Executive Summary
The Aventine Stable Income Fund gained 1.0% after fees and expenses in June, rebounding well from May’s shallow decline. The Canadian investment markets have seen big changes take place since our last letter and on balance those changes have played into our positioning. We had noted several times in prior letters that (contrary to the consensus view) the probability of a 2017 rate hike by the Bank of Canada was too low given strong economic growth over the past 12 months. With the tightening campaign now underway we expect gradual, upward trends in interest rates and the Canadian dollar to solidify. At the present time we are fully invested and continue to see attractive opportunities in low duration hybrid income securities such as rate reset preferred shares, senior loans, convertible bonds and structured notes – asset classes which collectively represent approximately 47% of the Fund’s capital.
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