Investment Process

ICMIM has a global approach, screening the universe of corporate bonds using filters that enable us to drill down to a shortlist of tradeable bonds which offer exposure to attractive yields in countries and industries we understand and where we typically expect the issuer to benefit from thematic tailwinds such as technological or secular changes that we have previously identified.

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When analysing our targeted investment companies, ICMIM employs a consistent approach using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. These range from assessing the robustness of a company’s business model to the long-term health of the industry in which it operates and the quality of management. We assess all our potential targets against a detailed set of credit metrics covering the company's earnings and its ability to generate free cash flow, followed by balance sheet strength and its funding/liquidity profile.  

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Once we have researched a company's key metrics and consider it a potential investment, we identify key credit ‘drivers' or catalysts which we think will unlock the perceived value in a given corporate bond. These key credit drivers are predominantly event-driven in nature (e.g. a corporate or management action such as the execution of a business turnaround plan, a market event or credit event), but they can also evolve over time, such as management being committed to reducing leverage through cost cutting or tightening its corporate focus. 

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As an investment manager, we have a laser focus on the risk/reward ratio of every trade in the portfolio, so the predictability and impact of these potentially transformative credit drivers are weighed against the level of risk we identify for each potential investment as part of our credit process. We invest where we believe the risk/reward ratio is most compelling and weighted in our favour.