We have added Artemis Corporate Bond to The Adviser Centre as a Recommended fund.

Fund snapshot

A relatively concentrated portfolio of global investment grade corporate bonds managed in a pro-active and flexible manner.  The portfolio may include off-benchmark positions in high yield, government bonds and cash.  Within its sector, the fund features in our ‘High conviction’ category.  Please see our IA Sector Overview for more information.

Fund description – key points

• The fund is co-managed by Stephen Snowden and Grace Le.  Mr Snowden joined Artemis in 2019 to lead the firm’s Edinburgh-based fixed income team.  Before joining Artemis, Mr Snowden was co-head of fixed income at Kames Capital (now Aegon Asset Management), where he co-managed several bond funds, including the Kames Investment Grade Bond fund.
• Philosophically, the managers believe that bond markets are inefficient, providing opportunities for active managers with the flexibility to invest across the market to achieve superior returns.
• The managers combine their top-down views with bottom-up, relative value analysis; these inputs enable them to construct a fund that reflects their individual investment ideas in a way that is consistent with their broader economic and market expectations.
• The managers are performance-focused and are prepared to take advantage of the fund’s flexible mandate, whilst being conscious of the cost of active management.

Characteristics and utility

• The fund’s mandate is wide-ranging and there are no positioning constraints relative to the fund’s benchmark index.
• Security selection and credit quality decisions are typically more important drivers of excess returns than duration decisions.  Credit selection is flexible, pro-active and value orientated.
• In keeping with their desire to deliver strong performance versus peers, the managers use the bounds of the mandate to reflect tactical as well as strategic views.  This pro-active approach also means that there is scope for bouts of underperformance.
• The fund should appeal to investors who appreciate the dynamic approach.  It would complement passive options, as well as funds where duration management is a more important influence upon returns.

To view our full factsheet, please visit the fund page.