JLT takes fund management plunge

Using its retail wealth management arm Iimia the fund will launch in June, with at least one initial scheme client pledging assets of £15m.

The JLT Growth Fund will invest in a combination of other DGFs and single asset class funds, giving it exposure to alternatives such as emerging market debt, property and infrastructure.

Its allocation to all the above will be actively managed, based on JLT’s market views – although where it is negative on all markets it will move more heavily into other DGFs to take advantage of their hedging abilities.

The fund is being managed by Peter Ball, managing director of JLT Investment Solutions, formerly head of institutional at JPMorgan Asset Management.

In its most recent monthly outlook, JLT’s Tactical Allocation Group was “strongly positive” on frontier market equity, high yield debt and emerging market debt in local currencies.

It had a “negative outlook” on European equities – apart from the UK – overseas sovereign debt and cash, while it had downgraded its view of Japanese equities from “strongly positive” to “positive”, and US equities from “positive” to “neutral”.

Ball said the allocation would be led by these group outlooks.

The fund will charge a fee of 15 basis points (bps), plus a varying charge on top of this, depending on the cost of the underlying funds.

He said he anticipates the average annual management charge being “around 65bps-70bps”.

Administration and daily pricing will be provided by Alexander Forbes subsidiary Investment Solutions (not to be confused with JLT Investment Solutions).

Ball pledged more pension fund offerings in the future, adding: “We have a pensions investment consulting business and a discretionary fund management business.

“The natural thing is to pool them and provide fund management for institutional clients.”