Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) fixed income manager Sajiv Vaid is to join Fidelity later this year, Investment Week can reveal.
Vaid currently runs the £770m RLAM Corporate Bond and £160m European Corporate Bond funds, as well as around £5bn in in-house life money.
His co-manager, Jonathan Platt, will take over his responsibilities as Vaid departs the group after 14 years.
He will leave this August to work alongside Fidelity's Ian Spreadbury on the £3.3bn Moneybuilder Income and £470m Extra Income funds.
Spreadbury will remain lead manager on both portfolios, Fidelity said. The manager added he remains "fully committed" to running his current mandates.
Fidelity global fixed income CIO Andrew Wells said: "The arrival of someone of Saj’s calibre is [...] a clear signal of how we will continue to develop our fixed income business by developing our own talent, and hiring the best from the market at the same time.”
Spreadbury said: "I am fully committed to all the funds under my stewardship. These are large funds that continue to grow in popularity and it’s important that as the funds grow, we add support to the team that sits behind them.”
Vaid's Royal London Corporate Bond fund has returned 47.6% over the five years to 24 April, according to FE, ranking it top quartile in the Investment Association £ Corporate Bond sector. The portfolio is also top quartile over three years.
Spreadbury’s Moneybuilder Income, meanwhile, has returned 38.5% over the same five-year period, ranking it second quartile in the sector. Over three years the fund is third quartile, having returned 23.8%.
Extra Income, which sits in the £ Strategic Bond sector, has returned 38.4% over five years compared with a sector average of 33.4%. Over three years the portfolio has returned 27.3% compared with a 22.6% sector average.
RLAM CIO Piers Hillier said: "RLAM’s collegiate approach means that other managers and investment specialists are well-positioned to continue managing the portfolios affected"
"Jonathan Platt, RLAM’s head of fixed interest, is co-manager of the Royal London Corporate Bond fund. As a result of Sajiv’s departure, Jonathan will now have sole responsibility for this fund and will also take over the day-to-day management of Sajiv’s other portfolios.”
