Cheeseman adds Monument Bond Fund

F&C's Multi Manager Team have established a new position in the Monument Bond Fund in their F&C Multi Manager Distribution and F&C Multi Manager Cautious portfolios.

The fund is managed by 24 Asset Management, an independent boutique comprised of credit and RMBS specialists drawn from senior positions at Barclays, Citigroup, Wachovia and Morgan Stanley. It invests in AAA and AA rated residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) from Europe and Australia - assets that the Team believe are equally attractively valued and transparent.  European and Australian RMBS tend to be more transparent than their US counterparts and are linked to originating bank - a characteristic that offers a greater degree of security.

Dean Cheeseman, Head of Retail Multi-Management, said: "With the cost of borrowing likely to trend upwards later this year, the purchase sits well with our longer-term strategy of tempering exposure to more interest rate sensitive assets, whilst at the same time increasing positions in areas (like high quality RMBS) that are not negatively impacted by higher rates".

The purchase was funded by trimming existing corporate bond holdings and positions held are 2.5% in both the F&C Multi Manager Distribution and F&C Multi Manager Cautious portfolios.