AAM, a manager of roughly $16 billion of insurance company general account assets, selected Muzinich & Co. to subadvise high-yield and bank-loan strategies AAM will offer to its U.S. insurance clients.
In a telephone interview, John L. Schaefer, AAM’s president, said Muzinich will be AAM’s second strategic partner, following long-standing convertible bond subadviser Zazove Associates.
“All insurance companies are dealing with the impact of low interest rates,” and their efforts to manage through that difficult environment include expanding into asset classes like convertibles, high yield and bank loans, Mr. Schaefer noted.
Mr. Schaefer said AAM's due diligence process, ending with the hiring of Muzinich, concluded that Muzinich's focus on “the higher quality end of the below-investment-grade market,” together with the depth and breadth of the firm's research and investment management capabilities, made it “an ideal fit for what we believe insurance companies are looking for.”
