On 1^st October 2018, Fidelity announced that senior portfolio manager, Ian Spreadbury, is planning to retire at the end of the year.

Mr Spreadbury is a named manager on three funds featured within The Adviser Centre.  We are retaining all three funds on our Recommended list.

From 1^st January 2019, the new fund management teams will be as follows:

• ​Fidelity MoneyBuilder Income: Sajiv Vaid (lead manager), Kris Atkinson (co-manager)

Currently, the fund is co-managed by Ian Spreadbury and Sajiv Vaid.  Mr Vaid joined Fidelity in 2015 to work closely with Mr Spreadbury, with succession planning in mind.  Kris Atkinson is a long-standing team member with an analyst and fund management background and will work closely with Mr Vaid on this fund.

• ​Fidelity Strategic Bond: Tim Foster (co-lead manager), Claudio Ferrarese (co-lead manager)

Currently, Ian Spreadbury is the lead manager, with Tim Foster and Claudio Ferrarese as co-portfolio managers.  Mr Foster has been at the firm since 2003 and Mr Ferrarese since 2006.  Mr Foster and Mr Ferrarese became co-managers on the fund in April 2017; Mr Foster had previous experience of working as co-manager with Mr Spreadbury on the Fidelity Funds - Flexible Bond fund, a Luxembourg SICAV with a similar objective.

• ​Fidelity MoneyBuilder Balanced: Michael Clark (co-manager), Sajiv Vaid (co-manager)

Currently, the fund is co-managed by Michael Clark and Ian Spreadbury.  Mr Clark has responsibility for the equity portion of the fund (typically a 65% allocation) and Ian Spreadbury manages the fixed income portion (typically a 35% allocation).  Mr Vaid will take over the responsibility for the fixed income portion.  Given its key role as a diversifier, the composition of the bond portion is biased towards gilts with a view to offsetting the risks associated with equities.

Fidelity has been making plans for Mr Spreadbury’s retirement for several years and therefore, the fund management capabilities are in place.  The firm has indicated that there will be no changes to the philosophy or process underpinning the funds.  We are holding meetings in the coming weeks to discuss the developments in greater depth.

Mr Spreadbury has had a long and distinguished career as a fixed income practitioner and has been in the industry since 1978.  He joined Fidelity in 1995.   At the firm, he created a process that reflects his strongly-held beliefs that, through the cycle, an allocation to fixed income should deliver an attractive and consistent level of income, as well as the benefits of lower volatility and diversification when held in conjunction with growth assets.

We wish Mr Spreadbury our best wishes for a very happy retirement.