Podcast
Deconstructing Alpha - Interview with Carl Kaufman: Why Income, Why Now?
Listen to a recent interview with Carl Kaufman on the “Deconstructing Alpha” podcast, where he discusses the inverted yield curve and the current bond market.
Strategic Income Fund (OSTIX)
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Fund Literature
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to preserve capital and attain long-term total returns through a combination of current income and moderate capital appreciation.
Investment Strategy
The Strategic Income Fund invests primarily in income bearing securities. We will adjust the allocation of the Fund’s assets among these securities as dictated by changes in interest rates as well as the overall economic environment.
Highlights
- Strategic top-down asset allocation based on macroeconomic conditions
- Bottom-up security selection based on rigorous fundamental and credit analysis
- Unconstrained, risk-aware strategy
- Experienced investment team
- Adviser is majority-owned by its employees
Minimum Investments
- $5,000 initial investment for regular accounts
- $1,500 initial investment for IRA or other tax-deferred accounts
- $100 for subsequent investments
NAV as of 9/25/23
| Price | $10.58 | Change | $-0.04 |
|---|
Fund Facts
| Ticker | OSTIX |
|---|---|
| CUSIP | 742935489 |
| Inception Date | 8/30/2002 |
| Load | None |
| 12b-1 Fees | None |
| Redemption Fee | None |
|
Net Assets (as of 8/31/23) |
$4.8 billion |
|
Fiscal Year Turnover (as of 3/31/23) |
10% |
|
Gross Expense Ratio (as of 3/31/23) |
0.86% |
Philosophy
We believe that by avoiding the “style box” trap and having the flexibility to invest in multiple classes of bonds, we can manage each portfolio in such a way as to emphasize the most attractive sector at any given time. By strategically shifting out of overvalued assets, we strive to minimize potential risk and produce better returns over time.
Furthermore, our research has shown that the various sectors of the bond market behave differently under different economic conditions. For instance, during periods of economic expansion, high yield and convertible bonds tend to perform well as rising corporate profits lead to improved credit profiles. Conversely, they tend to perform very poorly during periods of economic contraction as credit profiles deteriorate. During such recessionary periods, investment grade bonds generally prove to be better performers because of their responsiveness to declining interest rates.
Within particular sectors we choose individual securities based on rigorous fundamental and credit analysis. We emphasize a thorough understanding of each company’s balance sheet by determining the company’s ability to generate recurring free cash flow from its operations. As a result, we do a significant amount of work to determine the company’s business prospects as well as the positive and negative levers in its financial model, which influence the company’s ability to generate cash flow. We believe that we find our best investments in companies that have great products, a competitive advantage that gives them pricing power in the market, a consistent operating history, and management that operate the company as if they own it. Finally, we determine what we believe to be the appreciation potential versus the downside risk to gauge the attractiveness of the security versus other available investment opportunities.
Over time, we expect the maturity structure, credit quality, and sector concentration of the portfolio will differ during periods of economic contraction versus economic expansion. In short, we will employ a strategy based on the belief that over the long term positive returns can be achieved, and losses minimized, through careful security selection and by shifting the allocation among fixed income sectors.
Investment Team
Carl Kaufman
Co-President, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer – Strategic Income & Managing Director – Fixed Income
Carl Kaufman
Co-President, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer – Strategic Income & Managing Director – Fixed Income
Carl Kaufman joined Osterweis Capital Management in 2002 after almost 24 years in various positions at Robertson Stephens and Merrill Lynch. He has managed the Osterweis Strategic Income Fund since its inception in 2002 and is also the Managing Director of Fixed Income and a lead Portfolio Manager for the Osterweis Growth & Income Fund.
In his management role at the firm, he is responsible primarily for investment matters and is a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Mr. Kaufman is a principal of the firm. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of Trustees for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Mr. Kaufman graduated from Harvard University and attended New York University Graduate School of Business Administration.
Bradley Kane
Vice President & Portfolio Manager
Prior to joining Osterweis Capital Management in 2013, Bradley Kane was a Portfolio Manager and Analyst at Newfleet Asset Management, where he managed both high yield and leveraged loan portfolios. Before that, he was a Vice President at GSC Partners, focusing on management of high yield and collateralized debt obligations. Earlier in his career, he managed high yield assets as a Vice President at Mitchell Hutchins Asset Management.
He is a principal of the firm and a Portfolio Manager for the strategic income strategy.
Mr. Kane graduated from Lehigh University (B.S. in Business & Economics).
Craig Manchuck
Vice President & Portfolio Manager
Prior to joining Osterweis Capital Management in 2017, Craig Manchuck was a Managing Director of Fixed Income Sales at Stifel Nicolaus, where he was responsible for sales and origination of high yield bonds, leveraged loans, and post reorg equities. Before Stifel, he held a similar role at Knight Capital. Prior to that, Mr. Manchuck was the Executive Director for Convertible Securities and then High Yield/Distressed Securities at UBS. He has previous experience in Convertible Securities Sales at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, SBC Warburg, and Merrill Lynch.
He is a principal of the firm and a Portfolio Manager for the strategic income strategy.
Mr. Manchuck graduated from Lehigh University (B.S. in Finance) and NYU Stern School of Business (M.B.A.).
The Osterweis Funds are available by prospectus only. The Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The summary and statutory prospectuses contain this and other important information about the Funds. You may obtain a summary or statutory prospectus by calling toll free at (866) 236-0050, or by visiting www.osterweis.com/statpro. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing to ensure the Fund is appropriate for your goals and risk tolerance.
Mutual fund investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.
The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund may invest in debt securities that are un-rated or rated below investment grade. Lower-rated securities may present an increased possibility of default, price volatility or illiquidity compared to higher-rated securities. The Fund may invest in foreign and emerging market securities, which involve greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods. These risks may increase for emerging markets. Investments in debt securities typically decrease in value when interest rates rise. This risk is usually greater for longer-term debt securities. Small- and mid-capitalization companies tend to have limited liquidity and greater price volatility than large-capitalization companies. Higher turnover rates may result in increased transaction costs, which could impact performance. From time to time, the Fund may have concentrated positions in one or more sectors subjecting the Fund to sector emphasis risk. The Fund may invest in municipal securities which are subject to the risk of default.
While the fund is no-load, management fees and other expenses still apply. Please refer to the prospectus for more information.
Osterweis Capital Management is the adviser to the Osterweis Funds, which are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.
