The Evolution of High-Yield Bonds into a Vital Asset Class

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The Evolution of High-Yield Bonds

into a Vital Asset Class

Executive Summary

With high-quality bond yields near all-time lows, investors have looked to high-yield bonds to

enhance the return profile of their overall portfolio. Although this has fueled concerns about an

overheated high-yield market, Allianz Global Investors believes investors would be better served

by thinking of high-yield bonds as more of a strategic allocation for the long term than a tactical

allocation for today. High-yield bonds have turned into a legitimate asset class that is larger,

bet-ter established and less risky than in years past, providing evergreen benefits that make them a

sound addition to most diversified portfolios. In addition, the current environment is still

attrac-tive for high-yield bonds as a whole—and acattrac-tive managers with rigorous credit research

pro-cesses can help investors best maximize the risk/return potential of this important asset class.

High-yield bonds have become a favored investment vehicle in recent years, and with good reason. They offer attractive income potential in a low-yield environment where short-term interest rates are expected to remain near zero for the foreseeable future.

Consider:

 High-yield bond coupons were 7.0% on 30/09/2014.

 High-yield bonds have been one of the few sources of upper-range single-digit returns.

New inflows into high-yield bond funds in the past 5 years have exceeded those for the prior 20 years combined.

We believe that just because an asset class is attractive and doing well doesn’t mean it’s overvalued. For example, as we will show later in this paper, high-yield companies generally have quality earnings and exhibit historically low default rates; these qualities may be worth a premium to some investors.

What Are High-Yield Bonds?

High-yield bonds and investment-grade bonds are the two segments of bond debt, known collectively as corporate bonds, that are issued by public and private companies to access credit markets and raise capital.

 Investment-grade bonds are issued by the most creditworthy issuers. They have ratings of between “AAA” and “BBB–” (or the equivalent) and their interest rates are slightly higher than those of government bonds.

 High-yield bonds are issued by less-creditworthy companies, as determined by the widely accepted evaluations of several major ratings agencies. They have ratings of less than “BBB–” (or the equivalent) and their interest rates are considerably higher than

those of government bonds to make them more attractive to potential investors.

The creditworthiness of a corporate bond issuer is rated by ratings agencies such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch (see Exhibit 1). Their ratings are designed to precisely reflect levels of credit risk—the risk that an issuer may default on payments. Ratings are reviewed at least once a year and can be maintained, upgraded, downgraded or placed “under review” with “positive” or “negative” implications, pending completion of an additional study.

The “spread” of high-yield bonds—the yield differential between high-yield bonds and government bonds—is primarily dependent on the creditworthiness of the issuer. Experienced high-yield bond investors look for securities whose creditworthiness is likely to improve —i.e., “upgrade candidates.” An improvement in an issuer’s creditworthiness warrants a lower spread, which tends to result in a lower overall interest rate and In comparison to

other asset classes, yields of high-yield bonds make them attractive to today’s investors.

Exhibit 1: A full spectrum of corporate bond choices

An overview of ratings issued by the primary ratings agencies, showing varying levels of creditworthiness in the corporate-debt market.

In

ve

st

m

en

t Gr

ad

e

Moody’s S&P Fitch

Long Term Short Term Long Term Short Term Long Term Short Term

Aaa Prime-1 AAA

A-1

AAA F1+

Aa1 Prime-1 AA+ AA+ F1+

Aa2 Prime-1 AA AA F1+

Aa3 Prime-1 AA- AA- F1+

A1 Prime-1 A+

A-1 A+ F1+ or F1

A2 Prime-1 or Prime-2 A A F1

A3 Prime-1 or Prime-2 A- _A-2 A- F1 or F2

Baa1 Prime-2 BBB+ BBB+ F2

Baa2 Prime-2 or Prime-3 BBB

A-3 BBB F2 or F3

Baa3 Prime-3 BBB- BBB- F3

Sp

ec

ul

ati

ve

G

ra

de

/H

ig

h Y

ie

ld

Ba1

Not Prime

BB+

B

BB+ B

Ba2 BB BB B

Ba3 BB- BB- B

B1 B+ B+ B

B2 B B B

B3 B- B- B

Caa1 CCC+

C

CCC C

Caa2 CCC CC C

Caa3 CCC- C C

Ca CC RD/D RD/D

C C

Sources : S&P, Moody’s and Fitch. Long-term ratings are opinions of the relative credit risk of fixed-income obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. Short-term ratings are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations (those within the next 13 months) and reflect the inherent importance of liquidity and near-term concerns within the assessment of the longer-term credit profile. “Upgrade candidates”

are those high-yield issuers whose credit-worthiness is likely to improve, often leading to an increase in value.

