M&G UK INFLATION LINKED CORPORATE BOND I

Investment Process

Lord invests in inflation-linked corporate bonds and government inflation-linked bonds, but the main exposure is to synthetic inflation-linked corporate bonds. These combine index-linked government bonds with investment grade credit default swaps. The investment process combines both top-down macroeconomic analysis with bottom-up stock selection. Lord starts with looking at economic growth forecasts, the regulatory environment and duration and yield curve positioning. He then turns to asset allocation by credit rating. These decisions are broken down into four buckets: government bonds, investment grade credit, high yield credit and derivatives i.e., inflation swaps. The final stage of the process is sector and stock selection. The research team carries out detailed fundamental analysis on bonds within their dedicated sectors and publish their research note, along with an internal credit rating. They then present their recommendations to the portfolio managers, who also assess valuation, liquidity profile and covenants. Lord will not invest in emerging market debt. The fund can have up to 5% in bond issuers rated AAA-BBB and up to 3% in issuers rated BB and below. It can also have up to 2.5% per issuer in investment grade structured credit and up to 1.5% per issuer in high yield structured credit.