Our approach to short-dated bonds
Aviva Investors’ ReturnPlus Strategy draws on a range of credit spread premia to optimise returns from strategic cash while mitigating risk and maintaining liquidity.
Potential benefits of capital efficient short-dated bonds
The strategy is structured to deliver better risk-adjusted returns than cash and a highly liquid exposure in a capital-efficient format.
Enhancing returns
Attractive investment for strategic cash assets.
Capital efficiency
Investments with low solvency capital charges.
Investing in high-quality, short-dated debt; keeping risk low using a variety of tools.
Liquidity
Allocating investments to highly liquid instruments.
Daily redemptions, settled T+3.
Key risks of ReturnPlus
Investment risk & Currency risk
The value of an investment and any income from it can go down as well as up and can fluctuate in response to changes in currency and exchange rates. Investors may not get back the original amount invested.
Credit and interest rate risk
Bond values are affected by changes in interest rates and the bond issuer's creditworthiness. Bonds that offer the potential for a higher income typically have a greater risk of default.
Illiquid securities risk
Some investments could be hard to value or to sell at a desired time, or at a price considered to be fair (especially in large quantities), and as a result their prices can be volatile.
ReturnPlus team
Todd Cutting
Head of Enhanced Liquidity and ReturnPlus
Explore our fixed income range
Fixed income views
-
Taking the leap: Incorporating climate in core investment-grade allocations
16 Jun. 2026
How can investors align their credit allocations to net-zero commitments and maintain returns?
-
Confidence in a changing climate
15 Jun. 2026
How can institutions forge impactful climate strategies that are right for them and their end beneficiaries? Our “Confidence in a changing climate” guide showcases some of the solutions we have developed to help.
-
The week in markets: Investors search for firmer ground
12 Jun. 2026
Investors searched for firmer ground as strong jobs data and simmering geopolitical tensions unsettled equities, before a late-week rally helped restore some stability.
-
Bond Voyage: Why repo is quietly becoming one of the most important issues for investors
9 Jun. 2026
As central banks unwind quantitative easing (QE), liquidity is increasingly being provided through repo operations instead of continuous asset purchases by the banks. How resilient is this new approach?
-
Blockchain: The quiet technology reshaping financial infrastructure
8 Jun. 2026
Tokenisation is more than a technical novelty. Our simple guide explains how blockchain turns assets into digital tokens and examines the potential benefits and risks.
-
Sustainability review 2025
2 Jun. 2026
We believe understanding sustainability factors and trends is fundamental to effective asset management. This report sets out our approach and includes an overview of our holistic stewardship activities over the past year
-
Clarity and resilience: New guidance for European Money Market Funds
21 May 2026
New guidance on the rules governing European money market funds should strengthen the market’s foundations and provide a firm footing for innovation and growth, argues Alastair Sewell.
-
Bond Voyage: Emerging markets have changed: why markets shouldn’t price them like it's 2013
11 May 2026
Emerging markets have increasingly forged for themselves a path less dependent on external conditions, making local currency debt one of the most mispriced narratives in global markets.
-
Contemporary alchemy
5 May 2026
Precious metals such as gold and silver, rare earth minerals, and industrial metals such as copper have been making headlines in recent months. We talked to a team of experts to discover what’s been driving investors’ appetite.
-
The case for ReturnPlus: A capital-efficient enhanced liquidity strategy
30 Apr. 2026
The ReturnPlus strategy invests in a broad range of liquidity sub-asset classes, while consuming limited regulatory capital. Our ReturnPlus team explains why investors should consider an allocation to the strategy.
-
Bond Voyage: Oil shocks without the drama
9 Apr. 2026
The reaction to the latest oil price shock provides further evidence that those countries which have taken steps to strengthen their financial position are being rewarded by bond investors.
-
Bond Voyage: Dancing to a new tune: How Japan’s Lifers are adapting to a market in flux
9 Feb. 2026
Japan’s bond markets enter 2026 transformed and recent structural shifts have changed the behaviour of the country’s powerful life insurers.
-
Bond Voyage: Industrialised alpha meets fixed income fragility
13 Jan. 2026
Could the proliferation of short-term leverage strategies be the next hidden challenge for fixed income markets?
-
Rethinking risk in EMD: The great inversion on emerging markets
28 Nov. 2025
Market and economic trends are challenging the idea that emerging market (EM) bonds should trade at a discount to developed economy debt.
-
Bond Voyage: SHIELD: Refining downside protection in fixed income
9 Oct. 2025
In this month’s Bond Voyage, we introduce SHIELD – the downside protection framework used by our fixed income division. SHIELD is designed to ensure our portfolios remain resilient in challenging market conditions while maintaining capital efficiency.
-
From niche to core: Asset-based finance emerges as a driving force as private debt markets continue to evolve
7 Oct. 2025
Asset-based finance is capturing the attention of institutional investors – from pension schemes to insurers – thanks to its diverse risk-return drivers and its growing role as a strategic building block in investors’ portfolios.