What really makes a diversified income fund run?

Marek Krzeczkowski

So Marek before we get our hands dirty, tell us a bit about your background?

“I come from Poland and was born in Gdansk which is a port city on the Baltic coast. I spent my early career (12 years) in sunny Scotland working for BlackRock, Baillie Gifford and TCAM Asset Management. In my last role, I managed a research team and was responsible for the asset allocation and stock selection for over $2 billion funds that we managed. I don’t have much time for many other interests outside family, and work, but I do enjoy a spot of fishing with the kids.”

When thinking about diversified income funds what are the key deliverables and elements that contribute to their overall performance?

“The two main deliverables you would expect from a fund like this is the ability to provide income and capital preservation. This means ensuring that the buying power of that capital is maintained while assisting investors' income needs. Most income funds will invest in all of the major asset classes and have a strategic asset allocation (SAA) which is developed to take into account the maximum weights needed for each asset class in a complete market cycle. An active fund manager like ourselves will also apply a tactical asset allocation (TAA) to take advantage of market fluctuations and use derivatives to manage risk. Every fund will have an investment objective so the investor knows what to expect by way of outcome. For example, ours is the consumer price index (CPI) plus 3%.”