PGAUX
PGIM ESG High Yield Fund
Prudential Investment Portfolios, Inc. 15
Expense ratio1
1.51%
Net assets2
$26.33M
Holdings2
6
Category
Other
2024 return3
6.93%

Investment objective & strategy

As of Oct. 29, 2024 · prospectus

Objective. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek total return, through a combination of current income and capital appreciation.

Strategy. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective while applying an environmental, social and governance (ESG) methodology developed by the Funds subadviser in the selection of portfolio investments. The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its investable assets in a diversified portfolio of high yield fixed income instruments that, at the time of investment, are included in the investable universe based on the subadvisers ESG methodology described below. For purposes of this policy, high yield fixed income instruments include fixed income instruments rated Ba or lower by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's) or BB or lower by S&P Global Ratings (S&P), and instruments either comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO), or considered by … The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective while applying an environmental, social and governance (ESG) methodology developed by the Funds subadviser in the selection of portfolio investments. The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its investable assets in a diversified portfolio of high yield fixed income instruments that, at the time of investment, are included in the investable universe based on the subadvisers ESG methodology described below. For purposes of this policy, high yield fixed income instruments include fixed income instruments rated Ba or lower by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's) or BB or lower by S&P Global Ratings (S&P), and instruments either comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO), or considered by the subadviser to be of comparable quality, that is, junk bonds, and other investments (including derivatives) with similar economic characteristics. In selecting the Funds portfolio investments, the subadviser incorporates proprietary ESG criteria and employs third-party screening services as described in more detail below. The term investable assets refers to the Funds net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes. The Funds investable assets will be less than its total assets to the extent that it has borrowed money for non-investment purposes, such as to meet anticipated redemptions. The subadvisers ESG methodology begins with exclusionary screening, and then applies a proprietary scoring methodology focusing on factors that impact the environment and society, which include governance factors (ESG Impact Ratings), to construct the Funds portfolio. First, the subadviser will use third-party screening agents to exclude from all potential portfolio investments issuers that do not meet the subadvisers investment criteria (which may be updated periodically). Such excluded issuers currently include: (i) those with exposure to controversial weapons (e.g., anti-personnel mines, biological and chemical weapons, cluster weapons, incendiary weapons, depleted uranium, nuclear weapons, and white phosphorus) and those with revenue above a certain threshold (as determined by the subadviser, which generally range from 5% to 20%, with the exception of gambling, which normally has a threshold of 50%) from conventional weapons (e.g., civilian firearms (such as guns, rifles, and pistols or components of these), military equipment, and service providers to civilian firearms and/or military equipment), tobacco, thermal coal generation and extraction, oil sands extraction and processing, artic oil and gas extraction and gambling activities; (ii) issuers that have carbon emissions activities above a certain emission intensity as determined by the subadviser; and (iii) issuers that are non-compliant with UN Global Compact principles. When selecting securities for the Fund, the subadviser seeks to ensure that the weighted average carbon intensity score of the portfolio as a whole is lower than the weighted average carbon intensity score of the Bloomberg US High Yield 1% Issuer Capped Index (the Relevant Index). The carbon intensity scores are calculated by the third party screening agent, who may not provide a carbon intensity score for each security in the Fund and Relevant Index. The average carbon intensity score of the Fund and the Relevant Index includes only securities that have carbon intensity scores. The principles of the UN Global Compact represent a set of values that the UN believes responsible businesses should incorporate into their operations in order to meet fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. To the extent an issuers status changes to meet the qualification for exclusion, the subadviser may take steps to divest its holdings of the issuer within a reasonable period of time after the issuers change in status. This screening criteria is subject to change over time at the subadvisers discretion. Next, the subadviser assigns each potential investment an ESG Impact Rating (where possible). The subadviser assesses the type of investment and structure, and the ESG Impact Ratings are developed based on research and due diligence, including review of publicly available information as well as information from alternative data sources (e.g., non-governmental organization (NGO) analyses, governmental and inter-governmental studies, etc.) and third-party research and tools. The subadviser may supplement this information and adjust a rating based on direct engagement with the issuer. The ESG Impact Rating is assigned by assessing the impact of the following factors: