Bestinvest says
Christine Johnson become the fund manager for this fund in April 2011 replacing Stephen Snowden, who left Old Mutual after seven years to rejoin former employer Aegon. Johnson also manages Old Mutual's Dynamic Bond fund. Whilst we like the flexibility of mandate that this fund has, the manager lacks the appropriate length of track record to quality for a Bestinvest rating.
Of our recommended funds in the Sterling Corporate Bond sector the five star rated Royal London Corporate Bond Trust offers the nearest equivalent investment philosophy.
This UK corporate bond fund has one of the most flexible mandates within its peer group. This allows the manager to aggressively rotate between different bonds and sectors and manage interest rate risk (duration and yield cure management) to drive returns. Portfolio risk is monitored by reference to tracking error relative to the reference benchmark, the iBoxx £ Non Gilt Index, and the peer group. Whilst the manager will take into account the market's appetite for risk in determining the portfolio asset allocation and interest rate sensitivity, the emphasis tends to be on credit selection and sector rotation to drive returns (i.e. the fund can take big bets relative to the benchmark in these areas), where the manager is more confident she can consistently generate positive relative returns.