Gledhill shorts gilts to protect against yield spike

Henderson New Star's James Gledhill has initiated a short position on gilts to protect against a possible spike in UK government bond yields.

Gledhill, manager of New Star’s £573m Fixed Interest and £235.7m High Yield Bond funds, says while the short position across both funds is currently small, it is likely to grow over time as the team becomes increasingly concerned about duration risk. The move echoes the position held by colleagues John Pattullo and Jenna Barnard, who implemented a short on gilts in the pair’s Henderson Strategic Bond and Preference & Bond funds during the summer of 2009. “While my funds are a little less aggressive on asset allocation calls than the Henderson Strategic Bond fund, January was the first...