Diversification across asset classes
- Corporate Investment grade
- High yield
- Floating rate loans
- Developed government bonds
- Securitization
- Hybrids
- Preferred shares
CIBC Alternative Credit Strategy
A multi-strategy credit solution tailored for the modern portfolio
CIBC Alternative Credit Strategy
An actively managed multi-strategy credit solution that can complement a core fixed income portfolio by providing a consistent and diversifying return potential that aims to minimize volatility and interest rate risk.
- Seeks to provide capital growth: aims to generate credit-like returns without increasing credit risk or extending duration.
- Minimize downside risk: aims to reduce the vulnerability to interest rate volatility and credit deterioration relative to a corporate focused portfolio.
- Enhances diversification: access to the full opportunity set across the fixed income universe, offering the potential for enhanced portfolio diversification within a risk-managed framework.
Broad diversification, within a single solution
The CIBC Alternative Credit Strategy encompasses a broad range of investment strategies & fixed income sectors, as well as diversification across investment horizons, instruments & capital structure.
Investment instruments
- Interest rate futures
- Credit default swaps
- Cash & equivalents
- Total return swaps
- Loans
- Government bonds
- Floating rate notes
- Preferred shares
- Corporate bonds
- ETFs
Investment horizon
- Long-term valuation
- Short-term sentiment
- Medium-term cycle
Return strategies
- Credit momentum
- Long-short credit
- Leveraged credit
Investment strategies
- Quantitative
- Fundamental
Key features
Benchmark agnostic
Full flexibility to align portfolio to desired outcomes. Thus, the strategy is wholly diversified across sectors, geographies, capital structures and investment vehicles.
Managing interest rate sensitivity
Lower duration credit assets and rate hedging reduces rate sensitivity.
Lower yield volatility of short duration corporate credit
Benefiting from the total return advantage of short duration levered credit with lower correlation to traditional fixed income.
Harvesting return premiums across the global credit cycle
Capitalizing on regional (i.e., North American) and sector valuation divergences allows for greater return generation.
Capitalizing on bottom-up credit research
The strategy will only hold highest conviction positions, back by extensive research and insight. Each decision is supported by the expertise of the dedicated portfolio management team.
Hedging unwanted risk
Use of derivatives and short-selling strategies that would not be feasible in a long-only portfolio.
Fund details
The portfolio management team
Jacques Prévost
First Vice-President, Global Fixed Income
Jacques Prévost is a First Vice-President on the Global Fixed Income team at CIBC Global Asset Management (CIBC GAM). He specializes in liquid alternative credit and in active corporate bond management applied to both asset-only and asset-liability portfolios. He co-heads a team responsible for investment grade credit, high yield bonds, and liability driven investment. In addition, he contributes to the firm’s research specialization model.
Jacques joined CIBC GAM’s predecessor firm in 1999. Prior to his current role he was Vice President, Fixed Income. He was also a Director, Fund Manager / Total Return Swaps Trader with Scotia Capital Markets. Before that, he was a Sales Representative and Trader with First Marathon Securities.
Jacques holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto. He is also a CFA charterholder, Fellow of Canadian Securities Institute and a member of the CFA Society of Toronto.
Gaurav Dhiman, CFA
Global Fixed Income, Co-Head, Corporate Bond Investment
Gaurav Dhiman is Co-Head, Corporate Bond Investment at CIBC Global Asset Management (CIBC GAM). He is responsible for corporate bond portfolio management covering global investment grade and high yield.
Prior to joining CIBC GAM in 2018, Gaurav was a portfolio manager at Cumberland Private Wealth. At Cumberland, he was solely responsible for the management, research and trading of a high net worth fixed income portfolio. Gaurav previously worked at Aviva Investors as a portfolio manager and BMO Capital Markets as a research analyst.
Gaurav holds an MBA degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Iowa State University. He is also a CFA charterholder.
Amer Shreim, Ph. D
Global Head of Quantitative Investing
Amer Shreim is the Global Head of Quantitative Investing at CIBC Global Asset Management (CIBC GAM), overseeing the equity, fixed income, and multi-asset and currency quantitative investing teams. He is responsible for developing and managing global quantitative equity strategies, as well as enhancing portfolio construction across asset classes.
Prior to joining CIBC GAM in 2017, Dr. Shreim was Director of Risk and Quantitative Analysis for event-driven and multi-strategy funds at BlackRock Inc. He also previously worked as Senior Associate, External Portfolio Management, at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), where he managed the risk of a portfolio of external hedge funds. Before CPPIB, he was Senior Manager, Risk Management at RBC Global Asset Management, where he developed systematic trend following strategies.
