This year's fixed income manager of the year, Wellington Management, has developed a specialised fixed income platform that comprises a unique combination of large-firm capabilities and small-firm agility.
With $531bn in fixed income assets under management and a team of 273 fixed income professionals - part of 1,000 investment professionals working across asset classes at the company - Wellington has developed a robust and well-informed investment strategy over the years.
This was borne out most evidently during the 'mini-banking crisis' of March 2023, which underscored the need for both disciplined credit research as well as effective client communication. When Silicon Valley Bank's collapse began to unfold, Wellington decided to proactively reach out to its clients to reassure them, while offering broader market commentary.
Wellington also moved to take advantage of the yield environment in recent years, again proactively reaching out to its insurance clients to suggest loss-harvesting programmes that, in exchange for realising losses and turning over a percentage of the portfolio, have meaningfully increased book yield.