Jupiter has handed the reins of a new global sovereign bond fund to Ariel Bezalel’s assistant manager Vikram Aggarwal as it continues shaking up its fixed income division.
Aggarwal (pictured) joined Jupiter in 2013 and has been assisting on the £4.3bn Jupiter Strategic Bond and the €8bn Jupiter Dynamic Bond Sicav since 2017, working alongside lead manager Bezalel and fund manager Harry Richards.
He will run the just launched Jupiter Global Sovereign Opportunities fund which invests in both developed and emerging market countries with the aim of generating income and capital growth over the medium to long term.
Though the bulk of the fund will be held in hard and local currency sovereign bonds Aggarwal will follow an unconstrained approach and can seek out quasi-sovereigns and special situation opportunities as well as the broader credit universe, rates and FX.
ESG considerations will also form part of Aggarwal’s top-down macroeconomic analysis and bottom-up country research approach, Jupiter said in a press release.
Against the heightened uncertainty and volatile backdrop triggered by the coronavirus crisis, Aggarwal said an active and flexible portfolio of sovereign debt is a “compelling risk-adjusted investment opportunity”.
“Sovereign debt is the largest and most liquid segment of the fixed income universe with a lower rate of default than corporate credit historically,” Aggarwal said. “By taking a high conviction approach we hope to offer clients a good option during this crisis, and beyond it.”
The Jupiter Global Sovereign Opportunities fund will sit within Jupiter’s flexible fixed income strategy, which oversees £4bn in sovereign debt securities chiefly via Bezalel’s Jupiter Strategic and Dynamic Bond funds.
Aggarwal will be supported by Jupiter’s 19-strong fixed income team as well as the company’s broader risk management framework.
Jupiter chief investment officer Stephen Pearson said the fund was a “natural next step” for Jupiter as it builds out its fixed income capabilities and for Aggarwal who has a “proven track record” across Jupiter’s flagship flexible bond funds to take the lead.
“Sovereign research has been a key contributor to the ongoing success of our unconstrained bond strategy and our talented fixed income research team are well versed in selecting the very best opportunities in this space,” Pearson said. “We are excited to now offer clients a dedicated fund in what is and will continue to be a very important asset class.”
See also: Merian bond team shunned by Jupiter to join Premier Miton
Before bedding down its acquisition of Merian Global Investors earlier this month, Jupiter unveiled a revamped product range with notable chops and changes, including Merian Corporate Bond managers Lloyd Harris and Simon Prior being replaced by Jupiter managers Richards, who works on the Strategic Bond and Dynamic Bond funds, and Adam Darling. Merian Emerging Market Debt manager Delphine Arrighi was also replaced by Jupiter’s Alejandro Arevalo.
The Jupiter Strategic Bond fund is in the top quartile of the IA Sterling Strategic Bond sector over six months and the second quartile over one, three and five years. The Sicav version of the fund, Jupiter Dynamic Bond, had been the source of £4.4bn of outflows from the fund group in 2018 as Bezalel took a more cautious view of the market.
See also: Jupiter Dynamic Bond woes down to ‘flighty’ European investors