Dr. Shreim holds a Ph.D. from the University of Calgary and a Master of Science degree in Physics from the American University of Beirut.
Jeremy Kinney, CFA
Global Fixed Income Associate Portfolio Manager
Jeremy Kinney is a member of the Global Fixed Income team at CIBC Global Asset Management (CIBC GAM). He contributes to the management of High-Yield portfolios through researching and recommending securities, visiting companies and providing other portfolio construction and management support.
Most recently, Jeremy held the role of Senior High-Yield Credit Analyst at iA Clarington Investments. Prior to that, he was a High-Yield Credit Analyst and Associate Portfolio Manager at Sentry Investments. Jeremy started his career at CIBC in 2001 and held the position of High Yield Credit Analyst, Assistant Vice President at CIBC Global Asset Management from 2011-2015.
Jeremy holds an MS from the City University of New York and a BA from Dalhousie University. He is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Toronto.
Trevor Bateman, CFA, CA
Deputy Head of Research
Trevor Bateman leads the Credit Research Team at CIBC Global Asset Management (CIBC GAM), overseeing global investment-grade and high-yield credit research. In addition to managing the team, Trevor covers multiple sectors and actively contributes to portfolio idea generation and credit strategy. As Deputy Head of Research, he champions CIBC GAM's bottom-up credit and equity research capabilities and works closely with the Head of Global Research, Éric Morin, and the Global Macro Research team to build a best-in-class investment research organization.
Prior to joining CIBC GAM in 2014, Trevor worked in sell-side credit research at CIBC World Markets and BMO Capital Markets. He began his career at Price Waterhouse.
Trevor holds a BCom degree from the University of Toronto. He is a CPA, CA, CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Toronto. Trevor also served as the president of the CFA Society of Toronto in 2005-2006.
Patrick Sauvé
Head, Global Trading
Patrick Sauvé leads the global trading team at CIBC Global Asset Management (CIBC GAM), overseeing all trading activity and ensuring that trading across all segments, equities, fixed income, Derivatives, FX & Passive, aligns with best practices.
Prior to joining CIBC Global Asset Management in 2020, Patrick held the role of Head of Fixed Income and FX Sales at BNP Paribas for 10 years. Previously, he has held positions at Deutsche Bank and Desjardins Securities. His industry experience has included roles in trading, sales, and origination and covered both domestic and international fixed income markets.
Patrick holds a BBA from the Université du Quebec à Montréal.
Aaron Young, CFA
Executive Director & Head, Client Portfolio Management
As Head of CIBC Global Asset Management (CIBC GAM)’s Client Portfolio Management team, Aaron Young is responsible for providing strategic leadership on all aspects of the firm’s client portfolio management platform, which covers all asset classes managed by the firm. The client portfolio management team consists of portfolio strategists who help evolve our investment capabilities and represent our clients’ needs in all aspects of the firm’s initiatives.
Prior to rejoining CIBC GAM in 2023, Aaron was a Portfolio Manager at RPIA on the credit research team. He began his career in the investment industry at CIBC GAM in 2010 in institutional client servicing, and as an Associate Client Portfolio Manager with the Fixed Income team.
Aaron has published numerous research papers on fixed income, credit, and ESG investing, and has been a featured speaker at many Canadian and global investment forums.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. Aaron is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Toronto.
Key resources
The expertise of CIBC Global Asset Management
CIBC Global Asset ManagementTM (CIBC GAM), the asset management subsidiary of CIBC, is one of Canada’s largest asset managers. Established in 19721, CIBC GAM offers a broad range of investment solutions, including mutual funds, ETFs, portfolio solutions, alternative investments, discretionary investment management services for high-net-worth individuals, and institutional portfolio management. With teams across Canada and the US, CIBC GAM serves retail, high-net-worth and institutional clients in North America and institutional clients worldwide.
This material is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, legal or accounting advice, it should not be relied upon in that regard or be considered predictive of any future market performance, nor does it constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities referred to.
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the simplified prospectus before investing. Alternatively, you may obtain a copy from your advisor. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.
The CIBC Alternative Credit Strategy fund is permitted to invest in certain assets and employ alternative investment strategies generally prohibited by conventional mutual funds. The CIBC Alternative Credit Strategy fund may use leverage through the use of derivatives, short sales, and/or borrowing within prescribed limits. The fund may also use derivatives for currency management purposes. The fund’s use of derivatives may introduce leverage into the fund. Leverage occurs when the fund’s notional exposure to underlying assets is greater than the amount invested and is an investment technique that can magnify gains and losses. The information does not constitute legal or tax advice.
The material and/or its contents may not be reproduced without the express written consent of CIBC Global Asset Management.
Past performance may not be repeated and is not indicative of future results.
