Marlborough Global Bond is a one-stop shop for cautious bond investors, as the managers adopt a cautious approach to investing. They aim to capture gains when markets rise while protecting investors’ money when they fall. Its broader-based, conservative portfolio makes this a decent core holding. It pays a competitive yield of around 3% and distributes income half-yearly.

At the helm is Geoff Hitchin, who helped with the fund’s launch in 1987 and has now run it for 32 years. Nicholas Cooling, its co-manager since 1999, recently stepped down, with Danny Fox and Niall McDermott joining Marlborough in 2018 as assistant managers. They believe that by holding a good spread and selecting individual bonds carefully, they can manage volatility and achieve consistent performance.

The managers invest across the globe in bonds with different maturities and credit ratings, and in different currencies. The fund has around 450 holdings – considerably more than most comparable funds.

October 2020