Partner Insight: As veteran fixed income investor Ian Spreadbury prepares for his retirement at the end of the year, Sajiv Vaid, his current co-manager and successor as lead manager on the popular Fidelity MoneyBuilder Income Fund braces for a more challenging market environment.
It has been over three years since Sajiv Vaid joined the team at Fidelity. Previously an investment grade corporate bond manager at Royal London Asset Management, he was hired as part of the long-term succession plan for Ian Spreadbury. The pair have worked side-by-side as co-managers since then so how does it feel to have a new co-manager
in Kris Atkinson take his side and to take over as lead manager from such a stalwart of the industry?
"Ian's reputation was one of the things that attracted me to Fidelity three years ago," says Vaid. "We've been co-managers on the fund since 2015 so I already know the portfolio inside out and have been an integral part of the decision-making process for so long now that I really don't feel like I'm ‘taking over' - what you see today is as much my portfolio as Ian's and I'm confident that clients won't see any difference in the new year.
"I'm looking forward to Kris joining me on the fund. To date, he's worked on our global investment grade portfolios and prior to this he was a senior credit analyst. This experience will be invaluable and complement our bottom-up credit selection. As the sterling market is now so global in nature, I think he will also bring some interesting and insightful perspectives to how we build the portfolio."
Although Vaid believes there should be no difference seen in the portfolio, markets look increasingly challenging as the era of easy money comes to an end with tighter monetary and fiscal policies. Does he think we are we at a tipping point that might finally end the bull market for bonds?
Vaid is in agreement that there is quite a fragile mind-set in the market nowadays. It's little wonder that he is focused on downside protection in a more uncertain backdrop for corporate bonds, a view that has been the hallmark of Spreadbury and the MoneyBuilder Income Fund in recent years. Is that because he thinks central banks have gone too far, too fast?
To read the full interview with Sajid Vaid as he prepares to take over from Ian Spreadbury, click here.
