One of Schroders’ rising high yield stars, Michael Scott (pictured), has been poached by rival fund group Man GLG as it pursues a rapid expansion of its credit business.
Scott, who ran several big mandates for Schroders including the £739m High Yield Opportunities fund, has been brought onboard as a portfolio manager in Man GLG’s credit team where he will focus on developing an unconstrained global high yield strategy for the team.
He will also help the discretionary investment manager build up its overall high yield offering over time and support its existing multi-strategy credit portfolios.
Credit push
Man GLG has been aggressively boosting its credit profile lately. Roughly 40% or $14.4bn of its current $38.4bn in assets under management are in fixed income or credit strategies.
Earlier this month the fund group acquired Sanlam Four’s £290m Strategic Bond fund along with managers Craig Veysey and Francois Kotze.
It also hired Simon Finch from multi-strategy credit boutique CQS to serve in the newly created role of credit CIO. Scott will work closely with Finch in the firm’s London office.
Schroders’ loss
Commenting on Scott’s exit, Darius McDermott managing director of Chelsea Financial Services and FundCalibre said “Schroders’ loss is Man GLG’s gain”.
He said the recent acquisitions by Man GLG show it “is obviously very serious about bolstering its fixed income team” naming Scott and Veysey as high profile wins for the team.
“It’s an exciting new phase for Man GLG and those joining them,” said McDermott.
Scott is expected to remain with Schroders until mid Q4 2018.
He joined the FTSE 100 manager in 2006 initially working as a European industrials credit analyst looking at investment grade and high yield. He went on to manage the Schroders High Yield Opportunities and Strategic Bond funds and co-manage offshore vehicles Global High Yield and Global Credit Income funds, running roughly $4.2bn of client money.
High Yield Opportunities downgraded
McDermott said due to the management change, the High Yield Opportunities fund would be stripped of its ‘Elite’ ranking.
Scott’s High Yield Opportunities fund was a consistent top performer in the IA Sterling High Yield sector, landing in the first quartile over one, three and five years. Performance of his Strategic Bond fund was more mixed, with the fund finishing first quartile over one year and third over five years.
But McDermott noted that “Schroders has a very strong credit team” and that all of its managers, including Daniel Pearson and Konstantin Leidman, who will take over for Scott on the High Yield Opportunities mandate, use the same investment process.
Patrick Vogel will run the SISF Global Credit Income fund, which he co-managed with Scott, on his own and assume responsibility for the Strategic Bond fund.
Martha Metcalf will continue as lead manager of the SISF Global High Yield fund and Leidman will step in as co-manager.
A spokesperson from Schroders said on Scott’s exit: “We have a strong, team-based approach and a robust investment process, which is designed to ensure continuity in the management of our fixed income portfolios. We are confident that we will continue to deliver an excellent service to our clients within the portfolios affected by Michael’s departure.”
