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Strategic Bond Fund

Single Price 116.240p as of 04/10/2024
Fund launch date 07/05/2018
Fund size £22,148,936.37
Number of holdings 63

The Fund

The Strategic Bond Fund has been managed by Phil Milburn and Donald Phillips since launch and aims to maximise its total return over the long term (5 years or more) through a combination of income and capital growth by investing in government bond and credit securities globally. The Fund may invest up to 40% of its net assets in emerging markets. The fund managers seek to take advantage of market inefficiencies.

You are able to redeem your investment from the Fund at any time and there is no exit fee for doing so.

Read latest fund update
Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. Reference to specific securities is not intended as a recommendation to purchase or sell any investment.
Key Information
Manager Inception Date of Fund
08/05/2018
Managed by Current Team for
6 years
Class Launch Date
08/05/2018
ISIN code
GB00BFX14R94
Comparator Benchmark 1
IA Sterling Strategic Bond

Awards and Ratings

Citywire fund manager rating Citywire Manager Rating: +
Square Mile Rated A Square Mile Rating: A

Meet the team

Before joining Liontrust in early 2018, Phil Milburn worked at Kames Capital for 14 years, where he was Head of Investment Strategy. Donald Phillips also joined Liontrust in 2018 and was previously an investment manager in the Credit team at Baillie Gifford and worked with Phil at Kames Capital for three years.

Meet the tea

Our Investment Process

The process is designed to take advantage of inefficiencies in fixed income markets through a thorough understanding of the economic environment and detailed bottom up stock analysis.
The process uses the same framework to garner a thorough understanding of the economic environment and for bottom up stock analysis: fundamentals, valuations and technicals (FVT). 
These three factors are examined regardless of whether the managers are considering a duration position or an investment in a speculative grade rated company. In judging whether a company is attractive long-term investment, the managers analyse the following factors, which they call PRISM.
  • Protections: operational and contractual, such as structure and covenants
  • Risks: credit, business and market
  • Interest cover: leverage and other key ratios
  • Sustainability: of cash flows and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors
  • Motivations: of management and shareholders
While the Fund has neutral target levels of duration risk and asset allocation, the investment team takes a high conviction approach which can lead positioning to diverge significantly from neutral levels and benchmark profiles. This results in periods when investment performance diverges from benchmark indices.
Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. Reference to specific securities is not intended as a recommendation to purchase or sell any investment.

Performance

Performance since manager inception date (%)

Discrete performance (%)

As at previous quarter 12 months ending: Sep 24 Sep 23 Sep 22 Sep 21 Sep 20
Liontrust Strategic Bond 16.1 3.8 -15.5 3.0 4.0
IA Sterling Strategic Bond 11.8 4.9 -14.5 4.6 3.6
Quartile Ranking 1 3 3 3 2

Cumulative performance (%)

As at previous day end 1 month 3 months 6 months YTD 1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years Since Inception
Liontrust Strategic Bond 0.8 5.1 5.7 6.3 17.6 1.6 8.8 - 16.2
IA Sterling Strategic Bond 0.6 3.3 4.1 4.8 12.9 0.6 8.7 - 16.3
Quartile Ranking 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 - -

Source: FE fundinfo as at 04/10/2024. Performance figures are shown in GBX. Total return performance figures are calculated net of costs and charges, on a bid price to bid price basis (mid to mid for OEICs) with net income (dividends) reinvested. Where applicable the quartile rank is for the primary share class within the sector. If your investment is made in a currency other than that used in the past performance calculation the return may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations.

Current positioning

Top 10 Holdings (%)

NEW ZEALAND(GOVERNMENT OF) 2% BDS 15/05/32 NZD10000
9.02
NEW ZEALAND(GOVERNMENT OF) 1.5% BDS 15/05/31 NZD1000
8.03
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 4.25% TNT 30/09/24 USD100 BH-2024 (WI)
3.40
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 0% UNDATED NTS USD100
3.07
TREASURY NOTE (OTR)
2.99
GLOBAL SWITCH FINANCE 1.375% MTN 07/10/30 EUR100000
2.72
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK 8% SUB NOTES 30/5/2031 USD1000`144A`
2.29
CREDIT AGRICOLE SA 4.375% BDS 17/03/25 USD200000 REG S
2.03
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 2.125% TB 30/09/24 USD100
2.02
NETFLIX, INC. 3.625% BDS 15/06/30 EUR100000
1.89

