Alastair Mundy: New managed sector will not change strategy

Mr Mundy has opted to shift his flagship £2bn Investec Cautious Managed fund into the new IMA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector.

The sector requires funds to hold a minimum of 20 per cent in equities and not exceed 60 per cent. They are also obliged to hold at least 30 per cent in bonds or cash.

Mr Mundy’s fund was previously based in the IMA Cautious Managed sector and so was only required to invest no more than 60 per cent in equities, with no minimum limit on equities or bonds.

But the manager said he already holds a minimum of 35 per cent in both bonds and equities as an internal rule.

“So absolutely nothing needs to change in the way we run the fund,” Mr Mundy said.

The IMA has now announced the final list of funds that have elected to shift into each of its new managed sectors.

The trade body on November 30 announced it was moving in line with the Association of British Insurers and changing its existing Cautious, Balanced and Active managed sectors into four new sectors with fixed equity weighting limits.

However, the IMA has not launched the planned Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares sector after just eight funds asked to move into it, lower than the IMA’s 10-fund minimum.

Of those eight funds, five have opted to remain in the sector with the lowest equity weighting limits - Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares. One moved into IMA Specialist and two moved into IMA Unclassified.

The other two new managed sectors, IMA Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares and IMA Flexible Investment, have launched as planned.

Meanwhile, the IMA has also announced the members of its new Global Equity Income sector.

The sector has 19 members including Newton’s £2.1bn Global Higher Income fund and Veritas’s £1.5bn Global Equity Income fund.

Stuart Rhodes’s £1.6bn M&G Global Dividend fund has not opted to join the Global Equity Income sector.

Elsewhere, the IMA Money Market sector has been split into Money Market and Short Term Money Market sectors.