Baillie Gifford has changed the investment objective on its £1.3bn Managed fund in a move that opens the door to direct investing.
The investment objective on the portfolio, run by Iain McCombie and Steven Hay, has been amended to reflect the management team’s decision to buy some assets directly, rather than taking exposure via other Baillie Gifford portfolios.
James Budden, director of retail marketing and distribution at the asset manager, said: “The fund’s investment objective and policy has been updated to make it clear that it is now taking direct exposure to bonds, derivatives and emerging market equities, rather than via Baillie Gifford funds as before.”
The new objective will not affect fees on the fund, which carries an ongoing charge of 0.45 per cent, but comes at a time when a number of multi-asset investors have been going direct, with cost considerations among the driving factors. Portfolios run by the likes of Old Mutual Global Investors, Investec and Rathbones have increased their focus on direct investing as of late, partly due to fee pressure.
Some asset allocators have been moving the other way when it comes to fixed income. Earlier this year Investment Adviser reported that some discretionary fund managers had begun to swap direct bond holdings for passive fixed income products.
The Baillie Gifford Managed fund seeks to produce returns by combining stockpicking from its regional equity portfolios with the “best ideas” from its fixed income teams.
