Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund Annual Report for the Year Ended 30 September 2020
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Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund Annual report for the year ended 30 September 2020 Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund Annual Report 2020 ii Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund Authorised Fund Manager (the Manager) Directors of the Manager Rathbone Unit Trust Management Limited RP Stockton — Chairman 8 Finsbury Circus MM Webb — Chief Executive Officer London EC2M 7AZ JR Chillingworth — Chief Investment Officer Telephone 020 7399 0399 JM Ardouin — Finance Director Facsimile 020 7399 0057 MS Warren — Non-Executive Director A member of the Rathbone Group J Lowe — Non-Executive Director Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and member of The Investment Association Administrator HSBC Securities Services Dealing office 1-2 Lochside Way Edinburgh Park SS&C Financial Services Europe Limited Edinburgh EH12 9DT SS&C House Authorised and regulated by the St Nicholas Lane Financial Conduct Authority Basildon Essex SS15 5FS Telephone 0330 123 3810 Trustee Facsimile 0330 123 3812 NatWest Trustee and Depositary Services Limited 250 Bishopsgate Registrar London EC2M 4AA Authorised and regulated by the SS&C Financial Services International Limited Financial Conduct Authority SS&C House St Nicholas Lane Basildon Essex SS15 5FS Telephone 0330 123 3810 Facsimile 0330 123 3812 Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Independent Auditor Deloitte LLP Statutory Auditor 110 Queen Street Glasgow G1 3BX Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund Annual Report 2020 1 Manager’s report for the year ended 30 September 2020 In the 12 months ended 30 September 2020, our bought between mid-March and the end of June, it fund rose 5.02%, compared with the IA Sterling accounts for more than 80% of the gilts issued over Corporate Bond sector’s return of 4.21%. At 30 the quarter. The Bank of England wrapped up its September 2019, 10-year gilts yielded 0.49% and corporate bond-buying programme in September closed on 30 September 2020 at 0.23%. 2020 after purchasing around £9.5 billion worth since mid-March. It can buy more but said it would Global markets started the period on a reasonable declare its intentions before doing so. footing. Then they took a dive in February and March as the severity of the impact of COVID-19 Investors have flocked to government and corporate on health as well as economies became all too bond markets too, which means demand has easily apparent. The first quarter of 2020 was one of the absorbed the extra debt. Quantitative easing around worst for markets in living memory and ended the the world has helped keep government bond yields 11-year bull run. Major stock markets around the remarkably stable despite the influx of new debt. We world fell between 20% and 30% as investors tried struggle to see much value in government bonds to work out how the pandemic would affect the currently. Indeed, if inflation were to return over the short-term profitability of businesses. We are bracing next few years, investors holding long-dated bonds ourselves for some weak economic data over the would suffer sizeable losses. next few months. Credit rating agency action increased, and many Trades investment grade issuers dropped into high yield as Towards the end of 2019, we kept our duration revenues dried up and balance sheets came under (interest-rate sensitivity) low in the lead-up to pressure. Helpfully, central banks stepped in to buy the election as we believed there was scope for a both investment grade credit and the ‘fallen angels’ reversal in gilts. We added some duration in mid- that found themselves reassessed as high yield. November as the yield spiked to near 0.80% and Backward-looking GDP numbers showed some then sold soon after as yields fell back. We did this substantial falls around the world, yet markets were by trading the European Investment Bank 5.625% focused on forward-looking data like business PMIs Senior 2032. (measures of optimism, upcoming orders and hiring As the coronavirus crisis unfolded at the start of intentions). These generally came in stronger than 2020, we decided to raise cash by selling some of our expected, as did US employment figures. more liquid holdings, including German state-backed A wave of debt has been issued in the UK in 2020, development bank Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau with a similar trend playing out in Europe. European 5.75% 2032. Collapsing gilt yields led us to raise cash Union (EU) restrictions on national budgets have by selling the European Investment Bank Senior been suspended until 2022 at the earliest because 6% 2028. In the summer, we sold some more liquid, of the pandemic. We are likely to see more European high-quality bonds, including the Nationwide government spending funded by issuing bonds. Building Society Floating Rate Senior Secured 2025 In particular, Germany, France and Spain have sold having bought them earlier in the period. tens of billions of euros of bonds