Calich joined M&G in October from Invesco and will be supported by Matthew Russell, who remains as deputy manager on the £32.5m fund.
The move will allow Riddell, who has managed the fund since 2010 to focus on global government bonds and currencies in his capacity as manager of the International Sovereign Bond and Index-Linked Bond funds, and as deputy manager of the Global Macro Bond, Gilt and Fixed Interest Income funds.
At Invesco, Calich was head of emerging markets and senior portfolio manager.
The M&G Emerging Markets Bond fund invests in debt instruments across the spectrum of emerging market borrowers, with no currency exposure restrictions.
The group said Riddell, who took over the fund in 2010, was instrumental in updating its investment objective in 2012, allowing it full flexibility of investing in sovereign and corporate debt issued in both hard and local currencies.
Head of retail fixed interest Jim Leaviss said: “With over 20 years of emerging market debt experience we believe that Claudia is well placed to manage the M&G Emerging Markets Bond fund. Mike has done a fantastic job, especially since the fund mandate was changed in mid-2012 and the change of fund manager simply reflects our existing approach to allocating our talent to where it will be of most value.”
According to FE data, M&G Emerging Market Bond has returned 43.4% over five years to 29 November, outperforming the IMA Global Bond sector's rise of 39.7%.
