Evelyn Partners launches Cash & Cautious Bond strategy for advisers

Evelyn Partners has launched a Cash and Cautious Bond strategy into the financial adviser market. The active discretionary portfolio management service will invest in a “bespoke and fully flexible” selection of liquid, high-quality and low-risk cash-adjacent securities and shorter-dated bonds with the aim of beating the returns available on cash accounts.  

The firm said its bespoke Cash and Cautious Bond portfolios, which were first made available to its direct clients two years ago, offer “greater diversification” than many existing near-cash strategies and gilt ladder services on the market.

They incorporate cash deposits, money market instruments and gilts, as well as bonds issued by selected global organisations with strong credit ratings. The portfolios can also be tailored to individual clients’ timescales and drawdown needs.

The strategy is being made available to the adviser market at an ongoing fee of 0.15% pa covering both portfolio management and custody. In addition, all assets are held in nominee accounts. 

The firm said that making this strategy available to advisers “forms part of the firm’s strategic focus on growing its presence as a leading solutions provider for financial advisers and supporting them in navigating their clients through a period of global uncertainty”. 

Matthew Spencer, head of Intermediaries at Evelyn Partners, said: “Our Cash and Cautious Bond strategy has been a widely welcomed solution over the last couple of years for direct clients of Evelyn Partners looking for a home for substantial cash balances. Savings accounts are already seeing reduced returns, and with central banks expected to continue to cut benchmark rates, as we saw last week with the latest reduction by the Bank of England, this is set to continue.  

“Current global economic uncertainty and volatile equity markets mean many clients are also looking for somewhere to earn an enhanced return compared to cash, while they wait until the macroeconomic outlook becomes clearer before putting money to work in riskier assets.”

He added: “Cash accounts can also leave clients exposed to tax on interest, with additional rate taxpayers having no personal savings allowance and higher rate taxpayers only able to receive £500 of interest tax free each year. The Cash & Cautious Bond service can provide an element of tax-efficiency through the inclusion of bonds that are exempt from capital gains tax. 

“We feel our Cash and Cautious Bond strategy offers a more sophisticated solution to addressing the headwinds for savings rates than any other comparable service on the market – such as cash management services and gilt ladders – as it uses a more diverse and flexible range of instruments, with the potential for enhanced returns. These portfolios invest in very high-quality and liquid investments with no currency risk, and the strategy is provided via financial advisers at a competitive price of 0.15% p.a. for portfolio management and custody.”