Will Smith, CFA
13 Years at AB|16 Years of Experience
Will Smith is a Senior Vice President and Director of US High Yield Credit. He is also a member of the High Income, Global High Yield, Limited Duration High Income, Short Duration High Yield and European High Yield portfolio-management teams. Smith designed and is one of the lead portfolio managers for AB’s Multi-Sector Credit Strategy, which invests across investment-grade and high-yield credit sectors globally. He leads the monthly High Yield portfolio-construction meeting, and is a member of the Credit Research Review Committee, which determines investment policy for the firm’s credit-related portfolios. Smith has authored several papers and blogs on high-yield investing, including one on the importance of using a probability-based framework to build better portfolios. He joined AB in 2012, and spent 2014 in London as part of the European High Yield portfolio-management team. Smith started his career with UBS Investment Bank, working as an analyst with the Credit Risk team and then later on the Fixed Income sales and trading desk. He holds a BA in economics from Boston College and is a CFA charterholder. Location: Nashville
Published Work
New policies could disrupt markets, but high starting yields and strong demand for income should provide ballast.
It’s not easy to harness alpha through credit selection. A new methodology helps investors rise to the challenge.
Historically, investors have struggled to add meaningful alpha through security selection. A dynamic new credit scoring approach could change that.
High-yield investors put off by today’s narrow spreads could be missing out.
Many investors limit their mandates to credits rated BBB or higher. But they could tap high-quality high yield—without adding to overall risk.
Weakening economic fundamentals shouldn’t scare away corporate bond investors in 2024—provided they keep a close eye on credit quality.
With yield curves still inverted, a short-dated high-yield strategy continues to make sense for return-seeking investors with a defensive mindset.
Solid fundamentals, decent valuations and attractive income potential make a case for continued exposure to corporate credit even in an uncertain economic environment.
Now, with yield curves inverted across North America, Europe and parts of Asia, investors can earn extra income without increasing interest-rate risk.
Despite global economic slowing, corporate fundamentals start the year from a position of strength, which should brighten prospects for corporate bond investors.
With yields today significantly higher than usual, income-seeking investors should seize the opportunity to add high-yield debt to their portfolios.
Investors have a lot of worries these days. Should corporate credit fundamentals be among them?
Looking for a tactical way to de-risk your portfolio? Consider rotating a portion of your equity allocation into high-yield bonds.
Strong credit fundamentals make corporate-bond issuers resilient as interest rates rise.
For high-yield investors, rising yields means declining credit risk and higher reinvestment rates—what's not to like?
Most investors own too little high-yield debt. Here's how to correct that.
Worried about rising yields? High-yield bond investors should think carefully about whether or not to exit the market. We do the math for possible scenarios.
High yield bonds are trading at historically tight spreads, but there's more happening in credit markets than meets the eye. Are Rising Stars a signal of market opportunities?
Credit markets have staged an epic rebound from the depths of March 2020. But in a low-growth, low-yield world, we believe there may be more room to run in 2021.
2019 may be a challenging year for high-income investors. That makes it more important than ever to embrace a global approach and to focus on quality. Oh, and don't fret too much about rising rates.
First, the bad news: high-income investors should saddle up for another bumpy ride in 2019. Now the good: with challenges come opportunities-and we see plenty on the horizon for investors who take the long view.
A dramatic fall in oil prices, followed by a sell-off in high-yield energy bonds—is it time to worry about oil and gas companies again? Quite the contrary. The North American issuers that make up most of the world's high-yield energy market are in a better position today than they have been in years.
High-yield investors bracing for a downturn in 2018 can relax. By some metrics, high-yield companies have rarely looked better. The way we see it, investors who do their homework can still profit in this environment.