The RSMR monthly fund update - the new recruits from our October review

Every month we study the universe of funds in the investment marketplace to assess whether they meet our exacting standards and should be given the RSMR seal of approval. 

Here are the new recruits from our October review: 

Schroder Sterling Corporate Bond is designed with a view to deliver consistent alpha through building an actively managed portfolio from diversified investment themes. They aim to deliver the majority of outperformance through credit selection and rely much less on macro top-down beta, sector, ratings and duration bias. In other words, they believe that there is more than enough alpha potential in credit to deliver the performance objectives in a well-diversified, risk controlled manner. Schroder has a very large global fixed income platform that the fund management team draw upon. The fund is small enough to be flexible in a sector dominated by a low number of very large funds that are more focused on macro plays. This is a core investment grade fund with a very credible track record.

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Sarasin Food and Agriculture Opportunities

This strategy has been running since 2008 with the same manager at the helm and aims to capitalise on the long-term opportunities in the food and agriculture sector. The food spectrum provides many opportunities covering different sectors and geographical regions to gain exposure to the themes that will benefit over the long term, meeting the requirements of an expanding global population. The strategy has managed, in recent years, to deliver stronger returns than the Global and EEA Agricultural sector averages, without taking more material risk, and also outperformed the Global Emerging Markets sectors in both returns and risk.

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This is an addition to the Quilter Plc range of discretionary options that runs using the same research process as Quilter Cheviot, but with a different fund management structure. There are 16 portfolios; 8 active and 8 passive, selected from the 16 global investment partners of Old Mutual Wealth. The Managed Portfolio Service does not have a benchmark. All the portfolios aim to perform with a specific level of risk, measured as volatility, on an ongoing basis. The investment proposition is based on delivering a range of risk managed portfolios with some flexibility, to tailor allocations to current economic conditions. With a range of propositions built around one centralised selection process and a range of Global Partners, advisers are able to provide a consistent investment proposition and outcome to clients with varying amounts to invest.