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3 is important to avoid bonds whose creditworthiness

will deteriorate: A drop in creditworthiness warrants an increase in the spread, which tends to result in a higher overall interest rate and an automatic decline in the value of the securities.

High-Yield Bonds, Past and Present

While high-yield bonds are portfolio staples for many investors, they can also be underutilized or ignored by others. This may be at least in part due to some commonly held misperceptions about an asset class that has changed significantly in recent decades. Yesterday: An immature market. A brief boom. Before 1977, almost all high-yield bonds (known as “junk bonds”) were “fallen angels”—bonds issued by firms that originally had investment-grade ratings but had since been downgraded, which indicated a heightened possibility of default.

In 1977, however, new-issue high-yield bonds were introduced to the marketplace, and the asset class soon began to boom. The new market was in large part created by investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert and its star trader, Michael Milken, who offered a new way

starved of capital by banks—to gain access to credit. In the 1980s, Drexel’s legal difficulties and other scandals severely tarnished the reputation of high-yield bonds, and the high-yield market dried up in the face of rising interest rates, rising defaults and a new regulatory environment.

Today: A mature market for a new environment In the last few decades, the environment for high-yield bonds has changed dramatically.

 US high-yield bond gross issuance was only $150 billion in 1990—but by 2014, it was more than $1.5 trillion.

 The US makes up the largest portion of the global high-yield corporate bond market (see Exhibit 2).

 Domestic high-yield issues represent a

well-diversified universe (see Exhibit 3). Unlike in previous years when high-yield bonds were concentrated in certain sectors, no single industry dominates the high-yield universe today.

 Companies today use proceeds for takeovers or new investments less frequently relative to history; have changed

significantly since

the 1980s.

Exhibit 3: The high-yield bond universe is well diversified

The wide range of sectors in the US high-yield bond market helps investors diversify their bond allocations.

Insurance Real Estate Transportation Banking Utility Automotive Consumer Goods Leisure Retail Services

Technology Electronics Capital Goods Financial Services Healthcare Media Telecom Sources: BofA Merrill Lynch, Bloomberg and Allianz Global Investors. Data as of 30/09/2014. Based on the BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index, industry percent market value. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss.

Automotive 3.1% Consumer Goods 3.2% Leisure 4.0% Retail 4.3% Services 4.4% Technology Electronics 5.0% Capital Goods 5.9% Financial Services 6.3%

Utility 3.0% Banking 2.6% Transportation 1.2% Real Estate 0.8% Insurance 0.7% Energy 15.6% Basic Industry 12.8% Telecom 10.0% Media 8.7% Health Care 8.4 %

Exhibit 2: The US high-yield bond market is the largest

The US has $1,361 billion of the $1,863 billion global high-yield bond market, providing the widest opportunity set for investors.

Source: BofA Merrill Lynch as of 30/09/2014. US high yield is represented by the BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index, euro high yield by the BofA Merrill Lynch Euro High Yield Index and emerging markets high yield by the BofA Merrill Lynch Global Emerging Market Credit Index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Emerging Markets High Yield 6% US High Yield 74%

Euro High Yield 20% Today, domestic high-

yield bonds represent a

robust, diversified and

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4 instead, they’re refinancing balance sheets and

reducing borrowing costs, which reduces the risk of default.

Benefits of High-Yield Investing

The evolution of the high-yield debt market makes it a legitimate asset class for diversified portfolios, and cements the role of high-yield bonds as an important strategic allocation. We believe there are three primary benefits of high-yield investing: income potential, risk diversification and positioning against inflation and rising rates.

