Meet The Managers - Henderson Diversified Income Limited

 
John Pattullo joined Henderson Global Investors in 1997 and is Head of Retail Fixed Income, responsible for UK Retail. John previously spent four years as a chartered accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. John is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and an Associate Member of the Society of Investment Professionals. He co-manages the Henderson Diversified Income Limited, Henderson Preference & Bond Fund, Henderson Managed Distribution Fund, Henderson Worldwide Income Fund and the Henderson Strategic Bond Fund with Jenna Barnard.

 
Jenna Barnard is Director of Retail Fixed Income and co-manages Henderson Diversified Income Limited, the Henderson Preference and Bond, Henderson Managed Distribution Fund, Henderson Worldwide Income Fund and Strategic Bond Funds alongside John Pattullo. Jenna joined Henderson Global Investors in 2002 as Credit Analyst, Assistant Portfolio Manager and progressed to Credit Portfolio Manager in 2004. Prior to joining Henderson, Jenna worked as an Investment Analyst with Orbitex Investments. Jenna is a CFA charterholder, and an affiliate member of UKSIP.

Fund Managers' Commentary - April 2013

April was a strong month for performance. Credit markets performed particularly well, underpinned by a yield-hungry investor base searching for higher income opportunities than those available in government bonds. Indeed, government bond yields around the world have resolutely failed to rise this year, despite or more likely because of the consensus expectation that this would occur. However, the current environment of supportive central banks, decelerating growth momentum and falling inflation has continued to suit the bond market very well indeed. The dramatic falls in commodity prices during the month only serve to highlight this fact.

The company was active in both the primary and the secondary market during the month but it was in the insurance sector that the most value was found, with a significant position in Scottish Widows being built through its issuance of 7% 30-year maturity bonds and 5.5% 10-year bonds. Bupa also issued bonds during the month, which had the beneficial impact of re-pricing our existing Bupa holding significantly higher by highlighting the value on offer in the name. The company also continued to add to some bond holdings in the secondary market, eg, US telecoms company Century Link, and Iron Mountain (document storage) to name a couple.

Loans had another strong month, with the CS Western European Leveraged Loan Index (hedged to GBP) generating a 1.3% return. During the period we added to our holdings in Grifols (Spain, healthcare) and Wind (Italy, telecoms). A new investment was made in Ista (Germany, utilities).