Bay Street News

Symphony Asset Management Provides Senior Loan Update

TORONTO, Jan. 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (TSX: SSF.UN) Investors and investment advisors are invited to listen to a recorded update call, hosted by Larry Holzenthaler, Investment Strategist, of Symphony Asset Management (“Symphony”).  Symphony discusses some of the recent trends in the U.S. senior loan and high yield markets and explains why they believe loan fundamentals remain strong.  The presentation, recorded on January 9, 2019, has been posted to the Brompton Funds website at the following link:

https://www.bromptongroup.com/ssf_update_jan2019/

Symphony Floating Rate Senior Loan Fund (the “Fund”) invests primarily in floating-rate senior loans, which are the most senior corporate obligations of a borrower, and are secured by the borrower’s assets. Senior loans have a first-priority secured claim on repayment, ahead of bonds and equity. Senior Loans offer a high level of income and low interest rate risk compared to traditional fixed income asset classes. Symphony believes that senior loan credit fundamentals remain strong as U.S. economic growth remains intact and corporate default rates are expected to remain low.

The Fund offers a $0.60 per unit per annum distribution, paid monthly, which represents a cash distribution rate of 7.2% per annum based on the January 10, 2019 TSX closing price. The Fund is available for purchase on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SSF.UN.

About Brompton Funds
Brompton Funds, a division of Brompton Group which was founded in 2000, is an experienced investment fund manager with approximately $2 billion in assets under management. Brompton’s investment solutions include TSX traded funds, mutual funds and flow-through limited partnerships. For further information, please contact your investment advisor, call Brompton’s investor relations line at 416-642-6000 (toll-free at 1-866-642-6001), email info@bromptongroup.com or visit our website at www.bromptongroup.com.

About Symphony
Symphony Asset Management LLC is the investment manager of Symphony Floating Rate Senior Loan Fund. Backed by an institutional-calibre integrated credit platform and supported by a 19-member team of experienced credit investment professionals, Symphony manages approximately US$14.8 billion in senior loans and has approximately US$17.5 billion in total assets under management, as at December 31, 2018. Symphony is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Nuveen LLC, which is a subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.

   Annual Performance1 1-Yr 3-Yr 5-Yr S.I.2  
   Symphony Floating Rate Senior Loan Fund – Class A -0.8% 6.3% 2.6% 5.3%  
   Symphony Floating Rate Senior Loan Fund – Class U -0.6% 6.0% 2.4% 4.9%  
   Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index 1.1% 5.0% 3.3% 4.5%  

(1) Returns are for the periods ended December 31, 2018. The table shows the Fund’s compound returns for each period indicated compared with the Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index. The Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index (“Loan Index”) is an appropriate benchmark as it is designed to mirror the investable universe of the US dollar denominated leveraged loan market in which the Fund also invests. The Loan Index is unleveraged and its returns are calculated without the deduction of fees and Fund expenses, whereas the performance of the Fund includes the impact of leverage and is calculated after deducting fees and Fund expenses. Since the Fund is actively managed, the sector weightings may differ from those of the Loan Index.
(2) Inception Date: November 1, 2011

You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell units of the investment fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange or other alternative Canadian trading system (an “exchange”).  If the units are purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying units of the investment fund and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them.

There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning units of an investment fund.  An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the Fund.  You can find more detailed information about the Fund in the public filings available at www.sedar.com.  Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in the unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account certain fees such as redemption costs or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns.  Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The amount of distributions may fluctuate from month to month and there can be no assurance that the Fund will make any distribution in any particular month.

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this press release and to other matters identified in public filings relating to the Fund, to the future outlook of the Fund and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the Fund.  In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.  Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information.  Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.