High current yields fill a need for income

With historically low interest rates, high-yield spreads are currently approximately 440 basis points over Treasuries.1_{This gives high-yield bonds a yield} advantage over Treasuries, which are currently so low-yielding that their real returns may actually fail to keep up with inflation. Of course, Treasuries are the only investments guaranteed by the US government as to timely repayment of interest and principal, but investors

are finding attractive income opportunities with high-yield bonds.

High-yield bonds provide portfolio risk diversification

In addition to a high and steady stream of potential income, high-yield bonds can provide other benefits to a portfolio.

 Exhibit 4 shows that high-yield bonds have a favorable risk/reward profile when compared to more traditional asset classes—including large-cap US stocks, small-cap US stocks and international stocks—providing equity-like returns with much less volatility. High-yield bonds are generally less volatile because they provide a steady stream of income that provides a cushion in periods of market weakness.

 Exhibit 5 illustrates how adding high-yield bonds to a fixed-income allocation can help reduce risk and increase potential returns over the long term. The risk/reward profile

of the high-yield sector has historically been more favorable than that of traditional asset classes.

Exhibit 5: High-yield bonds can improve the “efficient frontier”

Adding high-yield bonds to a fixed-income allocation

can help reduce risk and increase potential returns.

Sources: BofA Merrill Lynch and Allianz Global Investors. Data from January 1993 – September 2014. High yield is based on the BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield 100 Index and 5- and 10-year Treasuries are based on the BofA Merrill Lynch US Treasury Current 5-Year Index and the BofA Merrill Lynch US Treasury Current 10-Year Index, respectively. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Annualized Standard Deviation (%)

An

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ize

d A

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ra

ge T

ot

al R

et

ur

n (

%)

100% 5- and 10-Year Treasuries

100% High-Yield Bonds

35% High-Yield Bonds

4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 8.5 9.0 9.5 5.3

5.8 6.3 6.8 7.3 7.8 8.3 8.8

Exhibit 4: High-yield bonds boast a favorable risk/ reward profile

High-yield bonds have a favorable risk/reward profile

relative to other asset classes, providing equity-like returns with less volatility.

Sources: BofA Merrill Lynch, FactSet and Allianz Global Investors. Data from 31/01/1988 – 30/09/2014. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The performance of the indexes are not indicative of the past or future performance of any Allianz Global Investors product. Unless otherwise noted, index returns reflect the reinvestment of income dividends and capital gains, if any, but do not reflect fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

An

nu

al

ize

d A

ve

ra

ge T

ot

al R

et

ur

n (

%)

0 5 10 15 20

0 4 8 12

Russell 2000 Index

Bank of America Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index

S&P 500 Index

MSCI EAFE Index

Annualized Standard Deviation (%) High-yield bonds

are an effective

diversification tool

in an investor’s overall portfolio.

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5 High-yield bonds help investors combat inflation

and rising rates

Should interest rates rise from today’s historic lows—as they inevitably will—an allocation to high-yield issues would be an obvious choice. High-yield bonds have shown a tendency to hold up better than other types of bonds, particularly Treasuries. However, it’s important to keep in mind that bond prices will normally decline as interest rates rise and the impact may be greater with longer-duration bonds.

 High-yield bonds exhibit a -0.04 correlation to interest-rate-sensitive 10-year Treasuries, providing solid positioning for rising-rate environments.2

 Conversely, high-yield bonds are more strongly correlated with stocks. As of 30/09/2014, they exhibited a 0.62 correlation with US small-cap stocks,

a 0.61 correlation with US large-cap stocks and a 0.55 correlation with international stocks.3

 Exhibit 6 shows that, on average, high-yield bonds have outperformed Treasuries by over three percentage points during rising-rate cycles. We believe the reason for high-yield bonds’ ability to perform more like stocks during rising-rate cycles may be that, much like stocks, high-yield bond returns are closely correlated to the business successes and fundamentals of their issuing companies.

This closer link to business fundamentals means that when interest rates rise, high-yield bonds tend to outperform investment-grade bonds, since interest rates tend to rise when business conditions are robust. When interest rates

rise, high-yield bonds, which are negatively correlated with Treasuries, provide solid positioning.

Exhibit 6: High-yield bonds have outperformed in three of four rising-rate cycles

During the four periods of rising rates since 1988, high-yield bonds outperformed high-quality bonds by an average of 1.59 percentage points, and outperformed Treasuries by an average of 3.02 percentage points.

