M&G has won the fixed income manager of the year award, with judges calling the investment house "a solid performer" whose "attempt to extend the investment universe beyond the traditional low-risk-charge fixed income deserves to be encouraged".

M&G's submission noted being able to work with clients on a spectrum from cash and core fixed income to optimising non-core and illiquid portfolios drawing on its experience with its parent, Prudential.

In 2021, M&G did substantial work on asset backed securities (ABS), a historically unloved asset class given the capital requirements under Solvency II, as part of clients' core portfolios.

By building bespoke mandates for clients, high-quality ABS can be introduced into their investment portfolios in a "constrained and capital-conscious manner", thus expanding the investable universe of the core book.

The manager employs over 100 fundamental credit analysts in public and private debt, plus portfolio managers, to identify investments that compensate for risk taken, for £169bn of fixed income assets.

M&G said its approach to clients was "straightforward and informative", advising in close collaboration on both investing and divesting.

Other private/illiquid credit expertise, alongside ABS, includes in long-lease property, leveraged loans, direct lending, private placements, and property/infrastructure debt. Strategies range from 'out of cash,' with senior ABS, active short-dated govvies, and active short-dated credit; to 'boosting return in core fixed income'; to 'diversifying non-core' and private asset portfolios.