trpemergmktbond
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Analyst Report
David Falkof
by
4/20/2012
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This fund's broad approach has benefited
investors.
T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond strikes a good
balance.
Manager Mike Conelius makes use of a broad
opportunity set. Similar to other emerging-markets
bond funds that primarily own hard-currency
sovereign debt, this fund has the flexibility to invest in
more niche segments of the market, such as local
currency and corporate bonds. In Brazil, for instance,
Conelius doesn't think the country's hard-currency
sovereign debt can add much value over the long-run,
so he has instead held local-currency sovereign debt
and corporate bonds. In total, the fund has an 11%
allocation to local-currency bonds and a 28% stake in
corporate debt, as of Dec. 31, 2011.
Even within the fund's hard-currency sovereign stake, Conelius takes a distinctive
approach. He has long found opportunities owning less commonly traded frontier
countries, such as Iraq, Serbia, and Vietnam. Exposure to each country tends to be
less than 2% of assets, but as a whole the frontier exposure has been as high as
24% in 2007, whereas the fund's benchmark, the JPMorgan EMBI Global, has a
roughly 10% stake. Conelius has a sizable seven-person team of sovereign debt
analysts to closely monitor these smaller countries.
While corporate, local-currency, and frontier bonds can carry higher risks related
to liquidity and credit, Conelius has managed to keep the fund's profile relatively
tame. For the trailing five- and 10-year periods through March 2012, the fund hasbeen among the least volatile in the category, as measured by standard deviation.
Partly helping the fund is its broad diversification across bond sectors and more
than 50 countries. Conelius also keeps the fund's total region weightings roughly in
line with those of its benchmark.
The broad portfolio hasn't been entirely at the expense of returns either. The
fund's 10-year return of 10.8% annualized through April 18, 2012, roughly
matches its benchmark's and the category norm. All told, this is an appealing way
Morningstar's
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analysts believe lead to
long term on a risk-adj
Analyst Rating Spectru
Morningstar Anal
Morningstar Pillar
Process
Performance
People
Parent
Price
Role in Portfolio
Specialty
Fund Performa
Year
YTD
2012
2011
2010
2009
Analyst Favori
Name
PIMCO Emerging Lo
T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond PREMX
we Price Emerging Markets Bond ( PREMX ) | 2013 Trowe Analyst... http://analysis.morningstar.com/Centers/analyst-report?cn=Trowe&t
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to get broad exposure to emerging-markets debt.
Process Pillar: Positive
Manager Mike Conelius seeks to outpace the fund's benchmark, the JPMorgan
Emerging Markets Bond Index Global, by 3 percentage points per year while
keeping the fund's tracking error within 5 percentage points. Conelius and his
analyst team look for long-term opportunities based on their fundamental
research. Broad diversification is an important feature of the fund. The portfolio'sregional and country allocations tend to be roughly in line with the benchmark's,
although this fund is not limited to hard-currency sovereign debt like the index.
The fund's duration also stays relatively close to the benchmark's.
While the fund primarily owns hard-currency sovereign debt, Conelius has
increasingly bought local-currency and corporate debt as those markets have
matured. The fund has historically held a 10%-20% stake in local-currency debt
and can own up to 25% there (using currency forward contracts to adjust
exposures). The fund can own up to 35% in corporate debt, which gradually
increased to its high of 28% in December 2011. The fund also will invest up to
20% of assets in frontier debt, smaller countries that are newer to the bond
market. Allocations to each of these countries are typically less than 2%.
Management will use credit default swaps to hedge away credit exposure or to
build synthetic exposure to a country but has historically kept notional swap
exposure below 3% of assets.
Performance Pillar: Neutral | David Falkof 04/20/2012
People Pillar: Positive
Lead manager Michael Conelius has run this fund since its December 1994 launch,
having joined T. Rowe Price in 1988. He previously worked as a consultant for
Booz Allen Hamilton. A team of seven emerging-markets sovereign analysts and
five emerging-markets corporate analysts support the fund. Turnover within the
team has been low, and the firm plans to add another sovereign and corporate
analyst. Conelius also draws upon T. Rowe's 17 global corporate analysts and 24
emerging-markets equity analysts.
Parent Pillar: Positive | Katie Rushkewicz Reichart, CFA 09/01/2011
T. Rowe Price has made a name for itself by putting investors' interests first,
maintaining a disciplined investment process, and consistently turning in
peer-beating performances. The firm's sturdiness stems from its ability to attract
and retain top talent. Professionals often spend their entire careers at the firm,
and many of T. Rowe's top executives have come up through the ranks, including
CEO James Kennedy and CIO Brian Rogers. Unsurprisingly, T. Rowe Price's
manager tenure and retention rates rank well above industry norms, and analyst
retention has been good, too. When a manager change does occur, it's typically
due to a preannounced retirement, allowing for a months-long transition
PIMCO Emerging Marke
Emerging Markets Bond
we Price Emerging Markets Bond ( PREMX ) | 2013 Trowe Analyst... http://analysis.morningstar.com/Centers/analyst-report?cn=Trowe&t
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period. Managers write detailed shareholder letters, T. Rowe's website is
exemplary, and manager ownership of fund shares is decent.
Stock-picking, based on the firm's in-house fundamental analysis, drives the equity
funds' strategies and performance, which has proved remarkably good across the
board with strong fixed-income and equity offerings that are often less volatile
than peers. However, T. Rowe still hasn't established itself as a powerhouse on the
international side following its decade-long build-out of a global team. Meanwhile,the huge asset bases of its small-cap funds bear watching. Overall, though, T.
Rowe has kept investors' interests in mind.
Price Pillar: Positive
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times are Eastern Standard. @ Copyright 2013 Morningstar, Inc.
we Price Emerging Markets Bond ( PREMX ) | 2013 Trowe Analyst... http://analysis.morningstar.com/Centers/analyst-report?cn=Trowe&t
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