Schroder ISF Glb InflLnkdBd B Acc USD H |



by Jeana Marie Doubell

The Schroder ISF Global Inflation Linked Bond fund has been placed Under Review as Schroders moves to restructure the fixed-income team by combining the credit and currency teams together. The impact of these changes on this fund's portfolio management team and investment process are not yet clear. |
Schroder ISF Global Inflation Linked Bond’s manager roster and supporting team were largely overhauled a year ago. Several significant process changes and new quantitative tools, while seemingly sensible, will have to prove a consistent ability to add alpha across market cycles. The fund retains its Average People and Process Pillar ratings. This management team is still settling in after a recent restructuring. In June 2023, Schroders’ rates and currency team was merged with the London-based credit team, under credit chief Julien Houdain, who was also made a co-lead manager on this strategy. This resulted in the departure of previous lead manager Paul Grainger. James Ringer, who had served here as comanager since 2020 under Grainger, was promoted to co-lead manager alongside Houdain, bringing some continuity to an otherwise new management team. These two are supported by sufficient resources, including a sizable quant team, which could be advantageous as the team shifts to a more quant-based approach. But, considering the recent spike in turnover amid the restructuring and significant changes to reporting lines, this combined team will require more time to settle into their new roles. This strategy follows a relatively straightforward process with a strong top-down focus that makes its success largely dependent on getting macro calls correct. Though new team head Houdain has made several seemingly sensible process tweaks to its implementation, including the introduction of a quant asset-allocation tool and increased frequency of the team’s formal macro discussions, only time will tell whether these enhancements will produce a consistent increase in performance or reduction in risk. Under its previous team, the fund struggled to stand out against index and low-cost passive competitors in the global inflation-linked bond Morningstar Category. Ringer and Houdain’s first year at the helm has been uninspiring so far (0.6% trailing one-year return for the fund’s C Acc Eur share class versus 1.2% for the benchmark, through July 2024) but it’s still early days for this combined team and revamped investment approach. |
Morningstar Pillars | |
People | Average |
Parent | Above Average |
Process | Average |
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