Riddell gears up to build UK bond franchise at Allianz Global Investors

New fund launches to come

Mike Riddell, who joined Allianz Global Investors last month from M&G, is preparing to take over two bond funds from November and has set out plans to build a wider UK-centric fixed income franchise for the group.

The manager (pictured), who previously worked in the highly-regarded bond team at M&G, will be taking over the £980m Gilt Yield and £71m Sterling Total Return funds on 30 November, which were previously run by sister company PIMCO on an outsourced basis. His appointment is a key part of the firm's plans to bolster its presence in the UK retail market, which will also see it launching new funds for domestic buyers next year. As a first step, the group is looking to bring its Luxembourg-domiciled €2.2bn (£1.6bn) Flexible Bond Strategy onshore, as Riddell said a UK version of this fund w...