Wealth Shortlist funds update: Liontrust Sustainable Future Corporate Bond

In March 2023, Liontrust announced that Stuart Steven would be retiring from his role as Head of Fixed Interest within the Sustainable Investment Team at Liontrust with effect from the end of September 2023.

Steven has been lead manager on this fund since 2012 and has been pivotal in building the sustainable fixed income team and their processes during his tenure. He retires after 29 years working in the investment industry.

Team changes

Aitken Ross, Kenny Watson and Jack Willis, current co-managers of the fund, will continue to manage the fund going forward using the same process and philosophy.

The trio have over 50 years industry experience between them and going forward they will each have responsibility for decision making on specific aspects of the fund. Ross is leading on portfolio construction, Watson on credit and Willis on rates positioning.

Historically, investment decisions have been team based, although Steven has had the deciding vote if there was ever a tie between the four managers. With the co-manager structure reducing to three people, the need to have a deciding vote is removed and all decisions will continue to be team based.

Liontrust have confirmed that the role of Head of Fixed Income within the Sustainable Investment team will be taken out of the hierarchy going forward, due to the desire for Ross, Watson and Willis to collectively be responsible and accountable for the fixed interest strategies that they run.

Our view

The loss of an experienced investor and team leader in Steven does reduce our conviction in the fund. That being said, the remaining managers are experienced investors in their own right, particularly Watson who has 26 years of investment experience. We also think it is highly relevant that all three co-managers have worked on this fund and within the Sustainable Team at Liontrust for a number of years.

Willis was the last of the trio to join the team back in 2016. Added to this, Ross and Willis came through the graduate program at Alliance Trust Investors (who were bought by Liontrust in April 2017), so as investors, are very aligned with the strategy and the sustainable mandate it adheres to.

While Steven's departure represents a loss of a significant amount of experience, we believe that Ross, Watson and Willis are capable of picking up the mantle going forward.

For these reasons we will retain Liontrust Sustainable Future 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 30/04/2023.

More on Liontrust Sustainable Future Corporate Bond, including charges

Liontrust Sustainable Future Corporate Bond Key Investor Information