Man GLG launches Sterling Corporate Bond Fund for Jonathan Golan
Man GLG, the discretionary investment management engine of Man Group, has today announced the launch of the Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond Fund, led by award-winning[1] portfolio manager Jonathan Golan.
The benchmark relative strategy will seek to outperform the ICE BofA Sterling Corporate & Collateralised Index and aim to provide an attractive level of income through what the team believes to be a distinct investment approach based around three key pillars.
The first is ‘margin of safety’, where Golan and his dedicated research team will, through in-depth credit analysis, seek bonds offering yields that greatly overstate the risk of default. The second is ‘alpha not beta’, where the team identifies alpha opportunities through individual bonds that have underperformed for idiosyncratic reasons uncorrelated to the market or other issuers. This supports the fund’s objective of generating alpha in both rising and falling markets.
The third pillar is ‘small is beautiful’, where the team seeks opportunities in under-researched medium-sized and smaller issuers, which typically have less leverage and higher yields than their larger and more benchmark-prominent peers.
The high conviction portfolio will consist of 100-120 issuers, with a typical credit rating of BBB to BBB+, and up to 20% exposure to High Yield bonds. Sterling hedged, the strategy will allow the flexibility to invest in bonds in other hard currencies.
Jonathan joined Man GLG in July 2021 from Schroders, where he was Lead Fund Manager of the Schroder Sterling Corporate Bond and Schroder Strategic Bond funds.
Jonathan Golan, Portfolio Manager, Man GLG, said: “Savers across Britain face the lowest yielding and most challenging bond market in a generation. The effect of an ultra-low-yield world is profound and requires savers to re-think the way they invest in fixed income. The days of passively buying bonds and earning high single digit annual returns are gone. In today’s bond market, I think the optimal way to protect and grow capital is through an active approach.
“I am delighted to have launched the fund today, offering investors access to an established investment strategy in a low yielding bond environment. With the help of a highly experienced analyst team, I will maintain the same relentless rigour and investment philosophy that I refined over the last decade.”
Richard Phillips, Head of UK Retail Sales, Man Group, said: “In today’s low yield environment, fixed income investors need active managers irrespective of the entry point, and Jonathan has demonstrated his experience and capabilities in what is a key asset class for UK investors.
“The Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond Fund is an exciting addition to Man GLG’s growing credit platform. Jonathan is an exceptionally talented fund manager who has a wealth of experience in the sterling corporate bond market and an established and well-defined investment process.”
[1] Fund Manager of the Year, Investment Week 2020; Fund Manager of the Year, Citywire 2020 & 2021