Following The Adviser Centre Monthly Review Meeting on 29^th May 2019, Legal & General Multi-Asset Target Return fund was added to The Adviser Centre as a Recommended fund.

Launched in March 2015, this is a diversified fund that invests across asset classes, sectors, currencies, interest rates, inflation and volatility instruments, blending complementary sources of returns and portfolio insurance strategies.  It is managed with the aim of generating a gross return of the UK base rate + 5% p.a. over a three-year timescale and is located in the IA Targeted Absolute Return sector.

The fund is managed by the Asset Allocation team at Legal & General Investment Management.  Emiel van den Heiligenberg (Head of Asset Allocation), John Roe (Head of Multi-Asset funds), Willem Klijnstra (Strategist) and Chris Teschmacher (fund manager) are the lead portfolio managers and they work closely with fund management and risk teams.

Philosophically, the team believes that a flexible, multi-strategy approach, which is free of the constraints of a benchmark or implementation style, is the most effective way of delivering a return that is less reliant on market direction.  The process is highly inclusive, drawing upon expertise from across the organisation in the generation of ideas, the assessment of risk and the calibration of the portfolio.  The portfolio construction framework is set around four components, namely: market returns; alternative strategies; tactical strategies; and, risk mitigation strategies.  As such, the fund always features portfolio insurance strategies to promote risk reduction and diversification.

The process underpinning the fund is now well-established and in the four years since its launch, the strategy has been tested through a variety of market conditions.  In particular, it has shown resilience during periods of stress for risk assets, underlining its capital preservation attributes.