The Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund offers high current income and exposure to emerging market debt, boasting a 13.27% yield, better than the bond indices. Despite potential risks from U.S. protectionist policies, the fund's well-diversified portfolio mitigates country-specific risks and has shown strong performance since the 2024 U.S. election. The fund's shares are currently trading at a 2.57% premium to net asset value, making it expensive compared to historical averages and peers.
MS Emerging Markets Debt Fund offers a high yield of 11.44%, providing income-focused investors with significant current income and diversification from U.S. market risks. The MSD closed-end fund has outperformed benchmarks, delivering an 8.22% total return over three months, supported by favorable emerging market bond conditions and strategic trading. The fund's distribution is fully covered by net investment income, ensuring sustainability.
The Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund is the second-highest-yielding fund in its category, offering an 11.63% yield. The fund's price performance over the past five years has been disappointing, but it has outperformed its benchmark index and other peers. The fund primarily invests in sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt securities, with a focus on government obligations, providing some peace of mind for investors.
MSD is a closed-ended fixed-income fund focused on emerging markets, aiming for high income and some capital appreciation. The fund has a long history but a small size due to poor performance in EM bonds in the past decade. It has been a better performer compared to other long-standing EM debt closed-end funds, with less volatility and risk.
The Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Debt Fund invests in sovereign bonds and corporate debt in emerging markets. The fund has outperformed EM benchmarks this year, highlighting the attraction of the actively managed CEF strategy. We see EM debt as well-positioned to continue delivering positive returns with the fund also offering a compelling 11% yield.