Riding the wave of interest in credit investment opportunities, US credit research specialist Shenkman Capital Management now has representation in Australia.

"Credit is clearly a focus for many investors at this time, there is an expectation that credit spreads and yields will not persist at current high levels indefinitely and thus there are likely to be good buying opportunities, particularly amongst the non-investment grade names," said Mark Shenkman, chief investment officer at Shenkman Capital.

Shenkman Capital will be represented in Australia through Clearway Capital Solutions who also act for the US middle market buy-out specialist Constitution Capital Partners.

Shenkman Capital began in 1985 and is an independently owned investment firm that focuses on managing high yield and bank loan portfolios among leveraged companies.

Shenkman said the investment opportunities for credit are because "actual defaults have not yet reflected the rise in yields. The widely anticipated rally may differ from those of the past in that singular pursuit of the highest yields may well not achieve the best outcomes in either a risk or return sense. Disciplined and comprehensive fundamental research will be invaluable in this environment."

Dennis Mothoneos, Clearway Capital managing director, said, "[Shenkman Capital] are a well established and highly regarded US credit firm with significant assets under management, a substantial and stable team, strong performance numbers and an impressive track record of avoiding defaults."