A new entrant in the top 10 is experienced emerging market debt manager Cesar Fernandez, who works for Swiss group Julius Baer. Fernandez has been with the Zurich-based group since 2018 when he joined from Deutsche Asset Management, now DWS.

His remit covers developing world debt, with a key focus on the firm’s flagship EM corporate debt fund.

Speaking in 2021, Fernandez said he was concerned about the image many corporate bond issuers in the developing world face. He said there wasn’t a proper appreciation of how many companies have sought to improve their business practices and improve their governance. In addition, he said the inclusion of markets such as Singapore shows there are stable, strong-performing names beyond the likes of crash-riddled Argentina.

In his JB FI EM Corporate Bond fund, which has $1.45bn (€1.35bn) in assets under management, he has used his skills as a portfolio manager and credit analyst to uncover long-term, fundamentally strong issuers.

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MEET THE PROFESSOR

Away from his day job, Fernandez is also a professor at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, where he lectures in the applied finance of fixed income.

He had held a similar role in both Madrid and London, where he worked on offering students guidance on structured finance, banking and structured products.

This analytical mindset harks back to his time with ratings giant Standard & Poor’s, where he covered structured finance emerging markets ratings as an analyst for five years while based in New York.

Fernandez’ success shows the wide-ranging demand for corporate debt in this year’s publication, as he sits alongside global corporate European corporate and sterling corporate bond managers in the top 10.

The EM corporate debt market has matured in recent years, with high-profile companies working to improve governance and competitiveness to make the sector more attractive to international asset allocators.