Our approach
Strategic bond funds can offer investors exposure to many different areas of fixed income such as government, corporate and high-yield bonds, offering portfolio diversification. However, strategic bond funds come in many flavours. The strategic bond sector is one with a high dispersion of returns, inconsistent performance, and high correlation with the high-yield market.
Our Strategic Bond Fund has a long track record managed with a consistent process and team. We invest in the best ideas across global fixed income markets using a long-term, fundamentally driven approach within a focused portfolio. We seek to provide clients with superior risk-adjusted returns through market cycles and minimise drawdowns during periods of volatility.
Why invest?
The Aviva Investors Strategic Bond Fund represents a compelling option for investors seeking to outsource their fixed income decision making to a truly global team of bond specialists. The fund is designed to provide a strategic anchor for a core fixed income allocation:
Single solution
The fund is a convenient solution for investors looking to gain diversified exposure across global fixed income markets in a standalone strategy.
Global
The fund can invest globally, accessing a wide opportunity set to construct a portfolio that can perform throughout market cycles. However, it is important to note that at least 80 per cent of the portfolio’s assets will either be sterling-denominated or hedged back to sterling.
Total return focus
Long-term outperformance with less risk. Fixed income investing involves asymmetric risks that are skewed to the downside – in other words, the potential losses are greater than the potential gains. This can result in a tendency to focus on avoiding defaults. However, when trying to maximise total returns, identifying winners is also crucial.
Strategic Bond fund
A total-return fixed income solution that utilises a flexible, unconstrained approach across global bond markets, seeking to deliver clients long-term excess returns with less risk through market cycles.
Aviva Investors Strategic Bond Fund
A total-return fixed income solution that utilises a flexible, unconstrained approach across global bond markets, seeking to deliver long-term excess returns.
Investment philosophy
The Aviva Investors Strategic Bond Fund is built on the belief that fixed income outcomes are best delivered through flexibility, disciplined portfolio construction and deep collaboration across global credit markets.
We believe that bond markets are inherently dynamic, with return opportunities and risks shifting meaningfully across sectors, regions and credit qualities over time. A rigid, benchmark‑constrained approach can leave investors over‑exposed to unattractive areas of the market, particularly late in the cycle. Instead, we adopt an active and flexible approach, allocating dynamically across the global fixed income universe to capture the most compelling income and capital return opportunities while carefully managing downside risks.
Investment insights
Investment thinking that brings together the collective insight of Aviva Investors’ teams from across the globe on the key themes influencing markets.
Views
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The week in markets: Temperatures are rising, and so are markets
29 May 2026
In a strong week for markets, with record equity highs and falling bond yields, driven by lower oil prices and improving inflation signals, optimism is building but it's still not secure.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Bond Voyage: Markets repricing as Gulf conflict threatens energy shock
12 Mar 2026
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to impact the markets while inflation expectations are recalibrated.
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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.
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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?
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Benchmarking cash, part two: A survey of cash trends
19 Dec 2025
In the second of a two-part series on cash trends, our liquidity team examines European corporate cash holdings and the increasing appeal of money market funds (MMFs).
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Buy and maintain credit: Taking the road to net zero
15 Dec 2025
Long-term trends like climate change are particularly important for buy-and-maintain investors. How can they integrate climate objectives, such as net zero by 2050, into their portfolios?
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Bond Voyage: Hyperscalers issue debt to finance huge investments in generative AI data centres
12 Dec 2025
In the last Bond Voyage edition of 2025, we examine the vast amounts of capital being deployed to build new high-capacity data centres and how the expenditure is being funded in the bond markets.
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Boosting low-carbon investment in the UK: 2025 Roadmap Update
11 Dec 2025
In 2024, we outlined our view on the most important public-policy interventions to unlock private investment in the low-carbon economy. In this update, we take stock of policy developments since, and look ahead to 2026 and beyond.
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Purposeful run-on: A credible alternative to buyout
5 Dec 2025
Discover why purposeful run-on is emerging as a credible alternative to buyout for well-funded defined benefit (DB) pension schemes – and how it can unlock long-term value while keeping clients' needs at the centre.
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Beyond buyout: Why DB schemes are reconsidering their endgame
4 Dec 2025
Significant shifts in the defined benefit (DB) pension schemes landscape mean that as schemes mature, trustees and sponsors now face a broader spectrum of strategic choices. We explain why the choice between buyout and run-on is no longer binary.
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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
Bond Voyage: A journey into fixed income
Each month, our freewheeling fixed-income newsletter gathers insights from our high-yield, investment-grade, emerging-market and global sovereign bond teams.
House view
House View
No one can predict the future. But our quarterly House View sets out the collective wisdom of our investment teams on the current state of global markets – and where they might be heading.
Key risks
For further information on the risks and risk profiles of our funds, please refer to the relevant KIID and Prospectus.
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 exchange rates. Investors may not get back the original amount invested.
Illiquid securities risk
Certain assets held in the fund could, by nature, 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 could be very volatile.
Credit 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.
Derivatives risk
The fund uses derivatives; these can be complex and highly volatile. Derivatives may not perform as expected, which means the fund may suffer significant losses.
Convertible securities risk
Convertible bonds can earn less income than comparable debt securities and less growth than comparable equity securities, and carry a high level of risk.
Strategic bond fund team
Chris Higham
Senior Portfolio Manager
James Vokins
Head of Investment Grade Credit and Core Income
Explore
Fixed income
Fixed income is an indispensable building block for meeting a variety of investment goals, including income, inflation protection, liability management and capital appreciation.
Important Information
THIS IS A MARKETING COMMUNICATION
Unless stated otherwise any opinions expressed are those of Aviva Investors. They should not be viewed as indicating any guarantee of return from an investment managed by Aviva Investors nor as personalised advice of any nature. This document should not be taken as a recommendation or offer by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such an offer is not authorised or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation. Portfolio holdings are subject to change at any time without notice and information about specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. The Aviva Investors Strategic Bond Fund is a sub-fund of the Aviva Investors Investment Funds ICVC. For further information please read the latest Key Investor Information Document and Supplementary Information Document. The Prospectus and the annual and interim reports are also available on request. Copies in English can be obtained, free of charge from Aviva Investors, PO Box 10410, Chelmsford CM99 2AY. You can also download copies at www.avivainvestors.com Issued by Aviva Investors UK Fund Services Limited, the Authorised Fund Manager. Registered in England and Wales No. 1973412. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm Reference No. 119310. Registered address: 80 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4AE. An Aviva company.
The Investment Manager endeavours to comply with the requirements of the UK Stewardship Code when managing the Funds’ assets. Stewardship is the responsible allocation, management and oversight of capital to create long-term value for investors leading to sustainable benefits for the economy, the environment and society. Environmental (particularly climate) and social factors, in addition to governance, have become material issues for fund managers to consider when making investment decisions and undertaking stewardship. The Investment Manager therefore considers a range of financial and non-financial information when assessing investments and to inform its stewardship activities, including considering the potential or actual material risk that sustainability issues may have on an investment. For more information on how the Investment Manager carries out this activity and meets the requirements of the UK Stewardship Code, as well as details about Aviva Investors’ firmwide policy, please see our website: Policies and documents - Aviva Investors