The Venezuela Factor: Why High-Yield, Emerging-Market Debt Is Having a Moment

About this episode

The episode discusses the surge in Venezuela bonds and the investment strategies surrounding them.

Venezuela bonds were up 100% even before the US ousted President Nicolás Maduro. Then they went up another 30%. And one actively-managed exchange-traded fund was positioned perfectly after buying the bonds in 2025. On this episode of Trillions , Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Jim Craige, portfolio manager of the Virtus Stone Harbor Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF ($VEMY), and Damian Sassower, who oversees emerging markets fixed income for Bloomberg Intelligence. They discuss why Venezuela bonds are surging, how Stone Harbor gained exposure, Craig's overall investing strategy, and how a restructuring might work. They also take a brief tour of VEMY’s other holdings, including countries such as Lebanon and Ecuador that have also seen increased returns. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Eric Balchunas, Joel Weber

Guests: Jim Craige, Damian Sassower

Topics covered

• emerging market debt
• Venezuela bonds
• high-yield investing
• portfolio management
• restructuring

Keywords

• Venezuela
• high-yield debt
• emerging markets
• bond ETF
• investment strategy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Virtus Stone Harbor Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF

Places: Venezuela, Lebanon, Ecuador

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