American Century eyes global bond fund biz

American Century Investments is discussing launching global bond funds for international and U.S. investors. The fund company began expanding internationally two years ago and now has offices in Hong Kong and London. The U.S. company sees an increase in demand for global bond funds from investors abroad and domestically, said G. David MacEwen, senior vice president and chief investment officer for fixed income. “We don't have a specific region we are going to focus on, but we do want to do global bond funds,” he said. The firm doesn't have a timetable for when it will file to launch the funds. American Century joins Janus Capital Group Inc, which also is planning to launch a number of global fixed-income funds for both non-U.S. and U.S. advisers in the coming months. Global bond funds have taken in $23.76 billion in net flows so far this year, bringing the total to $121.29 billion, according to Morningstar Inc. “With the dollar in free fall, more investors are looking to invest in global bond funds,” said Don Phillips, director of research at Morningstar. One caveat: Advisers need to make sure that investors understand what they are investing in when they choose global bond funds, Mr. Phillips said. “Americans are crummy at understanding currency risk because the typical American travels outside the United States only a handful of times,” Mr. Phillips said. “Advisers just have to make sure that they are not being sold solely on the basis of the category's recent success.”