Kames Capital wins high yield bond mandate

Kames Capital has been appointed to run a £44 million global high yield bond mandate for the University of Edinburgh Endowment Fund.
 
The £300 million Fund is the third-largest educational endowment fund in the UK. Its investment objective is to grow its assets by maintaining capital in real terms, while providing an annual income to support the activities of the numerous endowments.
 
Kames Capital is one of the UK’s leading high yield bond fund managers’ with £1.8 billion invested in dedicated global high yield portfolios. These are co-managed by Philip Milburn and Claire McGuckin, who are supported by high yield specialists Stephen Baines, Debbie King and Mark Benbow. The team also draws upon the research of our 27-strong fixed income team.
 
In May Kames Capital was named High Yield Bond Manager of the Year at the 2015 Pension and Investment Provider Awards. Now in their 16th year, these awards are organised by Pensions Expert, the Financial Times’ specialist publication for UK workplace pensions. They recognise excellence from providers of products and services to UK pension schemes. Entries are judged on performance, innovation and service.
 
Kames Capital leads its institutional peers for global high yield bond performance with the Evestment global institutional database showing Kames has the highest annualised return over five years to 30 June 2015, delivered with a lower annualised volatility than the median strategy*.
 
Commenting on the appointment, Richard Davidson, Chairman of the Fund, said: “Our investment committee regards high yield bonds as a valuable long-term part of our diversified portfolio. We were attracted to Kames Capital’s stable, high-calibre team and proven global approach, which emphasises quality and liquidity.”
 
Kames Capital’s Director of Institutional Business, Peter Ball said: “Many endowment and foundation investors are attracted by the long-term risk/return profile of high yield bonds. This asset class offers an attractive yield to help meet clients’ income requirements, but with less volatility than equities and less sensitivity to interest rate risk than most other fixed income investments. We are delighted to be appointed for this mandate and we welcome the University of Edinburgh Endowment Fund as a client.”