Spreadbury: Why I am not playing the duration game

Fidelity's Ian Spreadbury is taking a contrarian stance compared to his peers in the bond sector, maintaining interest rate risk in his portfolios as other managers are reducing duration.

As reported earlier this month by Investment Week, a number of leading strategic and corporate bond managers have been cutting duration to record lows, anticipating a fresh spike in gilt yields as they settle at a higher trading range. Having reached a record low of 1.4% last summer, 10-year gilt yields moved back above 2% at the start of 2013 as fears of a eurozone breakup receded, and managers said the stage is now set for a further rise. Bond stars including M&G's Richard Woolnough, LGIM's Richard Hodges and Kames Capital's Stephen Snowden have been cutting duration to take advanta...