Virtus Investment Partners has launched a new actively managed fixed income ETF focused on opportunities within emerging markets high yield debt.

James E. Craige, co-Chief Investment Officer and Head of Emerging Markets at Stone Harbor Investment Partners.

The Virtus Stone Harbor Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (VEMY US) has been listed on NYSE Arca with an expense ratio of 0.55%.

The ETF is sub-advised by Stone Harbor Investment Partners with James E. Craige, co-Chief Investment Officer and Head of Emerging Markets, leading the fund’s day-to-day operations.

The fund seeks a total return by allocating opportunistically across a diversified portfolio of emerging market high yield debt securities, both sovereign and corporate, that are denominated in US dollars. It is scheduled to pay monthly dividends.

Stone Harbor conducts fundamental credit research within a top-down country macro analysis framework, alongside a proprietary risk analytics platform that enables continuous monitoring of real-time portfolio risk in reaction to changing market conditions.

Commenting on the launch, James E. Craige said: “Investing in emerging markets high yield bonds offers investors exposure to the diversified economic cycles of many emerging market countries. For investors who are seeking an alternative income opportunity, adding emerging markets debt can provide the opportunity for a significantly attractive yield pickup, even when compared to US high yield fixed income where many investors have recently sought out incremental yield.

“We project a faster economic recovery and prolonged growth coming and VEMY’s active approach is well suited for emerging markets where persistent inefficiencies make the investment case hard to ignore for active managers.”