Co-managers of the £1bn Artemis Strategic Bond fund Juan Valenzuela and Rebecca Young have exited the firm amid broader changes to the asset manager’s fixed income team, Portfolio Adviser has learned.
Abrdn’s Liam O’Donnell (pictured) has joined the Artemis fixed income team, with responsibility for rates and macro.
He will take over management of the Strategic Bond fund, being appointed alongside investment managers Grace Le and David Ennett.
Meanwhile, O’Donnell has also been named co-manager of the Artemis Target Return Bond fund, which Valenzuela co-managed with Stephen Snowden. Jack Holmes has also been named as a new manager on the strategy.
Artemis said it has also made two analyst hires over the summer and is actively recruiting for a senior high-yield analyst to bolster the team.
Valenzuela joined Artemis in February 2019, before being appointed manager of the strategy in November 2021 alongside Young. Artemis said he leaves to join a hedge fund in the new year.
Young joined Artemis in 2021 from Janus Henderson, where she held positions as co-manager of the Janus Henderson Horizon Strategic Bond and Preference & Bond funds.
Paras Anand, Artemis’ CIO, said: “We believe Liam O’Donnell’s appointment, along with the extra analyst hires, helps broaden and deepen the investment expertise we can deploy to manage fixed income assets.
“Many of our clients share Artemis’ long-term commitment to fixed income as a core, long-term element in portfolios. Liam’s appointment further strengthens our capabilities and over time will help enable us to enhance our offering in this space.’
Stephen Snowden added: ’We’d like to thank Juan and Rebecca for all the contributions they have made over their tenure to the firm and our clients. We wish them both well for the future.’
The Artemis Strategic Bond fund has returned 24.9% over the last decade, ahead of the IA Sterling Strategic Bond sector average of 22.1%, according to data from FE Fundinfo.
