Eastspring Investments Bhd today announced the gross income distribution for Eastspring Investments Target Income Fund 4.

All unit holders who have maintained their unit holdings in the Fund as at 26 October 2017 will be entitled to the income distribution.

This 5-year closed-ended bond fund is the fourth in a series of target income funds. This distribution is consistent with the Fund’s objective which endeavours to provide regular income during the tenure of the Fund. 

Meanwhile, here’s the market outlook from the External Investment Manager, Eastspring Investments (Singapore) Limited

The Asian US$ bond market (represented by the JP Morgan Asia Credit Index) reported a gain of 0.94% in August. The positive performance was driven by lower US Treasury (UST) yields as Asian credit spreads were range-bound. 

During the month, UST yields fell as renewed geopolitical tensions with North Korea and political uncertainty in the US supported "safe haven" bids for US Treasuries. 

The rising risk of fiscal brinkmanship in the US had raised concerns over a potential breach in the debt ceiling, and consequently, government shutdown. 

Lacklustre inflation prints, as well as a lack of insight on the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy outlook from Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen during the Jackson Hole symposium further kept a lid on UST yields. 10-year UST yields closed the month lower by 18bps.
 
The high yield sector outperformed the investment grade sector over the month. High yield sovereign bonds led the charge, with Sri Lankan and Mongolian sovereign bonds driving the outperformance. 

High yield corporates also held up well, led by Chinese high yield property developers following better-than-expected corporate earnings announcements. Within the investment grade space, Korean bonds weighed on performance across sectors, particularly in the corporate space. On the other hand, investment grade sovereign and quasi-sovereign bonds turned in decent returns over the month as their long duration profiles benefited from the fall in UST yields.
 
Asian USD bonds have had a decent showing over the year-to-date period. Yield-seeking behavior was strong in Asia as investors generally brushed off macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns globally. Treasury return was also supported by declines in longer term UST yields on the back of soft inflation numbers. 

Investor demands for yield helped to prop up the performance of high yield sovereign bonds which outperformed over the year. This was followed by investment grade sovereign bonds, which was driven higher by Indonesia following its sovereign rating upgrade by S&P. Corporate bonds also held up well, with high yield corporate bonds outperforming investment grade corporate bonds over the year-to-date period.

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