Candriam repositions Bonds Total Return: the Bonds Global Alpha fund is born
25 AUG, 2026
By Joanna Piwko from RankiaPro Europe
Candriam has announced the strategic repositioning of the Candriam Bonds Total Return fund, which will become Candriam Bonds Global Alpha Fund subject to shareholder approval. The operation marks the evolution of the compartment towards an alternative global macro bond strategy, with a more flexible approach and less dependence on the performance of traditional bond markets.
The new fund will become part of the company's alternative investment offering and will aim to exploit opportunities generated by divergences in monetary policies, dispersion among interest rate markets and misalignments in valuations.
A more flexible global macro strategy
With the new positioning, Candriam Bonds Global Alpha will adopt an active and unconstrained management, combining long and short directional positions, especially in the global interest rate and sovereign credit markets, with relative value strategies. The stated goal is to outperform the benchmark through an approach capable of adapting to different market contexts, while maintaining an average ex ante volatility of less than 5% under normal conditions.
The strategy will be built to offer a low correlation with traditional bond markets. In particular, the fund will combine two complementary components: on one hand directional strategies, to opportunistically assume long and short exposures and manage the bond beta; on the other hand relative value strategies, aimed at capturing inefficiencies between comparable instruments through a market neutral positioning.
Focus on investment grade and continuity of the management team
The fund will primarily invest in investment grade bonds issued globally by sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate issuers. To implement its investment views, manage risk and increase portfolio efficiency, it will also make extensive use of derivatives on interest rates, credit and currencies.
On the management front, Candriam has confirmed that there will be no changes in the investment team. Jamie Niven will remain the lead manager of the fund, assisted by co-managers Yohanne Levy, Bob Maes and Philippe Dehoux. The fund can thus continue to leverage the team's consolidated experience in global bond investments. The fund is registered for distribution in several European markets, including Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
“The bond markets today offer a wider range of opportunities, thanks to a greater dispersion of interest rates, the divergence of monetary policies, and the more marked differences in valuations between regions and sectors. In this context, investors require strategies capable of quickly adapting to the evolution of market conditions and seizing opportunities both on the long and short front. The Candriam Bonds Global Alpha strategy is designed with this goal in mind.”
Nicolas Jullien, Global Head of Fixed Income and Head of High Yield and Credit Arbitrage at Candriam
