Schroders has announced the establishment of an in-house convertible bond team in Zurich with assets under management of USD2.1billion
Dr Peter Reinmuth, the fund manager of Schroder ISF Global Convertible Bond and Asian Convertible Bond, Dr Martin Kuehle, Product Specialist for the two funds and Urs Reiter, Senior Convertibles Trader have all transferred to the company enabling Schroders to bringthe management of its convertible bond funds in-house. They report to Philippe Lespinard, Schroders’ CIO Fixed Income, and are supported by Schroders’ 32 credit analysts and extensive equity research.
Damien Vermonet has also been appointed as Convertible Bonds Fund Manager and has eight years experience as a convertible bond manager. He joins from Acropole AM where he was portfolio manager of global convertible long only strategies with a particular focus on US convertibles. Previously, he was at Fortis Investments where he managed global and European convertible bonds. He is also based in Zurich and reports to Peter Reinmuth.
Philippe Lespinard, CIO Fixed Income at Schroders, comments:
“Schroders has invested heavily in its fixed income business in recent years to deliver robust investment performance. Convertible bonds are an attractive asset class for our clients worldwide, in addition to the firm’s existing credit and equity capabilities. We are delighted to welcome Peter, Martin, Urs and Damien and look forward to further developing our convertibles business from Zurich.”
Miles O’Connor, Head of Pan-European Institutional Business, also commented:
“Convertible bonds are an attractive asset class and we are seeing continued demand from clients worldwide. Convertibles provide protection on the downside while also offering exposure to equity market upside, making them an ideal way to gain long-term exposure to growth markets as the global economy recovers. Our new in-house team should enable us to maximise this opportunity and continue to grow our convertible capabilities for clients.