High Yield Specialist DDJ Capital Management Introduces Dedicated Senior Loan Strategy

WALTHAM, Mass., April 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- DDJ Capital Management, LLC, an institutional investment manager pursuing high yield and special situations strategies on behalf of its global investor base, announced today the introduction of a dedicated senior loan strategy, seeded with approximately $100 million from an existing European-based sub-advised client.

The investment objective of the strategy is to provide investors with high current income primarily achieved through floating rate instruments with an emphasis on principal protection. Compared with DDJ's flagship U.S. opportunistic high yield strategy, DDJ's senior loan strategy employs a more conservative approach by investing predominantly in secured term loans senior in the capital structure of non-investment grade issuers across a wide range of industries, primarily in the U.S. and Canada.

DDJ, based in the Boston suburb of Waltham, Massachusetts, currently manages more than $1 billion in bank loans for institutional investors embedded in its high yield strategies, and has been investing in this asset class on behalf of clients since the firm's founding in 1996. In total, DDJ manages approximately $5.6 billion, primarily for institutional clients worldwide. In recent months, DDJ has been proactively discussing with its clients the attractive value proposition in bank debt relative to bonds, said Tony Ranaldi, the firm's executive vice president and portfolio manager. 

"In an environment in which interest rates could be rising, bank debt is an attractive asset class relative to bonds because of its shorter duration, floating rate coupon and senior secured status in a corporate capital structure," Ranaldi said. "We believe that our strategy is appropriate for clients seeking higher yielding debt with lower interest rate risk than the broader high yield market. Our expertise lies in identifying deep value credit, and the comprehensive operational and legal due diligence conducted by DDJ with respect to our portfolio investments is central to the implementation of our dedicated senior loan strategy."

The firm is known for its value-oriented, fundamental investment philosophy and extensive experience investing in the lower tier of the credit markets. DDJ's U.S. opportunistic high yield strategy ranks in the 7^th percentile for the three-year period ending December 31, 2012, according to eVestment, a leading source of investment performance for institutional investors.

About DDJ Capital Management, LLC

DDJ Capital Management is a high yield and special situations investment manager based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Established in 1996, DDJ currently manages approximately $5.6 billion on behalf of corporate and public retirement funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and family offices worldwide. DDJ's investment team consists of 18 investment professionals highly specialized in the areas of credit research, legal analysis, bankruptcy law, portfolio management, trading and business operational improvements. For more information, please visit www.ddjcap.com.

Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.

SOURCE DDJ Capital Management, LLC