Rising-Rate Cycle 1:

29/03/1988 to 24/02/1989

04/02/1994 to 01/02/1995

30/06/1999 to 16/05/2000

30/06/2004 to 29/06/2006

Core Bonds 3.41% -2.04% 2.02% 2.99%

10-Year Treasuries 2.82% -6.07% 1.64% 2.29%

High-Yield Bonds 8.95% -1.77% -1.84% 7.41%

Cycle Total Rate Hike Beginning of CycleFed Funds Rate at Fed Funds Rate at End of Cycle % Change

1 3.25% 6.50% 9.75% +50.00%

2 3.00% 3.00% 6.00% +100.00%

3 1.75% 4.75% 6.50% +36.84%

4 4.25% 1.00% 5.25% +425.00%

Source: Morningstar Direct. Core bonds are represented by the Barclays US Aggregate Index and high-yield bonds by the BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Master II Index. Unless otherwise noted, index returns reflect the reinvestment of income dividends and capital gains, if any, but do not reflect fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Like stocks, high-yield bond returns are closely correlated to the funda-mentals of their issuing companies.

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6

High-Yield Outlook

While there has been concern about the possibility of an overheated high-yield bond market, we believe there are compelling reasons why the outlook for high-yield bonds remains strong.

Strong historical performance when spreads are low

Although high-yield spreads have come down significantly from their recent highs, low spreads have historically been accompanied by prolonged periods of compelling high-yield performance (see Exhibit 7) as corporate fundamentals improve. This causes the prices of high-yield bonds to rise, which can boost total return.

Exhibit 8 shows a hypothetical investment in high-yield bonds at the end of 2008, when debt spreads were near their record peak. As spreads narrowed, performance remained strong. Default rates are low

The fundamentals in the high-yield market have greatly improved since the credit crisis of 2007–2008: Balance sheets are stronger, leverage is lower. As a result, the main risk associated with high-yield bonds— defaults—has diminished in recent years.

Spread compression has historically led to prolonged periods of compelling high-yield performance.

Exhibit 8: Solid high-yield performance since 2008 credit crisis

A hypothetical $10,000 investment in high-yield bonds on 1/1/09 would have turned into $23,052 by 30/09/2014.

US D

ol

la

rs

$0 $5,000 $10,000 $15,000 $20,000 $25,000 $30,000

1/2014 1/2013

1/2012 1/2011

1/2010 1/2009

Source: Morningstar Direct as of 30/09/2014. Based on the BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index. The growth of $10,000 is based on month-end returns. It assumes reinvestment of all dividend and capital gain distributions and does not take into account any sales charges or the effect of taxes. Unless otherwise noted, index returns reflect the reinvestment of income dividends and capital gains, if any, but do not reflect fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Exhibit 7: Periods of low spreads have produced double-digit high-yield returns

High-yield bonds performed impressively during periods when spreads narrowed dramatically and investors’ risk appetites improved.

Pe

rfo

rm

an

ce (

%)

Yie

ld S

pre

ad (

ba

sis p

oin

ts)

_{High-Yield Performance} High-Yield Debt Spread

-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80

-1600 -1200 -800 -400 0 400 800 1200 1600 2000

'14 '13 '12 '11 '10 '09 '08 '07 '06 '05 '04 '03 '02 '01 '00 '99 '98 '97 '96 '95 '94 '93 '92 '91 '90 '89 '88 '87

Sources: BofA Merrill Lynch and Allianz Global Investors. Data as of 30/09/2014. High-yield performance represented by the BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Master II Index. Unless otherwise noted, index returns reflect the reinvestment of income dividends and capital gains, if any, but do not reflect fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

$23,052

Defaults, the main risk associated with high-yield bonds,

are near historically low rates.

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7 As Exhibit 9 shows, defaults have been much higher

during previous periods—most recently, during the credit crisis of 2008—but we believe the probability of default rates rising significantly from current levels in the next 12 months is minimal.

Investors should also note a key difference between high-yield bonds and stocks: Bondholders are higher in the capital structure. That means if bankruptcy occurs, high-yield bondholders, who are lenders, would be paid ahead of stockholders, who are owners.

