Concerto Asset Management, a manager of US corporate credit based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has received a EUR60m credit alpha absolute return mandate from Goodhart Partners, a multi-manager business based in London.

The win takes Concerto Asset Management, an SEC registered investment adviser, to a total AUM of USD140m and also broadens the firm’s product offering.

The mandate will form part of the Ucits III absolute return bond fund run by Goodhart.

Julie Bouhuys, founder and chief executive of Concerto, says: “With government bond yields at such low levels, there is a real need for products, which can replace that lost return without simply chasing after more yield further down the capital structure. We have designed this product to do exactly that, and believe that the move away from traditional, index-based bond investing will gather momentum in the coming years, especially with pensions and endowments.”

Ben Fox, a partner at Goodhart, adds: “With the high volatility that has been inherent in markets for some time, we felt that an alpha focused strategy was the correct way forward. Concerto offered a distinctive blend of both buy side and sell side knowledge and expertise, combined with the institutional quality risk management that we need for our pension fund client base.”

Goodhart Partners launched its Ucits III absolute return bond fund, the Target Return Fund, more than three years ago. It was the first fund of its kind in the market, and uses a multi-manager framework to generate a diversified absolute return from fixed income markets.