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The High Yield Market has been uncharacteristically challenged despite a healthy domestic economy and rising rate environment. This unique Fed tightening cycle triggers the need to invest more dynamically with floating rate capabilities augmenting high conviction credit ideas and providing a framework to outperform in Fixed Income.

Rodney Rayburn is a portfolio manager responsible for the Credit Opportunities Strategy in the Fixed Income Division at T. Rowe Price. He is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.

Mr. Rayburn has 18 years of investment experience, three of which has been at T. Rowe Price. Prior to joining the firm in 2014, he spent five years as a managing director at Värde Partners in Minneapolis, where he was actively involved in performing and nonperforming loans, bonds, and reorganized equities across a variety of industries. Prior to that, Mr. Rayburn was a senior investment analyst at Stark Investments in Milwaukee.

Mr. Rayburn earned a B.S. in economics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. in finance and economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Michael Lesesne is a global high yield portfolio specialist in the Fixed Income Division at T. Rowe Price. He supports the High Yield, Bank Loan, and Credit Opportunities Strategies, working closely with clients, prospects, and consultants. Mr. Lesesne is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.

Mr. Lesesne has 26 years of investment experience, five of which have been with T. Rowe Price. Prior to joining the firm in 2012, Mr. Lesesne was a partner and director of credit research at Lord Abbett and, before that, a senior high yield credit analyst at Weiss, Peck & Greer and TIAA-CREF.

Mr. Lesesne earned a B.A. in business economics from Brown University  and an M.B.A. in finance from Columbia Business School.

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has been managing money since 1937 and, today, stands as a leading provider of investment management services. We offer providers a broad array of active U.S. and non-U.S. equity and fixed-income strategies, through both retail and institutional mutual funds. We emphasize proprietary, fundamental research; close attention to risk management; and consistency of style. We believe that by doing so, we can continue to provide the solid, long-term risk-adjusted performance investors have the right to expect. A financially sound, independent organization with strong employee ownership, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has $1.01 Trillion in assets under management as of March 31, 2018.