Rockefeller taps three Invesco PMs to expand HY, IG porfolio

Rockefeller Asset Management added three new portfolio managers to bolster its municipal investment strategies within in its fixed income division, the firm announced Monday.

Scott Cottier, Mark DeMitry and Michael Camarella will join Rockefeller from Invesco, where they managed the California Value Municipal Income Trust and the Trust for Investment Grade New York Municipals. They will launch new high-yield municipal investment strategies and vehicles, according to the release. Rockefeller currently manages about $5 billion on behalf of investors.

They have consistently worked together during this time and have been listed as portfolio managers on strategies accounting for over $25 billion of assets, Rockefeller noted in a release.

Cottier, who has more than 29 years of experience in financial services at Invesco OppenheimerFunds and Victory Capital Management,  will serve as managing director. DeMitry, who has 26 years of financial experience, previously at Invesco, OppenheimerFunds, and M&T Securities, will be senior vice president. Camarella, who has 25 years of varied experience at Invesco, OppenheimerFunds, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley, will also be senior vice president. The trio is based in Rochester and will introduce Rockefeller to the market there.

They will report to Alex Petrone, director of fixed income.

“In our view, there are compelling opportunities in both high-yield and investment-grade municipal bonds today, and we remain committed to expanding our offering to enhance our ability to deliver alpha through actively managed strategies,” Petrone said in the press release. “We are excited to broaden our existing team’s capabilities with the addition of these three deeply experienced investment professionals with over two decades of experience seeking alpha.”

Cottier, DeMitry and Camarella are the latest in a string of hires at Rockefeller over the past two years, the firm noted, including Petrone.

Rockefeller is one of many firms taking advantage of the high-yield markethigh-yield market, which has outperformed the broader muni market so far this year.

Rockefeller, Petrone said in an email, believes high-yield municipals are poised to continue outperforming investment grades in the near term. 

“Income remains an important driver of return for fixed income investors and the Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Municipal Index currently yields 5.61%, about 1.91% excess yield versus the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index,” she said. “Further, the technical backdrop remains constructive with about $5.2 billion inflows into high-yield municipal funds year-to-date, as measured by Lipper Fund Flows, on persistent investor demand at high all-in yields.”

Although Rockefeller anticipates stable muni credit spreads, Patrone said, the firm still “advocate[s] a disciplined approach to ongoing bottom-up credit analysis” in light of increasing credit bifurcation across many sectors and regions. 

The high-yield market has performed well in the wake of Citi’s exit from the muni space, but some market participants are still concerned that it may affect market liquidity during times of severe volatility.