The Pension Protection Fund has widened its panel of active bond managers to help its next phase in managing extensive fixed income investments, providing better flexibility across a wider range of bond strategies.

To help the PPF achieve this, five firms were re-appointed and ten firms are newly appointed to the panel. The new appointments include Morgan Stanley, M&G, Insight Investments, Alliance Bernstein, BlueBay, BlueCrest Capital, Colchester, Investec, Loomis Sayles and Stone Harbor.

PPF executive director of financial risk Martin Clarke said: “As we grow, we are looking to develop an investment strategy that will enable us to source a broader range of fixed income investment opportunities, while staying true to our low-risk appetite.

"We have already given greater asset allocation to cash to shorten the overall duration of the bond portfolio and will soon embark on a major transition that will bring into play some of the specialist strategies that are now represented in our enlarged panel.”

Future managers will be selected from the panel to invest with both specialist and general mandates in a range of fixed income sectors.

The panel now has collective expertise in absolute return strategies, asset-backed securities and emerging market debt, global sovereigns and corporate credit to assist the PPF’s growing portfolio of assets now worth £12bn.

Contracts for appointed managers will be four years with the option of extending the contract for two further periods of up to two years. The PPF will only place funds with panel managers whose strategies and skills most meet its objectives at the time.

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