BondsOct 18 2017

Charteris launches bond fund

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Charteris launches bond fund

Charteris Treasury Portfolio Managers will launch a strategic bond fund managed by the firm’s chief investment officer, Ian Williams.

Mr Williams, who is also the company's chairman, said the HC Charteris Strategic Bond fund is being created on the premise that bond markets have “peaked” and are "grotesquely overvalued".

He said: "As a result, there is a crying need for defensive strategies which the HC Charteris Strategic Bond fund aims to address."

The fund will invest in floating rate notes, a type of bond with an interest rate that moves as interest rates and inflation rises, and government bonds with an extremely short date to maturity. Such bonds offer protection against rising interest rates.

The new fund is the first Charteris-branded bond product launched in the London-based boutique's 35-year history.

Before joining Charteris, Mr Williams worked as a government bond trader at Chase Manhattan and Guinness Mahon.

In addition to his current responsibilities, Mr Williams also runs the £19m Charteris Gold and Precious Metals fund which delivered a 133.9 per cent gain in 2016.

The company said this made it the best performing fund across all of the Investment Association sectors in 2016.

Patrick Connolly, a financial planner at Chase De Vere said: “I’m not sure that the best way for investors to mitigate the impact of a possible long-term bear market in the fixed income sector is to invest in a fixed income fund.

"There is also a very tentative link between this fund launch and Charteris claiming to be the top performing London boutique.

"The Strategic Bond sector is very competitive and has a number of good quality proven managers and investment teams. We prefer to use established funds where we have a good idea of what we’re going to get, rather than taking a chance on a new fund launch."

david.thorpe@ft.com