US bond fund manager sold 25% of assets in two months on danger signs

Singapore

JOHN Lekas's "sell" triggers helped the bond fund manager dodge some losses amid the worst month this year for distressed debt from emerging markets. They're now warning of more pain to come.

Mr Lekas, who oversees US$1.4 billion at Leader Capital Corp in Portland, Oregon, trimmed about a quarter of his holdings in the past two months based on his modelling's signals. That included Noble Group's 2020 notes before they fell almost 20 per cent. He's now buying short-term US Treasuries and predicting a deeper fallout in emerging markets.

"We sold about 25 per cent of our portfolio because things are not working out, it got too risky," said Mr Lekas. "I would have sold more - the liquidi…