Both new joiners will report into Rod Davidson, head of fixed income at Alliance Trust Investments.
Watson joins from Ignis where he has worked for the past 15 years, latterly as lead manager on the Ignis High Income Bond Fund.
Since his departure Adam Walker has taken over the High Income Bond Fund, an Ignis spokesperson said, he also co-manages the Corporate Bond Fund with Chris Bowie.
To the end of June the fund is second quartile over one year and top quartile year-to-date. Its longer track record is poorer, however, ranking it in the third quartile over three and five years.
Meanwhile, Daldry resigned from SWIP in June having joined the group in 2008 on its graduate programme.
Just one month earlier he had been appointed co-manager on the SWIP Absolute Return Bond Fund, after supporting James Carver on it for a year.
A spokesperson for SWIP said the fund had seen no negative impact since Daldry’s departure, increasing in AUM from £120m to £184m since he left and improving its performance from 50 percentile over one year in May to 40 percentile over one year in August.
Carver continues to manage the Absolute Return Bond Fund.
In their new roles at Alliance Trust Investments, Watson will focus on credit and high yield bonds, while Daldry with provide the group’s portfolios with financial credit analysis.
Katherine Garrett-Cox, CEO of Alliance Trust, said: “Fixed income is one of the three pillars upon which our product offering is built and ensuring that we have experienced and capable teams in these areas is a priority for the business.”