In this episode of our podcast series “Enabled”, by East Los Capital, Co-managing Partner Anthony Valencia interviews Monica Erickson, Head of Investment Grade Credit & Portfolio Manager at DoubleLine Capital, about her views on inflation and Federal Reserve rate hikes, the investment grade bond market, and potential signals for recession. Monica gives an in-depth discussion of what she is seeing in the volatile 2022 markets from the perspective of the investment grade credit market.
DoubleLine is an independent, employee-owned money management firm with over $107 billion in combined assets under management invested across a wide array of investment strategies.
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01:20 – Monica discusses with Anthony where the investment grade market and greater fixed income market is currently relative to the beginning of 2022 and Wall St. expectations
03:16 – Monica talks about the reasons for the surprising outperformance of the high yield bond market vs. investment grade
05:26 – In context of earnings season, Monica discusses with Anthony the kinds of market signals she looks for as an investment grade investor during an era of Federal Reserve rate hikes
10:24 – Monica talks about the difference between banks and non-financial companies in light of some banks halting share buybacks and the implications for the broader equity markets
14:17 – Monica delineates the insights one can draw considering Treasury rates and changing spreads relative to recession risks and explains the impact of increased volatility in Treasuries on stand alone credit markets
19:25 – Monica discussed how high spreads got in March of 2020 and gives her thoughts on potential Fed action if a similar situation were to occur
22:06 – Monica discusses the health of investment grade credits relative to current leverage and interest coverage ratios
26:04 – Monica talks about her work with The Bloomberg Women’s Buyside Network, an organization focused on increasing diversity and raising the profile of women working on the buyside as analysts, portfolio managers, traders or other similar roles
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Monica Erickson is the Head of Investment Grade Credit & Portfolio Manager at DoubleLine Capital. Prior to DoubleLine, Ms. Erickson was a Vice President in the Corporate Bond group at TCW where she was involved in the management of the Firm’s corporate credit fixed income and structured products. Prior to TCW, she was a Vice President at Froley, Revy Investment Company for over fifteen years, active in managing several convertible strategies. Ms. Erickson graduated from the University of Southern California, summa cum laude, with a BS in Business. She is a CFA charter holder, a past board member of the CFA Society of Los Angeles, and the current chair of the Charter Recognition committee for the CFA Society of Los Angeles.
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About the Podcast:
"Enabled, by East Los Capital" is a podcast interviewing the best investors, founders, and technologists in the East Los Capital ecosystem about the markets, innovation, and what enables their success.
About East Los Capital:
East Los Capital is a tech-enabled private equity firm making the world more productive through technology. We are operationally-focused, research-driven, and technology-enabled. We invest in successful companies where our capital, talent, and analytics can drive the most value. We focus on consumer, healthcare, internet, media, services, and software.
Read more about DoubleLine and East Los Capital:
DoubleLine: https://doubleline.com/
East Los Capital: https://eastloscap.com/