Why invest in the Strategic Bond Fund?
- Exposure to the whole global fixed income market, with limited currency risks
- A blend of areas with more risk and reward, such as high yield and emerging markets, and safer assets such as government bonds and high-quality corporate bonds
- The managers aim to beat the IA Sterling Strategic Bond sector with lower-than-average volatility
- Identifying big, long-term themes about new technologies, consumer trends or macroeconomic changes and investing accordingly
Fund Overview
We buy bonds issued by companies, governments and non-governmental organisations all over the world. We aim to deliver a better return than the average UK-based strategic bond fund, after fees, over any five-year period. We also aim to limit our fund’s volatility to less than that of the average UK strategic bond fund by investing across all types of bond and interest-rate markets, both at home and overseas.
When picking corporate bonds, there are three assessments we make. First, we look at the economic environment to determine which industries we want to own and the duration, or sensitivity to interest rate changes, of our investments. Then we use the Four Cs Plus approach to evaluate creditworthiness. We assess:
- Character: Whether a company's managers have integrity and competence
- Capacity: Ensuring a company isn't over-borrowing and has the cash to pay its debts
- Collateral: Are there assets backing the loan, which reduces the risk of a loan
- Covenants: These loan agreements set out the terms of the bond and restrictions on the company
- The Plus: We think differently to the market; sometimes contrarian, sometimes sceptical of orthodox thinking, but always opinionated
Fund details
In Conversation September 2023
Manager Bryn Jones explains how his fund has been faring and outlines some of the key strategies that have helped returns. He discusses exploiting differences in global interest rate dynamics; ‘truffle hunting’ in high yield and more.
Meet the team
James Thomson
Fund manager and Executive director
James Thomson
Fund manager and Executive director
London
James has been the lead manager of the Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund since 2003; he was assistant manager of the fund at its inception in 2001. It is one of the top performing funds in the IA Global sector over that period. James joined Rathbones in 2000, having grown up on the island of Bermuda and graduating from Cornell University in New York. He sits on the Executive Committee of Rathbones Asset Management, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and holds the Investment Management Certificate. James is frequently quoted in the financial press and has won numerous fund management awards over his career.
James has been the lead manager of the Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund since 2003; he was assistant manager of the fund at its inception in 2001. It is one of the top performing funds in the IA Global sector over that period. James joined Rathbones in 2000, having grown up on the island of Bermuda and graduating from Cornell University in New York. He sits on the Executive Committee of Rathbones Asset Management, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and holds the Investment Management Certificate. James is frequently quoted in the financial press and has won numerous fund management awards over his career.
Sammy Dow
Fund manager
Sammy Dow
Fund manager
London
Sammy has been the lead manager of an institutional global equity fund managed by Rathbones since November 2018; he is also assistant fund manager on the Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund. He joined Rathbones in July 2014 from JPMorgan Cazenove, where he worked for 14 years in Pan-European Equity Sales providing both primary and secondary advice to hedge funds and institutional and private clients. Sammy has a Bachelor’s degree from Edinburgh University and completed a Master’s degree at Cambridge University in 2001.
Sammy has been the lead manager of an institutional global equity fund managed by Rathbones since November 2018; he is also assistant fund manager on the Rathbone Global Opportunities Fund. He joined Rathbones in July 2014 from JPMorgan Cazenove, where he worked for 14 years in Pan-European Equity Sales providing both primary and secondary advice to hedge funds and institutional and private clients. Sammy has a Bachelor’s degree from Edinburgh University and completed a Master’s degree at Cambridge University in 2001.
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