Advantus Adopts High-Yield Mortgage Strategy

Advantus Capital Management, St. Paul, Minn., has announced the launch of a high-yield mortgage investment strategy and the hiring of Dean Di Bias as the portfolio manager to oversee it. Mr. Di Bias was most recently with GMAC-RFC in Bloomington, Minn., where he was managing director and senior vice president of credit portfolio management. "The timing to enter this market is excellent because spreads have widened substantially on residential and commercial mortgage securities rated AAA to BB-minus," said Chris Sebald, executive vice president and chief investment officer at Advantus. "Yield spreads on many mortgage securities are very wide, creating substantial value." Advantus said the securitization markets have been so damaged by fallout from the housing downturn that the company believes premiums to invest in the sector "will remain attractive for some time to come." Advantus can be found online at http://www.advantuscapital.com.