The managers initially note that the month was largely shaped by developments in the Middle East, with rising energy prices in focus. For much of the period, oil prices remained above 100 dollars per barrel.
According to the managers, a protracted conflict risks fueling inflation through channels such as higher transport costs. This has led the market to price in future interest rate hikes rather than the previously expected cuts, resulting in a rise in market yields.
In the Nordic credit market, credit spreads widened due to deteriorating risk sentiment, which, combined with rising interest rates, led to negative returns for the fund.
At the same time, the managers emphasize that the decline in bond prices means that the future expected return of the portfolio has increased by approximately 0.5 percentage points on an annual basis.
Issuance activity was subdued during the month due to the increased volatility.
However, the fund participated in new issues from GLX, Handelsbanken, Stillfront, and Neptunia.
In addition, exposure to Fastpartner was increased, while certain other holdings were reduced to maintain a solid liquidity buffer.
Regarding the outlook, the managers state that it is currently difficult to assess the duration of the conflict in the Middle East and its ultimate impact.
"Historically, periods of weakened risk sentiment, rather than company-specific issues, have often created attractive investment opportunities within corporate bonds. We currently see no clear reason to assume a different outcome this time," the managers write.
At the end of the month, the fund's yield to maturity stood at 5.7 percent and the interest rate duration was 0.65 years.
| Strand Företagsobligationsfond, % | March, 2026 |
| Fund MoM, change in percent | -0.66 |
| Index MoM, change in percent | -0.81 |
| Fund YTD, change in percent | 0.08 |
| Index YTD, change in percent | 0.15 |
