information Ratio 0.20 -
Standard Deviation 7.93% 8.91%
*Since inception

Portfolio

Top 10 Issuers (% of Portfolio)
As of 03-31-2025
Baffinland Iron Mines 3.82
Specialty Steel 3.67
HUB International 3.58
Surgery Center Holdings 3.32
Material Sciences 3.28
Aveanna Healthcare 2.82
Athenahealth 2.72
Shearer's Foods 2.52
Madison IAQ 2.50
Duravant 2.36
Total 30.59
Portfolio Characteristics
As of 03-31-2025
Number of Issuers 74
Top 10 Issuers 30.60%
Top 25 Issuers 62.70%
Average Coupon 8.50%
Avg. Blended Yield 9.80%
Average Blended Price $95.70
Adj. Effective Duration 2.1 years

For the avoidance of doubt, the portfolio characteristics are based on the underlying company attributes of the portfolio. This information along with all other information on the website is not intended to be construed or understood in any way to equate to the expected or projected future performance/returns of the portfolio or any Polen portfolio.

Debt Type Allocation (% of Portfolio)
As of 03-31-2025
Senior Unsecured Notes 35.43
Term Loans 29.52
Secured Notes 25.34
Equity 3.57
Holdco/Subordinated Debt 4.16
Cash & Cash Equivalents 1.98

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All data reported net of returns unless otherwise noted. Data is for the representative account. 

Top 10 Issuers Source: BNY. Composite Statistics Source: BNY and Bloomberg. Portfolio Characteristics including Number of Issuers, Top 10 Issuers, and Top 25 Issuers Source: BNY. Portfolio Characteristics including Average Coupon, Average Blended Yield, Average, Price, and Adjusted Effective Duration Source: Factset. 

Polen Capital claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein. This presentation is supplemental information to the fully compliant composite performance disclosure available at polencapital.com.

All performance is calculated in U.S. Dollars. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Returns are presented gross and net of management fees and include the reinvestment of all income.

In January 2025, following an internal review of the portfolios included within the Polen Credit U.S. Opportunistic High Yield Composite, Polen Capital has redefined such Composite to exclude, effective January 1, 2024, portfolios that maintain an exposure to illiquid securities in excess of 35% of assets for a consecutive three-month period.  Polen Capital concluded that portfolios with an illiquid exposure in excess of that 35% limit (as a result of client flows or otherwise) were not consistent with the Polen Credit U.S. Opportunistic High Yield strategy.  As a result of this redefinition, one portfolio that was previously included in the Composite has now been excluded as of such date.  Following such removal, the Composite’s gross and net returns for the calendar year 2024 (as well as all prior performance periods that are inclusive of the 2024 calendar year) have been restated.

The Polen Credit U.S. Opportunistic High Yield Composite (the “Opportunistic Composite”) includes portfolios that follow the Opportunistic Composite strategy, which seeks to generate capital appreciation and income primarily by investing in high yield bonds and bank loans. Portfolios within the Composite will be permitted to invest in lower rated debt securities, equity securities, bank debt, small issues and direct private investments, but allocations to these security types will vary. Portfolios within the Opportunistic Composite will generally invest at least 25% of assets in bank loans and will invest in illiquid securities.

The Polen Credit U.S. Opportunistic High Yield representative account representative account is an account within the Composite that Polen Capital has deemed the most representative of the Composite strategy of all the accounts managed by Polen Capital within the Composite. Contractual investment guidelines and length of track record are the most important factors in determining a representative account for the Composite strategy. The Composite strategy statistics provided are based on a representative account and are included as supplemental information and complement a GIPS Composite Report, which is available upon request.

The index does not bear any fees or expenses and does not reflect the specific investment restrictions and guidelines of the portfolio. An investor can not directly invest in such index and therefore the index returns are comparable to the returns of the portfolio calculated on a fully gross, and not net, basis; investment results will differ from those of this index. The benchmark data is used for comparative purposes only. 

Holdings are subject to change. The top holdings, as well as other data, are as of the period indicated and should not be considered a recommendation to purchase, hold, or sell any particular security. There is no assurance that any of the securities noted will remain in a portfolio at the time you receive this factsheet. Actual holding and percentage allocation in individual client portfolios may vary and are subject to change. It should not be assumed that any of the holdings discussed were or will prove to be profitable or that the investment recommendations or decisions we make in the future will be profitable. A list of all securities held in this representative account in the prior year is available upon request.

Indices:
ICE BofA U.S. High Yield Index: The ICE BofA U.S. High Yield Index tracks the performance of U.S. dollar denominated below investment grade corporate debt publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market. The index data referenced herein is the property of ICE Data Indices, LLC, its affiliates (“ICE Data”) and/or its Third-Party Suppliers and has been licensed for use by Polen Capital Credit, LLC ICE Data and its Third-Party Suppliers accept no liability in connection with its use. Please contact Polen Capital Credit for a full copy of the applicable disclaimer.
S&P UBS Leveraged Loan Index: The S&P UBS Leveraged Loan Index is designed to mirror the investable universe of the U.S. dollar-denominated leveraged loan market.

Definitions: 
Adjusted Effective Duration: With respect to the portfolio, the adjusted effective duration statistic provided is calculated by taking a weighted average of (i) modified duration to next reset date for all floating rate instruments, and (ii) effective duration for all fixed coupon instruments. With respect to the benchmark, duration is shown as effective duration. 
Alpha: Jensen's Alpha measures the incremental return of a portfolio above the expected return, adjusted for market risk and using the return on a 3-month U.S. Treasury bill as the risk-free rate baseline. Alpha has been annualized for periods greater than one year.
Average Blended Yield: Average blended yield is the weighted average of (i) for instruments priced at or above par, yield to worst for bonds and yield to three year take out for loans, and (ii) for instruments trading at a discount, yield to maturity. Yield to worst is the lowest possible yield from owning a bond considering all potential call dates prior to maturity and is the statistic provided for the index as it is comprised of high yield bonds only. Yield to three year take out is the yield from owning a senior bank loan assuming the loan is retired in three years, or yield to maturity if the loan’s maturity date is in less than three years. 
Average Coupon: Average coupon is the average rate of the coupons of the fixed income securities (i.e., loans and bonds) in a portfolio, weighted based each holding's size relative to the portfolio.
Average Price: Average price is a market value weighted average price which is calculated only for the fixed income portion of the account.
Beta: Beta is a measure of systematic risk with respect to a benchmark. Systematic risk is the tendency of the value of the portfolio and the value of benchmark to move together.
Downside Capture: Downside Capture Ratio measures manager's performance in down markets. The ratio is calculated by dividing the manager's returns by the returns of the index during the down-market and multiplying that factor by 100.  It is used to evaluate how well an investment manager performed relative to an index during periods when that index has dropped.
Information Ratio: Information Ratio measures a portfolio’s returns above a benchmark while accounting for the volatility of those excess returns. Calculated as Excess Return divided by Tracking Error 
Sharpe Ratio: A risk-adjusted measure calculated by using standard deviation and excess return to determine reward per unit of risk. 
Standard Deviation: Standard deviation measures the dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean. It is calculated as the square root of the variance. Standard deviation is used as a measure of a relative riskiness of an asset. 
Upside Capture: Upside Capture Ratio is a measure of the manager’s performance in periods when the market (benchmark) goes up. Upside Capture Ratio measures a manager's performance in up markets relative to the market (benchmark) itself. The ratio is calculated by comparing the manager's returns in up-markets with that of a benchmark index. 

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