Dividend Policy Update & Dividend Declaration

RNS Number : 2115T

NB Global Monthly Income Fund Ltd

21 July 2022

 

21 July 2022

NB Global Monthly Income Fund Limited ("NBMI")

Dividend Policy Update and Dividend Declaration

The board of NB Global Monthly Income Fund ("NBMI") is pleased to announce a further increase to the Target Distribution[1] for the remainder of 2022 to a rate of 6.75% of Net Asset Value per annum[2] (net of fees and expenses) which equates to a target monthly distribution for the remainder of 2022 of £0.00467 per share paid monthly, equating to £0.05602 per share, per annum

The increased Target Distribution is equivalent to a 7.36% yield on the 19 July 2022 closing share price of 76.1 pence[3]and represents a 5.4% increase on the Target Distribution proposed on 28 April 2022.  The new Target Distribution will, for the remainder of the year, represent a level which is 19.7% higher than the total dividends paid in 2021. 

Rationale for Dividend Increase:

· Since the start of this year, the current yield of the portfolio has increased from 6.3% to 7.9% as of 30 June 2022.   The increase in portfolio yield can be attributed in part to the sharp rise in interbank funding rates upon which the majority of the assets in the portfolio are linked.  Examples of these rates and how they have increased are illustrated below:

	31 December 2021	15 July 2022
1 month USD Libor	0.1%	2.12%
3 month USD Libor	0.2%	2.74%

· In the coming months, the Investment Manager anticipates the current yield of the portfolio will increase further as the Libor and SOFR fixings reset progressively to these higher levels. 

· The rationale for the increase bears close resemblance to the items we described in our last dividend policy update announcement of 28^th April.  The improvement in current yield and associated dividend increase announced today is less a function of actions by the portfolio managers or a change in the overall risk profile of the fund, but rather primarily as described above associated with the shift higher in yields, particularly for USD denominated assets which represent over 80% of the portfolio. 

· As of 30 June 2022, the portfolio Yield to Maturity was 10.6%

Performance Update (as of 30 June 2022) - figures are returns based on NAV

	NB Global Monthly Income Fund (Net of Fees) %
Year to Date 2022	-9.31
Calendar year 2021	-7.70
Since Inception (30 Sep 2020) (annualised)	0.87

· In the opinion of the Investment Manager, the NAV performance of NBMI for the six months ending 30 June 2022 (net of fees) of -9.31% was a relatively favourable outcome considering the magnitude of drawdowns seen in most risk assets over the year-to-date period.  Below investment grade credit ended the six-month period as at 30 June 2022 with negative returns driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, markets calibrating how far the central banks need to go on rates to fight persistent inflation, slowing real economic activity and mixed earnings reports so far in 2022. That said, default rates remain well below average and just above all-time lows given that balance sheets are generally in good shape. While credit spreads widened given the risk aversion, floating rate loans saw lesser drawdowns than longer dated fixed income given the very low duration of the asset class and low default rates.

· NBMI's exposure to floating rate assets (66% as of 30 June 2022) in combination with credit selection-focused on issuers with more robust business models and those that could pass on price increases-as well as sector and credit quality rotations, all favourably impacted the relative investment results in the first half of 2022.

Dividend Declaration

In line with the updated dividend target, the Board announces an interim dividend of £0.00467 per Sterling ordinary share for the period 1 July 2022 to 31 July 2022.

The dividend will be payable on 12 August 2022 to ordinary shareholders on the register as at close of business on 29 July 2022.

The dividend timetable is set out below:

Ex-dividend date	28 July 2022
Dividend record date	29 July 2022
Ordinary Shareholders dividend payment date	12 August 2022

2022 Dividend Payment Dates

As previously confirmed, 2022 dividends will be paid on or around the 10th business day of the following month in arrears. The full schedule of record, ex-dividend, and payment dates for 2022 is available at  www.nbgmif.com  under 'Fund Analysis'.

The Board would like to take the opportunity to remind our shareholders that the Company became an "offshore fund" for the purposes of the UK's offshore fund tax rules. The Company applied to HMRC to treat the Company as a "reporting fund" for these purposes, details of which can be found in the EGM circular dated 17 August 2020 available at  www.nbgmif.com . Shareholders who are in any doubt as to their tax position should consult an independent professional adviser.

As notified in previous announcements, dividends declared by the Company are no longer being paid by cheque and will only be paid to shareholders electronically. Dividend confirmations are available on the Link Share Portal, at www.signalshares.com .

For further information, please contact:

Neuberger Berman Europe Limited (Manager) Elizabeth Papadopoulos	[phone]
Numis Securities Limited (Broker) Hugh Jonathan Matt Goss	[phone]
Sanne Fund Services (Guernsey) Limited (Company Secretary) Matt Falla Gemma Woods	[phone]
KL Communications (PR) Charles Gorman Will Sanderson	[phone]

About NBMI

The Company is a registered closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey. It is managed by Neuberger Berman Europe Limited, which has delegated certain of its responsibilities and functions to the AIFM, Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC, both of which are indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of Neuberger Berman Group LLC.

Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies-including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds-on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 25 countries, Neuberger Berman's diverse team has over 2,400 professionals.

For seven consecutive years, Neuberger Berman has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The PRI also awarded Neuberger Berman an A+ in every eligible category for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $437 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2021. For more information, please visit our website at  www.nb.com .

LEI: 549300P4FSBHZFALLG04

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[1] This is only a target distribution and may not be achieved. Actual distributions will be monitored against the Target Distribution. The Target Distribution will be reviewed at least annually (at the end of each financial year) and any amendment to the target will be announced via RNS as required.

[2] As of 18 July 2022

[3] As of 19 July 2022

 

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