Abhijeet Patwardhan serves as Partner, Portfolio Manager, and Co-Director of Research for the FPA New Income Fund, bringing over 15 years of experience at FPA since joining in 2010. He assumed sole management responsibilities in July 2022 when Thomas Atteberry retired from co-managing the fund, leading the strategy through a period of significant market opportunity following what was described as 'the worst bond market in a century.' Prior to joining FPA, Patwardhan gained valuable institutional investment experience as an investment analyst at Reservoir Capital Group and D.B. Zwirn & Co., as well as investment banking experience at UBS Warburg and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. His educational credentials include a Bachelor's degree in Economics earned summa cum laude and an MBA from the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Under his management, the fund has maintained its exceptional track record of capital preservation while positioning to capture attractive opportunities in the fixed income markets. His leadership coincided with the strategic decision to reopen the fund to new investors in July 2022 after it had been closed since 2020, demonstrating his ability to identify and capitalize on market dislocations. Patwardhan's approach combines rigorous fundamental analysis with disciplined risk management, maintaining the fund's philosophy of winning by not losing while adapting to changing market conditions. His tenure has been marked by consistent application of the fund's absolute value approach and commitment to the long-term investment horizon that has characterized FPA's investment philosophy since the firm's founding in 1954.

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The FPA New Income Fund operates under the core philosophy of 'WINNING BY NOT LOSING,' emphasizing capital preservation while seeking long-term total return through both income generation and capital appreciation. The fund employs a fundamental, bottom-up, absolute value approach across both investment-grade and non-investment grade U.S. debt securities without sector constraints. The strategy emphasizes rigorous risk management using a 100 basis point duration stress test to identify bonds offering breakeven or positive returns even if interest rates rise significantly. Portfolio construction maintains flexibility with minimum 75% investment in high-quality assets rated A- or higher, allowing up to 25% in credit assets rated BBB+ or lower based on market conditions. The fund typically holds investments to maturity unless valuations increase to levels well above par, generally purchasing cash bonds without relying on derivatives to build or manage exposures. The approach takes a contrarian stance, favoring higher quality and longer duration to capture attractive real yields when most active bond funds are taking more credit risk and less interest rate risk. The fund aims for positive absolute returns over 12-month periods and seeks to outperform inflation plus 100 basis points over five-year periods. Since inception in 1984, the fund has produced positive returns in 97% of rolling 12-month periods and has never lost money in any calendar year. The investment philosophy emphasizes that it is never possible to know with certainty the future path of interest rates, leading to a disciplined approach that avoids speculative positioning amid uncertain economic conditions.

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