With rapid growth in assets under management, investors are rewarding the consistently outstanding performance of the mutual fund Bantleon Global Convertibles Investment Grade (LU0458985982). The defensive convertible bond fund now holds USD 1.02 billion in assets, making it the largest global investment-grade convertible bond fund. Assets under management have risen by 50% since Bantleon acquired a majority stake in the convertible bond specialist Credit Suisse Investment Partners Schweiz AG in October 2024.
Active management has proven its worth
»We see the strong inflows as a sign of confidence from our institutional and private investors,« explains Oliver Gasser, CEO and Head of Portfolio Management at Bantleon Convertible Experts AG. »Since its launch in January 2010, the defensive management approach which was consistently implemented by long-time portfolio managers Rossitza Haritova and Lukas Buxtorf has proven its worth even during difficult capital market phases.« Most recently, Bantleon Global Convertibles Investment Grade was named the best fund in its category in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Europe in a 3-year comparison at the 2024 Lipper Fund Awards, and received a Fund Award from the financial magazines €uro, €uro am Sonntag, and Börse Online in 2025 and 2026. Furthermore, in a 10-year comparison, it ranks among the top 10% of its peer group in the Absolut Research database.
Bantleon Global Convertibles Investment Grade focuses on global convertible bonds with high credit ratings. The objective is to generate risk-adjusted outperformance relative to the benchmark. The bonds – primarily large issues with above-average liquidity from large-cap companies – are selected through a traditional bottom-up analysis. At least 75% of the bonds issuers have an official investment-grade rating. Preference is given to sustainable investments with an asymmetric risk-return profile. Due to its unrestricted equity sensitivity strategy, the fund can optimally participate in long-term equity trends, while the high credit quality offers good protection against setbacks.
The outlook for convertible bonds remains positive
Following a very strong 2025, convertible bonds have continued to perform exceptionally well this year. As of 3 June, the global segment – as measured by the »FTSE Global Convertibles Index« in USD – had already posted a return of 19.9%, almost twice that of global equities as measured by the MSCI World Index. Despite the already substantial price gains, several factors point to a continued constructive environment: a robust economy, a lively new issuance market, a growing share of high-quality issuers, and new growth themes such as artificial intelligence, digital assets, and rare earths. In addition, higher trading volumes, more disciplined pricing, and parallels to previous strong market phases suggest that convertible bonds will continue to leverage their particularly favorable risk-return characteristics in the future.