environmental (e.g., reduction of environmental pollution, waste management, water consumption and climate change mitigation) and social (e.g., human rights, employee rights, health and safety and community relations). Governance factors (e.g., effective management and business conduct) are integrated into the assessment of factors that impact the environment and society. Issuers that score well with respect to these factors generally receive higher ESG Impact Ratings. While the subadviser considers ESG factors when evaluating an issuer, only one or two of these categories may be considered with respect to a particular investment or sector, and categories may be weighted differently according to the type of investment being considered. The subadviser seeks to assign each investment opportunity an ESG Impact Rating on a 100-point scale in 5-point increments, with 0 as the lowest and 100 as the highest ESG Impact Rating. An overall aggregated, or composite, ESG Impact Rating is also calculated, with ESG factors weighted differently depending on the industry. The ESG Impact Ratings are determined prior to purchase and reviewed at least annually. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will not purchase securities of issuers that have ESG Impact Ratings that are below a threshold established by the subadviser, except that the Fund may purchase a Green Bond from certain issuers whose securities may otherwise be excluded based on ESG Impact Ratings. A Green Bond is a type of fixed income instrument specifically earmarked to raise money for climate and environmental projects. The subadviser will seek to divest within a reasonable period of time from investments for which the ESG Impact Rating falls below the thresholds established by the subadviser. The subadviser may determine that there is not sufficient information available to assign an ESG Impact Rating with respect to certain securities and/or issuers. Up to 5% of the Funds total assets may normally comprise investments without ESG Impact Ratings. The subadviser may periodically update its ESG Impact Rating methodology. After identifying the relevant investable universe based on its ESG methodology (i.e., screening and application of ESG Impact Ratings), the subadviser then selects securities for the Fund using a combination of top-down economic analysis and bottom-up research in conjunction with proprietary quantitative models and risk management systems. In the top-down economic analysis, the subadviser develops views on economic, policy and market trends by continually evaluating economic data that affect the movement of markets and securities prices. In its bottom-up research, the subadviser develops an internal rating and outlook on issuers. The rating and outlook are determined based on a thorough review of the financial health and trends of the issuer, which includes a review of the composition of revenue, profitability, cash flow margin, and leverage, as well as an assessment of the issuer's corporate governance (e.g., ownership structures and board effectiveness). The subadviser may also consider investment factors such as expected total return, yield, spread and potential for price appreciation as well as credit quality, maturity and risk. The Fund may invest in a security based upon the expected total return rather than the yield of such security. When selecting securities for the Fund, the subadviser seeks to ensure that the weighted average ESG Impact Rating of the portfolio as a whole is higher than the weighted average ESG Impact Rating of the Relevant Index. The subadviser may not provide ESG Impact Ratings for certain securities in the Relevant Index, which under normal market conditions may be up to 15% of the Relevant Index. The average ESG Impact Rating of the Relevant Index includes only securities that have been rated. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its investable assets in U.S. currency-denominated fixed income securities of foreign governments and other foreign issuers, including Brady Bonds, which are long-term bonds issued by developing nations, and preferred stock. The Fund may also invest up to 10% of its investable assets in foreign currency-denominated fixed income securities issued by foreign or domestic issuers. Foreign government fixed income securities include securities issued by quasi-governmental entities, governmental agencies, supranational entities and other governmental entities. The Fund's investments in foreign issuers may include issuers located anywhere in the world, including emerging markets. From time to time the Funds investments may be concentrated in a geographic region or country. The Fund may use various derivative strategies to try to improve the Funds returns. The subadviser may also use hedging techniques to try to protect the Funds assets. Although the Fund has the flexibility to make use of derivatives, it may choose not to for a variety of reasons, even under very volatile market conditions.

Allocation by sector

As of February 28, 2025 · N-PORT
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Portfolio moves

Nov 29, 2024 → Feb 28, 2025
Opened
0
Exited
370
Increased
1
Decreased
0
Unchanged
5

How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.

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Footnotes

  1. Expense ratio as of October 29, 2024, from the fund's prospectus.
  2. Net assets and holdings count as of February 28, 2025, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
  3. Total return for calendar year 2024, before tax and after fund expenses. Computed by compounding the twelve monthly total returns the fund reported in its SEC N-PORT filings for 2024 (the latest prospectus does not yet chart this year).

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