Portfolio Manager Eric Mollenhauer’s recent focus on appealing new investments beyond the core leveraged-loan market has led him to a number of attractive investment alternatives in direct lending, collateralized loan obligations and preferred securities.
Mollenhauer, who co-manages Fidelity® Floating Rate High Income Fund (FFRHX) with Kevin Nielsen and Chandler Perine, believes these investments can broaden and diversify the portfolio and potentially boost its yield without increasing its interest-rate sensitivity.
The fund is a diversified leveraged-loan strategy primarily focused on secured loans made to non-investment-grade companies. Looking beyond this core, the managers have set their sights on alternative investments that fit within the key criteria they apply to any holding.
Mollenhauer credits Fidelity’s High Income and Alternatives group for turning up compelling investment ideas in these alternative areas for the fund. “As this group has expanded into new areas, we are able to leverage that newfound focus and expertise to find additional opportunities for the portfolio.”
Recently, the fund has invested alongside Fidelity’s Direct Lending group, according to Mollenhauer. “We’re taking advantage of that team’s expertise in the middle market to open the fund up to areas that we previously didn’t have the bandwidth to explore,” he says. “These loans tend to be smaller and less liquid but can come with wider spreads as a result.”
Fidelity also is taking a more proactive role in working with companies to generate additional loans for investment, notes Mollenhauer. Specifically, following a year of reduced mergers and acquisitions, M&A activity remains somewhat muted so far in 2024. As a result, Fidelity is looking to help companies identify new financing opportunities that meet its investment parameters. “This strategy is helping us get stronger allocations of loans at the time of syndication,” Mollenhauer says.
Although Fidelity has been in the collateralized loan obligation business for over 20 years, the company’s efforts in that market have grown significantly in the past five, Mollenhauer explains. As a result of this greater focus on the CLO market, in addition to issuing its own CLOs, Fidelity has the ability to analyze CLOs issued by other firms.
CLOs are vehicles where pools of loans are bought by raising both debt and equity. The debt pieces that are rated by the ratings agencies are floating-rate, and Mollenhauer says his team is finding good relative value in the BBB and BB tranches in some of these structures.
“The research expertise within our High Income and Alternatives group enables us to analyze these structures and the underlying credits and choose select opportunities within each,” he says, noting that these investments offer compelling yield potential.
Mollenhauer and team also have found attractive investments among fixed- and floating-rate preferred securities issued by banks and other investment-grade companies.
“As demand for alternative investments continues to grow, we will continue to look for opportunities to expand and diversify the fund,” concludes Mollenhauer.
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Eric Mollenhauer is a portfolio manager in the High Income and Alternatives division at Fidelity Investments.
In this role, Mr. Mollenhauer co-manages Fidelity and Fidelity Advisor Floating Rate High Income Funds, Fidelity VIP Floating Rate High Income Portfolio, and Fidelity Series Floating Rate High Income Fund. Additionally, he comanages leveraged loan portfolios for institutional clients and Canadian investors, and Fidelity’s collateralized loan obligation strategies.
Prior to assuming his current responsibilities, Mr. Mollenhauer worked as director of High Yield research, where he oversaw Fidelity’s high-yield research professionals and resources and managed high-yield bond portfolios available to non-U.S. investors. Previously, Mr. Mollenhauer was a high-yield research analyst covering the paper, entertainment and leisure, gaming and lodging, services, homebuilding, and printing and publishing industries. He has been in the financial industry since joining Fidelity in 1993.
Mr. Mollenhauer earned his bachelor of arts degree in business administration from Gordon College. He is also a CFA® charterholder.