How High-Yield Bonds Fit into

an Asset Allocation Strategy

With the establishment of high-yield bonds as a legitimate asset class that is larger, better established and less risky than in years past, we believe there are compelling reasons why investors should consider a long-term allocation to a portfolio of actively managed high-yield issues.

High-yield bonds are an attractive addition to almost any portfolio allocation

As we have shown, high-yield bonds have historically provided high current income potential, improved

risk/reward profiles and solid positioning against rising rates. Yet to the detriment of long-term investors, many basic asset allocation models are unallocated,

underallocated or misallocated to high-yield bonds. Traditionally, investors have relied heavily on fixed income to generate an income stream in their portfolios. But as interest rates have tapered off in recent years, so have the yields that investors earn on conventional bonds. In fact, the yield on a traditional “60/40” portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds is near its lowest level in more than 35 years. As Exhibit 10 shows (next page), historically, investors who have looked beyond this conventional investing framework and added high-yield bonds to 10% of their portfolio have found increased returns with less risk and a superior Sharpe ratio.

Using an asset allocation strategy does not assure a profit or protect against loss. You should consider your investment time frame, risk tolerance level and investments. Allianz Global Investors Distributors LLC does not make suitability determinations. Default rates aren’t

expected to increase

significantly in the

next 12 months.

Exhibit 9: High-yield default rates are historically low

The default rates of high-yield bonds are low, in large part because credit fundamentals are strong thanks to

earnings improvements and refinancing activity. This has reduced debt burdens, lowered interest expenses

and pushed out maturities. We expect this trend to continue.

Sources: BofA Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and Allianz Global Investors . Data as of 30/09/2014. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Default Rate of BB, B, CCC (Percent)

Default Rate of All Issuers (Percent)

BB Default Rate (left) B Default Rate (left) CCC Default Rate (left) _{All Speculative Grade Issuers,} trailing 12 months (right)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03 ’02 ’01 ’00 ’99 ’98 ’97 ’96 ’95 ’94 ’93 ’92 ’91 ’90 ’89 ’88 ’87 ’86

0 5 10 15 Investors who have

added just a 10% allocation of high-yield bonds to their traditional 60/40 portfolio of stocks and bonds have histori-cally found increased returns, less risk and a superior Sharpe ratio.

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8 Passively managed high-yield ETFs vs. actively

managed high-yield portfolios

While exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are gaining

acceptance as efficient ways to access many asset classes, they are not always the optimal investment vehicle for high-yield investing. Because of the high-yield marketplace’s

unique characteristics, passively managed high-yield ETFs may actually have significant disadvantages compared with actively traded high-yield portfolios. For example, ETFs are meant to closely track indexes, but, unlike equity ETFs, which usually own all of the stocks in a benchmark, fixed-income ETFs hold significantly fewer issues than the indexes they’re tracking, which often contain thousands of individual securities. Case in point:

One major high-yield index, the BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index, represents more than 2,000 high-yield holdings. To mirror the general characteristics of the index without holding all of the 2,000+ securities, a high-yield ETF would likely hold the largest, most liquid and most recent new issuers. Like ETFs, actively managed portfolios may not fully represent an index or may be over- or underweight certain securities. However, unlike ETFs, many active managers look for issuers they believe to have upgrade potential or the best perceived creditworthiness.

In addition, when high-yield markets are stressed, trading can become an issue for ETFs if secondary trading volume fails. That’s because ETFs must make good on cash deliveries every day, even during market Passive high-yield ETFs

may have significant

disadvantages to actively traded high- yield portfolios.

Traditional Portfolio Alternative Portfolio

60–40 Allocation 55–35–10 Allocation

An

nu

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iz

ed

Re

tu

rn

5 year 11.30% 11.33%

10 year 7.10% 7.27%

15 year 5.62% 5.82%

St

an

dar

d

De

via

tio

n 5 year 7.68% 7.53%

10 year 8.93% 8.99%

15 year 9.16% 9.08%

Sh

ar

pe

Ra

tio

5 year 1.43% 1.46%

10 year 0.64% 0.65%

15 year 0.42% 0.45%

Source: Morningstar Direct as of 30/09/2014. Stocks are represented by the S&P 500 Index, bonds by the Barclays US Aggregate Index and high-yield bonds by the BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index. Data is rebalanced quarterly. Unless otherwise noted, index returns reflect the reinvestment of income dividends and capital gains, if any, but do not reflect fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Exhibit 10: The high-yield advantage

Adding a 10% high-yield bond allocation to a traditional stock and bond portfolio may help improve risk-adjusted performance over time.

