Milan, 21 January 2025 - M&G Investments, a leading international asset manager, today launches the 'M&G Credit Academy,' a new training program aimed at enhancing the skills of Italian financial advisors in credit markets. The training will offer in-depth content and practical tools to improve understanding of the current market environment and assist investors in building more efficient and resilient fixed income portfolios.
The M&G Credit Academy will start in March 2025, featuring nine training modules held at Talent Garden's Calabiana Campus in Milan. The training proposal, designed for representatives of M&G's primary distribution network partners, will examine the credit asset class as a whole, covering both public and private markets.
Throughout the course, M&G's fixed income professionals from management, trading, research, and risk management teams, along with selected representatives from the Italian business community, will delve into practical cases and topics such as proper bond selection, issuer creditworthiness analysis, and building private credit exposure within a diversified allocation.
The launch of the Academy comes at a particularly interesting time for the corporate bond market. The year 2025 promises significant opportunities in credit markets, amidst high interest rates, geopolitical risks, and regulatory changes. Navigating this complex environment and capturing the best risk/return opportunities requires an active, professional approach.
The initiative, first launched in Italy and set to expand across European markets in response to growing investor demand for deeper credit market understanding, leverages M&G's extensive experience in public and private credit investing. With over €160 billion in assets under management, M&G Fixed Income global platform boasts one of the largest and most specialized teams of credit analysts in Europe, working alongside with the investment teams that have a proven track record. As a European leader in private corporate lending, M&G already manages 13bn AUM in private credit, boasting an extensive expertise investing on behalf of its internal insurance client and institutional investors globally.
"Through this initiative, we aim to strengthen our strategic position in the Italian market as a leading fixed income manager, share with our clients the extensive expertise we have developed over decades of bond investing in both private and public markets, and concretely demonstrate our role as a provider of value-added investment services" said Andrea Orsi, Country Head Italy, M&G Investments. "Improving financial understanding is the natural progression of our service model, which aims to support our clients - our key partners in the industry's innovation process - for the benefit of the national system and Italian investors."
Emmanuel Deblanc, Chief Investment Officer for Private Markets, commented: "Private credit, historically less familiar to Italian fixed income investors, is attracting considerable interest in the market. This trend is also driven by the increased accessibility offered by ELTIF 2.0 vehicles, which is fostering the need for a deeper understanding of the distinctive advantages of this asset class to investors who have not previously been able to access private investments."
Andrew Chorlton, Chief Investment Officer of M&G's Fixed Income Division, commented: "In the yield environment, bonds represent an interesting income option for 2025, supported by the sector's current risk-return profile. At this stage in the credit cycle, a deep understanding of the fundamental credit dynamics becomes even more important as we expect divergence between sectors and issuers to grow. Increased understanding of the underlying drivers of credit quality contributes to better decision making, more efficient markets and a better financial culture, enabling investors and savers to better capitalize on the potential offered by fixed income investments."
The M&G Credit Academy training will be accredited by the Italian Financial Planning Association (EFPA).
Training Programme Contents
Part 1: Private Credit
- What is meant by Private Credit
- Differences between Public and Private Credit
- Why invest in Private Credit
- How to Integrate Private Credit into a Diversified Portfolio
- M&G's investment process and capabilities
Part 2: Public Credit
- What it means to invest in credit
- What are the main macro variables to consider when constructing a portfolio
- Market Research, Fundamental Analysis and ESG, Solvency Risk
- The selection process, dealing and post-purchase monitoring