American Century Investments’ Greenblath Appears on ETF Prime Podcast

In the latest appearance for an American Century Investments leader, Jason Greenblath appeared on the ETF Prime Podcast. Greenblath, vice president, senior portfolio manager and director of Corporate Credit Research for American Century Investments, joined the podcast’s host, Nate Geraci, to discuss active fixed income in the near to medium term.

See more: American Century’s Greenblath Talks Corporate Bonds, Yields

Greenblath, who joined the firm in 2019 and manages three different active fixed income ETFs, leads the Corporate Markets team and is a member of the Global Fixed Income Investment Committee. He talked to Geraci about the opportunities available in fixed income with active fixed income ETFs right now.

Greenblath spoke to Geraci on a number of topics including what’s driving the growth of fixed income ETFs, the value added by active managers, and the overall fixed income landscape.

“So we launched our first active ETF about eight years ago, and I think we were one of the innovators, particularly in fixed income,” Greenblath said. “I think if you go back roughly three decades since ETFs were developed, a lot of it was…‘let me get exposure to the S&P 500 and equities, let me get exposure to the US Agg. in fixed income…something that gives me a benchmark exposure.’”

“I think that from our experience and from speaking with clients, there’s more to it than that,” he added, pointing to the different desires investors have when looking at fixed income. “There’s more desire to have thematic exposure within fixed income.”

Where Active Fixed Income Can Help

Some, he said, want high yield or emerging markets, while others may not want more than eight years of duration. Those investors may want more than just benchmark-friendly strategies that lean heavily on Treasurys or government debt.

“What I think ourselves and our competitors are after is, what else is out there beyond just investing in an index that’s really Treasury or government-lite?” he said.

He further pointed to a few notable advantages for active in fixed income. A key factor, he explained, relates to the events that can see certain debt come due earlier than expected. If a five-year corporate bond or seven-year high yield bond comes due, or perhaps earlier, he said, if events cause it, firms may need to refinance early.

“Because of that, there’s a very active component to what we refer to as the primary market. That’s where companies come, they work with their underwriters to issue new debt,” Greenblath said. “That new debt doesn’t go into the index until the end of the month. For active managers like ourselves, one area where we can add value…is we can participate in new issues.”

Furthermore, he said, with new issuance a major part of the fixed income market, active managers’ ability to get into that space before the index can help them outperform. Overall, he noted, active management can help managers look for fixed income mispriced in other ways. For example, when firms fall out of certain indexes because some but not all of their credit ratings drop, active managers can step in.

“That could be an opportunity for active managers to to take advantage of where it sort of falls into what we refer to as no man’s land,” Greenblath said. “So because of these index dynamics, the rules around indices, when new bonds come in, when they come out, activities such as mergers and acquisitions — there’s a lot of activity for us as active managers to sink our teeth into to find mispricing.”

American Century and the Yield Curve

Looking ahead, Greenblath spoke to views on fixed income in the next year. He spoke to some risks in 2026 and how that may impact the yield curve. Answering Geraci’s questions, Greenblath pointed to a potential inflation and reinflation scenario driven by rate cuts, potential stimulus money, and an overall growth environment.

“And what’s going to happen? The curve is going to steepen, and you could see higher long term interest rates,” he said. “So one of our views…is being short the long end of the curve. Why? Because we think that it’s vulnerable to a re-inflation scenario.”

“I think that when you’re in this tight environment and uncertain growth slash inflation environment, I think your listeners should really be, you know, considering something in the front to intermediate part of the curve,” he added.

American Century Investments offers a variety of fixed income ETFs that can help investors craft their own bespoke debt allocations. The firm offers the American Century Diversified Corporate Bond ETF (KORP), for example.

KORP charges a 29 basis point fee to actively invest in U.S. corporate debt. The fund has returned 8.3% YTD per ETF Database data.

“It fits with with our recommendation [of]predominantly investment grade corporates,” he said of the fund on the podcast. “And I say predominantly — we can go from 0 to 35% in high yield. I think that that gives us a band of a range of opportunities to capture.”