When you invest in an M&G fund you access the expertise of an investment management house that is one of the largest active investors in the UK marketplace. A core principle at M&G, in both equities and fixed income, is that we are passionate about understanding the companies in which we invest. We believe that sustainable, above average investment performance is ultimately dependent on a thorough understanding of each investment that we are assessing and this can only be achieved through sound fundamental analysis.
Being one of the largest active investors in the UK stockmarket certainly has its benefits for our customers. It means that we have direct access to the companies in which we invest. We meet regularly with the most senior management, tour the factories and generally ‘kick the tyres’ so we really understand a company before we commit our clients’ money. As a significant stakeholder we’re able to actively engage with their management and discuss business strategy at the highest level. So, we can help a company maximise its potential - and therefore its shareholder value – for its investor, our clients.
On the bond side, we have one of the largest teams of credit specialists and researchers in the City which means that we can compile intensive analysis of all areas of the market. It also means that we don’t have to rely on external credit rating agencies who, although useful, can often be slow to re-rate companies. Instead we use a ‘bottom up’ and ‘top down’ approach and assess the credit risk for ourselves first-hand making sure we’re uncovering the best investment opportunities for our customers. Today we are one of the UK’s leading fixed income managers in the retail sector.
We also have a firm and longstanding commitment to offering diverse fixed income products to the institutional marketplace and have invested significantly in resources to be specialists in this area. We have been at the forefront of developments within the private debt and structured credit markets.
M&G’s entire range of commercial property funds are managed with the support of one of the largest property managers in the UK, PRUPIM (opens new window). A dedicated team of property managers PRUPIM, like M&G, are part of the Prudential Group. They manage £17.9 billion in this asset class*, own around 1,000 properties and transact £1 billion worth of commercial property annually. They employ over 100 property specialists who visit potential property investments several times before crunching the numbers to understand the true potential of its return. Due to their size they get offered many ‘off market’ deals that aren’t available to other fund managers. PRUPIM’s Managing Director was recently named as the third most influential person in commercial property in the UK. We believe this is further testament to their knowledge and experience in this area.
*as at 31 March 2008