INVESCO TACTICAL BOND (UK) Z

Investment Process

Managers Stuart Edwards and Julien Eberhardt look to invest around the world, although at least 80% of the fund’s assets will be in sterling or hedged back to it. There are no formal asset allocation constraints, with the managers able to invest in cash, sovereign debt, quality, and higher-yielding corporate bonds. The process begins with a top-down approach, where the team looks at the general direction and structure of interest rates and any trends within pricing credit risk. This guides the team’s duration and sector calls as well as individual bond selection. This is followed by a bottom-up process looking at the strengths and weaknesses of targeted bonds. The team consider factors such as credit ratings, management and competitive position, capital structure, debt, cash flow and covenants. There then follows a value and risk assessment, taking into account variables such as interest rates, currency, and liquidity. The broad asset allocation is determined by the macro view of the team and is the result of office- wide discussion and debate. However, the managers have the final say on portfolio construction.