Canadian Core Plus Fixed Income

TD Asset Management Canadian Long Core Plus Bond

At a glance

We believe that a highly disciplined portfolio construction methodology is the most predictable way to generate competitive risk-adjusted returns when measured against any given benchmark. Our core plus solutions seek to capture incremental excess returns over the long-term.

Expanding Opportunity Set

Extensive independent credit research.
Sound yield and credit curve analysis.
Strategic portfolio construction.

Structurally unbiased approach to credit risk.
Tactical flexibility to benefit through all market conditions.
Interest rate anticipation.
Sector strategy and security selection.

Philosophy and approach

Our core plus solutions seek to capture incremental excess returns over the long-term. We expand our opportunity beyond the Canadian investment grade bond universe and into benchmark securities to seek best compensation for risk. These plus components include global investment grade, high yield, maples, inflation-linked securities, private debt, emerging market debt, mortgages, real estate securities and currency management.

Investment Process:

Our research process starts with an evaluation of the global macroeconomic landscape. Across the global community we undertake a country-by-country review and focus on key economic indicators, review central bank policy, and examine the fiscal and political environment.

We primarily focus on free-cash-flow generation and an issuer’s ability to make timely coupon and principal repayments, in addition to management’s ability to take advantage of and/or operate effectively in the current political, regulatory and economic environments. This results in our confidence in the quality of issuers our clients’ capital is invested in.

Our assessment of relative valuation, issuer strength and quality helps us determine where to find value within sectors and industries, and across issues and credit quality, as we seek adequate compensation for the risk taken.

Our yield and credit curve analysis process focuses on macroeconomic factors, historical yield curves, breakeven scenarios and natural supply and demand factors.

Our team follows the same robust process for all mandates. Analyzing global macroeconomic trends provides a better understanding of the current economic environment, market risk appetite and probability of extreme outcomes to strategically construct a portfolio and help ensure risk control and long-term added value.

ESG

Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) integration aligns with our philosophy of seeking investments in sustainable, long-term assets through a risk-managed process. We strive for a fully integrated ESG engagement process in our investment products.

Our Fundamental Equity Investment team integrates ESG factors directly into their investment analysis through a process involving the following central components:

Systemstic ESG Reviews: We look at a number of ESG indicators that we believe apply to all industry sectors and elevate any issues that could put a company’s expected earnings at risk. Each company research report incorporates an ESG assessment, ensuring concerns around risk exposures are reviewed, updated and evaluated by our sector analysts.

Thermatic ESG Research: We produce broad thematic ESG research on topics that have the potential to highly impact the companies in which invest. We have found this to be the best way to highlight the structural changes to various sectors and impacts to the companies themselves.

Active Ownership: Our in-depth research helps our commitment to active ownership. We strive to be active owners by engaging with the companies in which we invest and by taking advantage of our voting rights to help effect change. Our intent is to both improve corporate ESG disclosures as well as improve companies' ESG-related practices.

Learn more about TD Global Investment Solutions' focus on sustainable investing>