Following The Adviser Centre Monthly Review Meeting on 31^st March 2015, Aviva Investors Multi-Strategy Target Return was added to The Adviser Centre as a Positive Watch fund.

Launched in July 2014, this is a relatively new offering and follows the hire of Euan Munro as CEO of Aviva Investors in January of that year.  He was one of the architects of Standard Life Investments’ Global Absolute Return Strategies fund and his experience is central to the design of this new product from Aviva Investors.  He is a strategic adviser to the fund and also chairs the Strategic Investment Group, a forum for assessing the investment ideas that are presented by Aviva Investors’ investment teams.

The fund’s co-managers are Peter Fitzgerald, Dan James and Ian Pizer and their aim is to grow and protect investors’ capital, as well as manage volatility, through a diversified, multi-strategy approach.  The medium-term performance objective is to achieve a gross return of the UK base rate +5% over rolling three year periods.  Ideas are drawn from across asset classes, sectors, currencies, interest rates, inflation and volatility and fall into one of three segments, namely: market returns; opportunistic returns; or, risk-reducing returns.  They are blended such that the overall portfolio is designed to work well in both rising and falling markets.

As with all new strategies, more time needs to pass in order for us to observe the success of the process and the path of its outcomes in different market conditions.  Nonetheless, with thoughtful product design, multi-asset expertise from inside and outside the firm, solid investment input from the broader investment teams and a clear focus upon risk management, we are very pleased to add the fund to our Positive Watch list whilst we continue to monitor its progress.

The fund resides in the IA Targeted Absolute Return sector and within The Adviser Centre, we categorise the fund as, ‘Multi-Asset - Diversified’.  Please refer to our IA Sector Overview for the Targeted Absolute Return sector for more information.