Royal London Corporate Bond - fund manager change

Having been a named manager on the Royal London Corporate Bond fund since 1999, Jonathan Platt relinquished his official management responsibilities on the fund on 1 February 2023. Shalin Shah and Matthew Franklin, who co-managed the fund since October 2017 and January 2022 respectively alongside Platt, will continue to co-manage the fund going forward.

Platt is not giving up any other fund manager responsibilities and will continue in his role as Head of Fixed Income at Royal London.

Shah and Franklin have confirmed that there will be no changes to the fund’s objective or the way they select bonds for the fund.

The new managers

Shah joined the fixed income team at Royal London in 2008 and has worked with Platt throughout his time at the firm. He has a public track record managing bond funds going back to 2015 and was named deputy manager on this fund in 2016, before becoming a co-manager in 2017. Franklin joined the sterling credit team at Royal London in 2014 and has been a named fund manager on a range of funds since January 2022.

Shah will be the final decision maker in terms of portfolio construction for the fund, however Franklin is equally responsible for idea generation and the pair work together to assess ideas prior to inclusion. Platt will continue to provide challenge around the overall fund positioning and bonds held, as well as act as a sounding board in his role as Head of Fixed Income.

Shah and Franklin are co-managers on some other funds too, so have experience of working together. Neither manager has any other significant responsibilities, such as people management, which means their focus is on investing and managing funds. They also have the support of the wider fixed income team at Royal London.

Our view

When there’s a change in fund manager, it’s normal to see the fund evolve over time to reflect the convictions and views of the managers now at the helm. We don’t expect to see significant changes though given Shah has been a co-manager on this fund for a number of years.

The evolution of Shah’s role in the fixed income team at Royal London looks to have been well managed, with a gradual increase in assets and strategies being managed over time. The same can be said for Franklin, although over a shorter period.

Since we were informed of the decision for Platt to step away from managing the fund, we have met with Shah and Franklin. While we view the pair as sensible stewards of the fund, our conviction lies with Shah. We think he’s a talented bond picker and well-prepared to continue to manage it as Platt has done going forward.

For these reasons we will retain Royal London Corporate Bond on the Wealth Shortlist.

This isn’t a recommendation to make any changes to a portfolio. Investors should make sure any investments match their investment goals, attitude to risk and are held as part of a diversified portfolio. If you're not sure if an investment is suitable for your circumstances, please seek personal advice.

Past performance is not a guide to the future. Source: Lipper IM to 28/02/2023.

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