Aegon AM gears up to take on local bond managers

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Aegon Asset Management is close to launching its first Australian fund, months after the US$446 billion manager unveiled plans to enter the tightly contested local bond market.

Aegon Asset Management is close to launching its first Australian fund, months after the US$446 billion manager unveiled plans to enter the tightly contested local bond market.

Following its July announcement to offer actively managed bond strategies to institutional and retail investors, the company said the Aegon Fixed Interest Fund will be ready by year-end.

It will use a feeder fund structure with access to three existing global strategies, each with a 20-year track record: the Aegon Strategic Global Income Fund, Aegon High Yield Global Bond Fund and Aegon Investment Grade Global Bond Fund.

Iain Buckle, head of UK fixed income at Aegon AM and a long-serving lead manager with the fund, will visit Australia next week ahead of the official launch and spoke with Financial Standard about their Australian expansion, partnering with third-party distributor Strathnaver Capital.

Strathnaver founder and managing director Richard Borysiewicz is a 30-year industry veteran who has held senior distribution roles and previously headed Crédit Agricole Asset Management (now Amundi) in Australia.

"Together with Strathnaver, we have begun discussions with financial planning and wealth management groups, platforms and research houses to undergo the important due diligence work that will then hopefully enable and encourage key groups to consider our strategies going forward," said Buckle.

Asked what potential investors could expect from the soon-to-launch fund, Buckle shared his insights on government bonds and the fund's recent investment plays.

While government bond markets will remain sensitive to inflation and growth data, he said current valuations are appealing. "In the US, the 10-year Treasury yield is a little below 4.9%. However, at these yield levels, a significant amount of inflation and fiscal risk is already reflected in valuations, creating a considerably better starting point for investors than was available for much of the previous decade."

He also favours UK gilts."We see…

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