Sector Breakdown (%)

Government Bonds
28.56
Banks
12.70
Insurance
10.09
Telecommunications
9.36
Financial Services
6.24
Health Care
5.51
Services
3.59
Automotive
3.58
Real Estate
3.16
Media
2.45
Money Market
2.42
Transport
2.20
Electronics
2.13
Basic Industries
2.07
Capital Goods
1.75
Fixed Interest
1.41
Consumer Goods
0.99
Utilities
0.94
Retail
0.76

Geographic Breakdown (%)

USA
27.32
New Zealand
18.41
UK
18.36
Netherlands
7.25
France
6.15
Germany
5.40
Australia
4.76
Luxembourg
2.68
Cash & Cash Equivalents
2.42
Hong Kong
1.65
Switzerland
1.53
Venezuela
1.41
Italy
1.00
Sweden
0.87
Japan
0.71

Credit Rating *

Additional Information
Minimum initial investment
£1,000
Minimum additional investment
£1,000
Ex-dividend date
1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October (Final)
Distribution date
28 February, 31 May, 31 August, 30 November (Final)
Sedol code
BFX14R9
Charges
Initial charge
-
Ongoing Charges Figure
0.62%
Included within the OCF is the Annual Management Charge
0.55%

For more information on the OCF, see our costs and charges page.

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Patient investing

How to invest in Liontrust funds

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Direct with Liontrust

Key Risks 

The fund manager considers environmental, social and governance ("ESG") characteristics of issuers when selecting investments for the Fund. Overseas investments may carry a higher currency risk. They are valued by reference to their local currency which may move up or down when compared to the currency of the Fund. Bonds are affected by changes in interest rates and their value and the income they generate can rise or fall as a result; the creditworthiness of a bond issuer may also affect that bond's value. Bonds that produce a higher level of income usually also carry greater risk as such bond issuers may have difficulty in paying their debts. The value of a bond would be significantly affected if the issuer either refused to pay or was unable to pay. The Fund can invest in derivatives. Derivatives are used to protect against currency, credit or interest rate moves or for investment purposes. There is a risk that losses could be made on derivative positions or that the counterparties could fail to complete on transactions. The Fund uses derivative instruments that may result in higher cash levels. Cash may be deposited with several credit counterparties (e.g. international banks) or in short-dated bonds. A credit risk arises should one or more of these counterparties be unable to return the deposited cash. The Fund invests in emerging markets which carries a higher risk than investment in more developed countries. This may result in higher volatility and larger drops in the value of the fund over the short term. The Fund may encounter liquidity constraints from time to time. Participation rates on advertised volumes could fall reflecting the less liquid nature of the current market conditions. Counterparty Risk: any derivative contract, including FX hedging, may be at risk if the counterparty fails. ESG Risk: In reference to any component (where applicable) of a fund's investment process that uses external ESG data, there may be limitations to the availability, completeness or accuracy of ESG information from third-party providers, or inconsistencies in the consideration of ESG factors across different third party data providers, given the evolving nature of ESG. There is no guarantee that an absolute return will be generated over a three year time period or within another time period.

Disclaimer

This is a marketing communication. Before making an investment, you should read the relevant Prospectus and the Key Investor Information Document (KIID) and/or PRIIP/KID, which provide full product details including investment charges and risks. It should not be construed as advice for investment in any product or security mentioned, an offer to buy or sell units/shares of Funds mentioned, or a solicitation to purchase securities in any company or investment product. Examples of stocks are provided for general information only to demonstrate our investment philosophy. The investment being promoted is for units in a fund, not directly in the underlying assets. This information and analysis is believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but is subject to change without notice. Whilst care has been taken in compiling the content, no representation or warranty is given, whether express or implied, by Liontrust as to its accuracy or completeness, including for external sources (which may have been used) which have not been verified.

Fund literature
Strategic Bond Fund
View latest fund update