Rathbones to launch range of Luxembourg-domiciled funds

Rathbone Unit Trust Management (Rathbones) confirms its intention to launch four offshore funds, offering Europe-based investors access to its UK funds for the first time.  



Domiciled in Luxembourg, the proposed funds will invest via a master-feeder structure into the Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund, managed by Head of Fixed Income, Bryn Jones and assistant manager Noelle Cazalis, and the Rathbone Multi-Asset Total Return, Multi-Asset Strategic Growth, and Multi-Asset Enhanced Growth Portfolios, managed by David Coombs, Head of Multi-Asset Investments, and Will McIntosh-Whyte, also assistant manager. Both teams will be supported by Rathbones’ central research capability, which has enjoyed significant expansion over the last 12 months.



The four funds, expected to launch in early May subject to regulatory approvals from the CSSF (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier), the Luxembourg regulatory body, will enhance Rathbones’ existing discretionary ability to offer a range of investment strategies to British expatriates in Europe.  



The funds will be marketed predominantly to retail investors via financial advisers, life companies and QROPS providers (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes) in the UK and in Europe.

The investment processes and objectives for all funds will reflect those of the master funds in the UK.

The funds will be denominated in sterling, with currency share classes also available. 



Mike Webb, chief executive of Rathbone Unit Trust Management, said: “This launch offers our existing and new expatriate clients within Europe greater access to our experience across fixed income and multi-asset investing. The move is in line with our long-term strategy of broadening our distribution through intermediary channels, in the UK and now across Europe. Based on demand for our investment services to date, we believe this new market to have considerable growth potential for the business.”

For more information, please contact:

Madhu Kalia

Intermediary PR (UK/Europe)

Rathbone Unit Trust Management 

020 7399 0256

07825 596302

madhu.kalia@rathbones.com

Note to editors:

*Based on estimates



Master-feeder funds

A ‘master-feeder’ fund arrangement enables European investors to buy units in feeder funds. These, in turn, buy units in existing UK-based funds, known as master funds.

Distribution dates

The feeder funds are required to have consistent distribution dates which must also be aligned with the master funds and therefore the accounting and distribution dates for the Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund will change as follows:  

Please note that the 30 April 2016 period end date for the Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund, will distribute its income on the 30 June 2016 as per usual.

Performance 

Source: Financial Express. Data at 29.03.2016 bid to bid, I-Class units/shares were launched on 1 March 2012. Calculations are based on the actual performance of the R-Class units/shares, adjusted for the appropriate I-class Annual Management Charge. I-Class quartile ranking of full sector, bundled and unbundled share classes. Past performance should not be seen as an indication of future performance.

Data source: Performance and benchmark data - Financial Express.  S-Class data as at  29/03/2016 net income reinvested. S-Class units/shares were launched on 1 March 2012.  Calculations are based on the actual performance of the R-Class units/shares, adjusted for the appropriate S-class Annual Management Charge.

*Rathbone Total Return Portfolio and Rathbone Strategic Growth Portfolio Inception: 10th June 2009. 

**Rathbone Enhanced Growth Portfolio Inception: 1st August 2011. 

Biographies

David Coombs

David Coombs is Head of Multi-Asset Investments for Rathbones and chairman of group’s International Investment Committee. He lead-manages the Rathbone Multi Asset Portfolios (Rathbone Strategic Growth, Strategic Income, Total Return and Enhanced Growth Portfolio), and co-manages the Rathbone Strategic Bond Fund with Bryn Jones. David is also a member of Rathbones’ Investment Executive Committee, with responsibility Rathbones investment proposition. He also sits on Rathbones’ Strategic Asset Allocation Committee. 



David joined Rathbones in April 2007 from Baring Asset Management, where he developed their absolute return investment process in the 1990s. With his 30 years experience in financial services (20 years of which have been in multi-asset investing), David has managed unitised and segregated funds for institutional pension funds, captive insurance companies, corporate trustees and private clients. He joined Barings in 1988 from Hambros Bank in Guernsey, where he started his career in 1984.



David is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Financial Services.



Will McIntosh-Whyte

Will McIntosh-Whyte is assistant fund manager on the Rathbone Multi-Asset Portfolios, with a focus on portfolio construction. 

Will joined Rathbones in 2007, spending a year on the graduate trainee scheme, before being appointed to the charities team. He is a member of Rathbones’ Collectives Committee, and is a CFA charter-holder. He is a member of the Managed Funds and Fixed Income Committees. 

Will graduated from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 2006 and is a CFA charter-holder



Bryn Jones 

Bryn Jones is the Head of Fixed Income for Rathbones, and is lead manager on the Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund and the Rathbone Strategic Bond Fund. He joined Rathbones in November 2004 from Merrill Lynch, where he managed $2 billion of fixed income assets. In May 2015 he was appointed as an Executive Director of Rathbone Unit Trust Management. Bryn is a member of the Rathbone Strategic Asset Allocation Committee, Non-Executive Chairman of Rathbones' Fixed Income Committee, and an adviser to the Rathbone Banking Committee. He is a WMA representative for the HMT DMO’s (Her Majesty’s Treasury - Debt Management Office’s) Gilt Market Consultation Process. He also sits on the IA Fixed Income Committee and has also been appointed as one of a select number of ethical investors to the UKSIF Impact Investing Reference Group. 



Bryn graduated from Birmingham University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography in 1995. 



Noelle Cazalis 

Noelle is the assistant fund manager within the Fixed Income Team, working alongside Bryn Jones on the Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund, and both Bryn and David Coombs on the Rathbone Strategic Bond Fund and Rathbone Multi-Asset Portfolios with direct bond selection. Noelle joined Rathbones in July 2011 as a credit analyst, supporting Rathbones’ fixed income funds and the Rathbones’ Fixed Income Committee. Having spent some time as a financial analyst for the Bank of France in Paris, Noelle spent five months in Cambodia, where she undertook due diligence on the Cambodian banking sector on behalf of the French Embassy. Noelle has achieved two masters’ degrees with distinction in 2010, from the University of Montesquieu in Bordeaux - a Magistere of International Finance, and a Masters in Banking, Finance and Financial Assets Trading. She is a CFA charter-holder.



Rathbones Group Plc

Rathbones Group Plc is one of the UK’s largest and longest-established providers of high-quality, personalised discretionary investment services. It manages over £29.2 billion* of funds (as at 31 December 2015) for individuals, charities and trustees, and is part of Rathbones Group Plc, an independent company with a listing on the London Stock Exchange. 

*Includes funds managed by Rathbone Unit Trust Management.

The information contained in this note is for use by investment advisers and journalists and must not be circulated to private clients or to the general public.  Source performance data, Financial Express, bid to bid, net income re-invested.