Mike Riddell, manager of the Allianz Strategic Bond fund, enjoys going against the grain.
While investors have been piling into safer areas such as government bonds, hoping they will protect them from the worst of falls, he has been doing the opposite and buying up company debt despite it being more risky, especially in a recession.
Bond funds have generally outperformed those that invest in stocks over the past three months and Mr Riddell’s has been one of the best performers: the £1.4bn fund has returned 12.4pc since January.
The portfolio has returned 43pc since Mr Riddell took over in 2015 while global stocks have risen 57pc, so his investors have managed to get three quarters of the return for a fraction of the risk. He explains how he avoids the worst of the debt market and why he is already preparing for an economic recovery.
Who is the fund for?
We aim to diversify your investments by doing the opposite to what others in the market are doing. So the fund is good for those who hold stocks or property and want to protect themselves from falling prices.
How do you invest?
We take a broad view of what is happening in the global economy and find areas that look like good value. We try to be defensive and avoid losing money, so generally we look for low-risk debt from governments and high-quality companies with good credit ratings.