Nedgroup Investments has launched a new global strategic bond fund for manager duo Alex Ralph and David Roberts.
Ralph and Roberts announced they had joined the firm last year and will run the fund under their own boutique – Palomar Fixed Income.
The fund will focus on interest rate and credit risk, within an unlevered core global bond portfolio that emphasises liquidity. The managers will avoid lower-quality bonds which are illiquid.
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Ralph spent over 15 years at Artemis, where she set up and managed the £1.8bn Artemis Strategic Bond fund, while Roberts spent 14 years at Aegon Asset Management as head of fixed income and retired in 2022 as head of global bonds at Liontrust.
Ralph said: “We believe the current market offers the perfect opportunity for bond investors to go back to the core, whereby bonds now constitute the value part of a portfolio.
“Many leading bond funds have chased growth, but we will restrict equity-like assets such as high yield, EM and subordinated debt as investors will need to broaden their risk approach in this new regime.”
Roberts added: “Bond markets can be inefficient and often deviate away from their fair value. Our value-driven philosophy and nimble portfolio management means that investors will benefit from a combination of long-term capital growth and income.”
