Three months on from M&G Investments announcing that Riddell would be leaving after 12 years at the firm, Allianz unveiled him as their latest signing.
Riddell will serve as manager of the Allianz Gilt Yield and Sterling Total Return vehicles – which are currently outsourced to PIMCO but will be brought in-house on 30 November – while also being part of a push into the UK fixed income space.
“It makes sense to have a UK-focused part of our overall European fixed income heritage,” an Allianz spokesperson said. “We are currently under-represented in terms of on-the-ground UK fixed income expertise, and Riddell can really complement what we have already.”
But what do industry experts think this means for the funds and, perhaps more importantly, for AllianzGI’s fixed income offering?
“We own both the Gilt Yield and one of the M&G funds that Riddell used to run,” said Meera Hearnden, senior investment analyst at Parmenion Investment Management.
“I cannot see there being too much change in the actual objectives of the funds, but it seems that there will be some change to the process. The positive is there will be easier access to the fund manager as opposed to contacting an external company, which is much better for UK investors.
“With the funds outsourced to PIMCO there may have been some difficulties in terms of administrating the fund and the investment process. By bringing the funds and expertise in-house there will continuity in the process across the board.”
Robin Johnson, Morningstar’s head of portfolio management EMEA, holds Riddell in high regard, but is also uncertain whether losing Mike Amey will prove to be positive for the Gilt Yield fund.
He said: “Mike Riddell did a great job on M&G Gilt & Fixed Interest Income earlier this year by mixing around duration to take advantage of yield curve movements, which other gilt funds were not doing.
“It is a great move financially for Allianz, though not necessarily in the interests of underlying investors, because Amey has been running that strategy for a long time.
“We have a high opinion of the Amey version of that fund, so we have make an assessment of what it is going to be like going forward. We certainly do not think it is going to be exactly the same fund.”
Allianz outlined being “under-represented on the ground” as the chief driver of the decision to expand its UK fixed income business, and Chris Mayo, investment director at Wellian Investment Solutions, believes that hiring a reputable name is an ideal start.
“Riddell is a good hire with which to start expanding the fixed income capability,” he said. “If you want to bring in someone to drive the expansion then it needs to be a name that has a track-record and people know about.
Rob Burdett, co-head of F&C’s multi manager team, added: “I do not actually know too much about Allianz’s fixed income presence, which perhaps in itself explains why they want to grow their UK capability.
“It is an eye-catching appointment for Allianz, and a number of people will put the funds on their radar and watch how the story develops. Riddell has seen how to build a successful, tight-knit team while he was at M&G, and perhaps that is something he will be doing at Allianz.”
However, both Johnson and Mayo cast doubt on whether Allianz’s current set-up is conducive to constructing a robust UK fixed income arm.
