Yousefian, whose former employer OPM Fund Management was acquired by City Financial in April last year, saw the assets of his £32m EFA OPM Fixed Interest Fund absorbed into the newly launched City Financial Diversified Fixed Interest Fund, which opened in January.
The OPM fund will continue to use Way Fund Managers as its authorised corporate director and will be run according to the same mandate and objectives.
It has returned 16.2% over three years against the IMA Property sector average of 10.4%, according to FE.
Charteris' CEO Ian Williams' former Strategic Gilt mandate was also merged last November into City Financial’s larger Defensive Global Bond fund, run by Graham Glass.
Completing the range
Charteris is also preparing to bring a strategic bond and global special situations multi-asset fund to market in June.
Yousefian and Williams will co-manage the former – a fully flexible mandate, drawing on Yousefian’s multi-manager capabilities by investing in other bond funds, as well as direct fixed interest securities. He will take responsibility for the bulk of the corporate portfolio while Williams will lead on the government book and managing duration risk.
The special situations fund will be run by Terry Farrow – a flexible product investing "across G7 government bonds at one end or equities from around the world at the other."
Williams said the fund's flexible nature will prevent it having to introduce the use of "expensive put options" if equity markets collapse.
"If the asset class goes down, so many funds lose a lot of money, yet we could have the ability to liquidate and buy a lot of two-year gilts, for example, without end investors getting stung for a CGT bill," he added.
Aligned and consistent
Williams and Nick Taylor currently co-manage the Way Charteris Gold & Precious Metals and the Elite Charteris Premium Income funds.
All the products will be renamed as sub-funds of the Charteris Oeic, set to complete later this month as ACD Way rebrands to Fund Partners, following the acquisition of IFDS Managers last April. Their custody will move from State Street to Northern Trust.
Yousefian said he was looking forward to joining a small boutique structure that enabled quick, efficient decision making.
"With 35 years' experience in the equity and fixed income markets, Ian is one of the most experienced and most talented managers working in the fund management field today. I am thrilled to be joining Ian and the team at this time. I would like to wish all my former colleagues at City Financial the very best for the future, and am looking forward to the challenge ahead," he added.
