While equity markets have been plummeting downwards, fixed income has also taken a battering of a different sort. But a quartet of MacKay Shields managers are offering a winning alternative with an investment philosophy that seeks to protect investors from the downside in the high-yield market.

The MacKay Shields $3.7bn High Yield Active Core strategy has returned an annualised 23.4% per annum over the past three years, according to Camradata, making it the best-performing strategy within the corporate bond sector.