Articles by Geoff Castle

Fixed Income – April 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS  The strongest contributors to the Fund were Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc., Emergent BioSolutions Inc., Esperion Therapeutics Inc., and Bausch Health. Decliners in the Fund included McDermott International Inc., PHI Group Inc., and American Tire Distributors […]

May 4, 2023

Balanced Funds – Q1 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS The Fund returned 2.6% in the first quarter. Over the last three years, performance has been strong at 17.3%1. One of the major areas of market concern during the quarter was the meltdown of […]

May 1, 2023

Bond Universe – Jan-Mar 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights For the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Fund generated a 1.9% return.[1] Several high-quality, defensive, relatively longer-dated lines, such as Loblaw Companies Ltd., Verisign Inc. and Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. bolstered performance. […]

April 13, 2023

Fixed Income – March 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund returned -0.5%[1] in March. Although the period was a strong one for the high-grade part of the portfolio, a few idiosyncratic events in particular lines and widening spreads in lower-tier […]

April 10, 2023

Fixed Income – February 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS  The Pender Corporate Bond Fund had a relatively strong performance amidst a market that saw larger price declines in both high yield and investment grade bond benchmarks. We added a position in the 2028 […]

March 6, 2023

Fixed Income – January 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights Most of the holdings of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund rose as lower benchmark yields coincided with narrowing spreads for corporate bonds. Significant performers included positions in discounted convertible bonds as holdings in Eventbrite […]

February 6, 2023

Balanced Funds – Q4 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS Our equity exposure to energy companies led the way with Spartan Delta Corp. (TSX: SDE), ARC Resources Ltd. (TSX: ARX), and Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE: TPL) among the top five contributors. Defense contractor […]

January 19, 2023

Bond Universe – Oct-Dec 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

For the three months ended December 31, 2022, the Pender Bond Universe Fund generated a 0.8%[1] return, outperforming its benchmark by approximately 70bp. For the full year of 2022, the Fund returned -6.4%1, realizing a […]

January 13, 2023

Fixed Income – December 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights Positive contributors in December were Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings Company Limited, Emergent BioSolutions Inc., and Carriage Services, Inc., while detractors included National CineMedia LLC, and rising government bond yields that drove investment […]

January 6, 2023

Fixed Income – November 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS We expect a further easing of inflation pressures as consumers and companies digest the impact of significantly higher rates. We find the prices of relatively strong corporate credits in the three to seven-year tenors […]

December 6, 2022

Fixed Income – October 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights During October there were some bright spots and some challenges, the latter from lower prices across the investment-grade bond complex reacting to a higher yield curve. Bright spots included our positions in McDermott International, […]

November 7, 2022

Balanced Funds – Q3 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights Policymakers in most parts of the world have raised rates this year with the count and pace continuing to mount. The US Bond Market has had a -0.3% annualized return over the last five […]

October 28, 2022

Fixed Income – September 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: The Fund has thus far held above the summer lows, all the while seeing much improved forward-looking returns available in credit markets. The four factors to identify good entry points are: price, positioning, flows […]

October 7, 2022

Fixed Income – August 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund continued its rebound from the summer’s lows, returning 0.4[1] in August. Download PDF The Fund’s return was bolstered by strong line-item performance in some high conviction credits including Intercept Pharmaceuticals, […]

September 9, 2022

Bond Universe – Q2 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

For the three months ending July 31, the Fund generated a small but positive return of 0.1%[1], breaking the string of negative quarters that have resulted from the aggressive rate hiking cycle the Fed and […]

August 15, 2022

Fixed Income – July 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund emerged from July with a positive return of 1.9%[1]. The compressed spring of lower bond prices unwound a bit in the month as a potential slowdown in inflation provided the […]

August 5, 2022

Balanced Funds – Q2 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Dear Unitholders, The second quarter of 2022 was challenging for investors. Macro trends from the first quarter of the year continued and the headwinds intensified. The war in Ukraine, elevated commodity prices, and persistent and […]

July 22, 2022

Fixed Income – June 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund emerged from June, a volatile month, down 3.2%[1]. Although the result was hardly what we had hoped for, the month did seem to show signs of slowing inflation which may […]

July 8, 2022

Bond Universe – April 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

In the quarter ended April 30, 2022, the Fund outperformed its benchmark. With the FTSE/TMX Canada Universe Bond Index down 7.0% over the past three months, the Pender Bond Universe Fund’s (PBUF) Class F return […]

May 12, 2022

Fixed Income – Manager’s Commentary – July 2021

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund netted -0.2%[1] in July, as idiosyncratic factors outweighed an otherwise positive fixed income market. Download PDF The Fund encountered softness led by energy services player FTSI, an issue sometimes prone […]

August 6, 2021

Fixed Income – Manager’s Commentary – September 2020

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund gained 0.5%[1] in September, continuing the positive trend that the Fund began after March 2020. The Fund’s performance came amidst an environment of modestly declining risk-free interest rates and a more challenging high yield market that […]

October 5, 2020

Manager’s Commentary – Geoff Castle – May 2017

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund returned 0.5% in May. Leading this performance was our position in the distressed credit of Global Brokerage Inc, which surprised creditors positively with a $56M non-core asset disposition. We saw […]

June 5, 2017

Manager’s Commentary – Geoff Castle – December 2015

Written by Geoff Castle

Monthly Update The Pender Corporate Bond Fund returned -1.6%* in December. Price declines were fairly broad-based across the Fund but particularly impacted longer-duration and lower-rated securities. Most of the price movement took place in the […]

January 7, 2016