recently. Italy The liquidity we raised as a defensive measure was is highly likely to add to that. The US is already not needed, so we started reinvesting, buying cheap selling a record amount of bonds and is forecast insurance bond Legal & General 5.5% Step Sub 2064 to substantially ramp up its issuance. at a decent yield. Later in the period we bought Central banks are buying debt as way to stabilise the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria 3.104% 2031 the market for government debt. For example, the new issue of tier two bonds, as we felt they offered Bank of England has been routinely buying gilts to good value. We added to our existing holdings in keep interest rates low, and purchased more than subordinated financial credit, including the Scottish £73 billion of government debt in the third quarter Widows 7% Subordinated 2043. of 2020. While this is down from the £194 billion it 2 Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund Annual Report 2020 Manager’s report for the year ended 30 September 2020 (continued) During the period, we managed our duration (the sensitivity of our portfolio to changes in interest rates) by selling the Lloyds Bank Floating Rate Senior 2023. Outlook As winter approached, investors became more nervous about the darkening outlook. The pandemic began spreading quickly once again in Europe, the UK and the US, but thankfully the number of deaths hasn’t yet reached the same levels seen in March and April. Western countries have yet to work out how to reopen their economies while also controlling the spread of COVID-19. There are several promising vaccines in the pipeline, but they could be anywhere between a month to a year or more away. Their efficacy may be blunted because extraordinary demand for a viable vaccine may overwhelm the ability to manufacture it. Meanwhile, Brexit returned to the fore as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to renege on the internal market rules he made with the EU just a few months before. The deadline for an agreement in principle for a trade deal is fast approaching and it looks set to go down to the wire. Sterling will no doubt be volatile as negotiations continue. Bryn Jones Noelle Cazalis Fund Manager Fund Manager 5 November 2020 Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund Annual Report 2020 3 Ethical report for the year ended 30 September 2020 In the period since our last report for the full year Proceeds from social bonds offered by theAfrican ended 30 September 2019, the fund has invested in Development Bank will be used to combat poverty new bonds issued by the following organisations and improve living conditions for underserved whose products and services provide benefits to populations in Africa; while educational publisher society or the environment. Pearson issued bonds for eligible projects targeted at disenfranchised learners and communities, Social housing including the unemployed, people with disabilities and those living below the poverty line. During the year, the fund participated in a number Bonds issued to provide emergency financial of bond issues from seven housing associations or assistance to combat the impacts of COVID-19 trusts providing social and affordable housing (listed included those from the New Development Bank, as ‘private registered providers’ by the Regulator of which was founded in 2014 by Brazil, Russia, Social Housing). These ranged from the UK’s largest India, China and South Africa to fund large-scale housing association Clarion Housing, which has development projects in member countries in 125,000 homes across London, south-east England, the areas of energy, transport, water and urban East Anglia and Birmingham, to smaller providers infrastructure. The fund also bought social bonds such as Wrekin Group, which provides 13,000 from the Inter-American Development Bank, which homes in the West Midlands. In total, the seven works to promote economic development in Latin organisations manage some 360,000 homes across America and the Caribbean focusing on gender England and have built over 8,000 new homes (for equality, climate change and the rule of law. The all purposes including private sale) since 2018/19. issue raised funds to assist member countries with They also offer a broad range of additional facilities COVID-19 disease monitoring, testing and public and services to tenants and other customers health services. including care homes, training, employment support, youth schemes, financial education programmes and jobs skills courses. Green and sustainability bonds Several green and sustainability bonds — with Charity and social bonds appropriate second-party verification of their financing frameworks and transparency on use of In the area of impact-driven and charity bond issues, proceeds — were bought during the year. Such bonds the fund invested in a number of bonds during the included issues from Vena Energy, an independent year, including ones specifically issued to raise funds power producer and renewable energy developer for social challenges amplified by the COVID-19 in the Asia-Pacific region;LBBW , a regional state- pandemic.