Stocks:

60% Allocation 40% AllocationBonds:

Stocks: 55% Allocation

Bonds: 35% Allocation High-Yield Bonds:

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9 downturns. If an ETF shareholder redeems shares, the

ETF must provide proceeds. But when markets are dropping, ETF traders can encounter unfavorable “bid/ ask” spreads yet must still take the price available that day. Of course, unlike actively managed portfolios, which only allow for redemption at the end of the day

regardless of market activity, ETFs offer the ability to redeem midday.

Moreover, active managers who use bottom-up, fundamental research may be able to reduce their exposure to riskier bonds before markets become overly stressed in the first place.

Managers of actively managed high-yield portfolios can take direct steps to seek to improve outcomes for their shareholders, although there is no guarantee these strategies will be successful. Unlike ETFs, active managers:

 Assess credit quality with thorough analysis. Examining an issuer’s sector, market positioning,

strategy, balance sheets and financial statements helps the manager determine if the company’s day-to-day operations will allow it to service its liabilities adequately over the long term.

 Verify that spreads match creditworthiness. When they determine that the spread underestimates the creditworthiness, they may decide to invest more; if the spread is insufficient, they can reduce their holdings.

 Look for upgrade candidates. As we previously mentioned, it’s important to hold securities whose creditworthiness is likely to improve. Any improvement in an issuer’s credit rating tends to result in a

lower overall interest rate and an increase in the value of the securities.

 Can diversify their portfolios between sectors and companies instead of seeking to replicate an index. Of course, diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss.

Active managers seek to directly improve outcomes for sharehold-ers through fundamental

analysis, diversification

and constant risk assessment.

Passively Managed ETFs Actively Managed Portfolios

Passive Management _style Active

Generally largest, most liquid issuers

in index Representative holdings well-diversified representation of an indexDepends on manager; can be a

Must take the price available in the market

throughout the day, even in illiquid markets Stressed markets Typically not forced into intraday trading

Not a goal of ETFs, which seek to represent

a passive index Managing risk Risk can be actively managed

Not a goal of ETFs _{credit quality}Can assess Yes, depending on manager Not a goal of ETFs balance sheets of Can examine

underlying issuers Yes, depending on manager

Generally lower than actively managed

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10

Endnotes:

1. BofA Merrill Lynch and Allianz Global Investors, as of 30/09/2014.

2. Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, FactSet and Allianz Global Investors, as of 30/09/2014. Based on the BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index.

3. Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, FactSet and Allianz Global Investors, as of 30/09/2014. Based on the BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index. Small-cap stocks are represented by the Russell 2000 Index, large-cap stocks by the Russell 1000 Index and non-US stocks by the MSCI EAFE Index.

Information herein is based on sources we believe to be accurate and reliable as at the date it was made. We reserve the right to revise any information herein at any time without notice.

No offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities, nor investment advice or recommendation is made herein. In making investment decisions, investors should not rely solely on this material but should seek independent professional advice.

Investment involves risks, in particular, risks associated with investment in emerging and less developed markets. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Investors should read the offering documents for further details, including the risk factors, before investing.

This material has not been reviewed by the SFC in Hong Kong and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and is published for information only, and where used in mainland China, only as supporting materials to the offshore investment products offered by commercial banks under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors scheme pursuant to applicable rules and regulations.

Issued by Allianz Global Investors Hong Kong Limited.

Allianz Global Investors Hong Kong Limited (27/F, ICBC Tower, 3 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong) is the Hong Kong Representative and is regulated by the HK SFC (35/F, Cheung Kong Center, 2 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong).

Allianz Global Investors Singapore Limited (12 Marina View, #13-02 Asia Square Tower 2, Singapore 018 961 (Co. Reg. No. 199907169Z)) is the Singapore representative and supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The Evolution of High-Yield Bonds into a Vital Asset Class