IFSL Church House Investment Grade Fixed Interest

This fund focuses on high-quality credits and is not managed to a particular benchmark. The aim is to provide a steady, low-volatility, quarterly income stream for investors. Jeremy and the team seek to achieve this by predominantly investing in investment-grade corporate bonds, as well as some UK Government gilts and supranational bonds.

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Our Opinion
Fund Manager
Key Facts
Fund Performance
Risk
Company Description
Investment process
ESG

Our Opinion

The team prides itself on providing healthy returns over the long term without the volatility of some of their peers, and that’s exactly what they’ve achieved. Jeremy utilises his extensive experience to strategically manage duration and liquidity. We feel that this fund should be considered a strong candidate to make up part of the core of an investor’s portfolio.

Fund Manager

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Fund Manager

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Jeremy Wharton, Fund manager Jeremy Wharton is the CEO and CIO at Church House Investments, where he leads the fixed income investment strategies. He previously had a 14-year career in the City, during which he worked in the gilt market and co-founded an independent gilt broker. He then spent five years as a professional investor in derivatives, trading a global macro derivatives book, before joining Church House in 2004. He has managed the Investment Grade Fixed Interest fund since 2004 and has co-managed Tenax with James Mahon since the fund’s inception in 2007. He is a chartered fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.

Jeremy Wharton, Fund manager Jeremy Wharton is the CEO and CIO at Church House Investments, where he leads the fixed income investment strategies. He previously had a 14-year career in the City, during which he worked in the gilt market and co-founded an independent gilt broker. He then spent five years as a professional investor in derivatives, trading a global macro derivatives book, before joining Church House in 2004. He has managed the Investment Grade Fixed Interest fund since 2004 and has co-managed Tenax with James Mahon since the fund’s inception in 2007. He is a chartered fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.

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Key Facts

Asset type Equity

Annual Income (Historic) -

Sector Sterling Corporate Bond

Gearing-

Fund Size-

Fund Manager Start Date 31 May 2005

Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF) -

Payment Date(s) January, April, July, October

Annual Management Charge (AMC) -

Fund Performance

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Risk

All trades are carried out in line with the fund’s investment mandate, with regular checks in place to ensure fair execution and correct allocation. The compliance team reviews these processes frequently, and daily trade reports are submitted to Investment Fund Services (IFSL). In addition, Church House’s compliance team reviews investment parameters each month, with independent oversight from IFSL.
The fund’s risk monitoring is handled by a team separate from the investment managers. This team has the authority to step in or stop a trade before it happens if it doesn’t meet the required standards. Liquidity is monitored closely and tested regularly under both normal and stressed market conditions, following UCITS and AIFMD guidelines.

The fund invests only in highly liquid assets, meaning the entire portfolio could be sold within four working days even during challenging markets. There are no holdings in assets that would be considered illiquid or hard to sell within a week.

The fund does not use borrowing (gearing) or derivatives, and it has not had any leverage or rule breaches in the past three years. The absence of complex instruments such as derivatives or currency hedging reflects the fund’s conservative and low-risk investment approach.

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Company Description

Church House Investment Management is an independent, private wealth management business that offers fund and discretionary portfolio solutions to private and professional investors. Operating from offices in London’s West End, with a regional hub in Dorset, they serve private individuals, families, trusts, pensions, and charities. Directors and senior staff own the vast majority of the company.

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Fund Performance

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Risk

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All trades are carried out in line with the fund’s investment mandate, with regular checks in place to ensure fair execution and correct allocation. The compliance team reviews these processes frequently, and daily trade reports are submitted to Investment Fund Services (IFSL). In addition, Church House’s compliance team reviews investment parameters each month, with independent oversight from IFSL.
The fund’s risk monitoring is handled by a team separate from the investment managers. This team has the authority to step in or stop a trade before it happens if it doesn’t meet the required standards. Liquidity is monitored closely and tested regularly under both normal and stressed market conditions, following UCITS and AIFMD guidelines.

The fund invests only in highly liquid assets, meaning the entire portfolio could be sold within four working days even during challenging markets. There are no holdings in assets that would be considered illiquid or hard to sell within a week.

The fund does not use borrowing (gearing) or derivatives, and it has not had any leverage or rule breaches in the past three years. The absence of complex instruments such as derivatives or currency hedging reflects the fund’s conservative and low-risk investment approach.

Company Description

Close

Church House Investment Management is an independent, private wealth management business that offers fund and discretionary portfolio solutions to private and professional investors. Operating from offices in London’s West End, with a regional hub in Dorset, they serve private individuals, families, trusts, pensions, and charities. Directors and senior staff own the vast majority of the company.

Investment process

The fund’s investment process integrates a top-down macroeconomic perspective with bottom-up fundamental analysis, combining both qualitative and quantitative insights to inform investment decisions. The first stage focuses on top-down, fundamental, and technical analysis of macroeconomic conditions. The investment team seeks to capitalise on informational opportunities while maintaining a strong awareness of risk by assessing a broad range of macro factors, including political developments, economic trends, and business and liquidity cycles.

Complementing the macro view, the fund employs a rigorous bottom-up approach to identify sectors that offer superior yield and return potential relative to the index, while maintaining lower or comparable levels of risk. Sector selection is guided by a thorough evaluation of multiple factors, including (i) sector-level economics and risk characteristics, followed by detailed company-level analysis; (ii) yield spread comparisons; and (iii) assessments of capital structures and covenant strength.

The fund seeks to capture excess returns through active sector allocation, investing in areas of the market that are entering phases of improving conditions and tightening spreads, while avoiding those where spreads have compressed beyond normal levels. Relative-value spread trading and yield curve positioning - moving up or down the curve to enhance capital appreciation or income - represent key sources of value generation within the portfolio.

At least 90% of the fund’s portfolio is invested directly in sterling-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds (including floating rate notes), UK Government gilts, and fixed interest securities issued by supranational organisations. This composition supports a low level of volatility, with the fund’s volatility expected not to exceed 5% over rolling three-year periods under normal market conditions.

In practice, the fund typically holds between 120 to 180 positions, ensuring a well-diversified and prudently constructed portfolio consistent with its investment objectives.

Risk

All trades are carried out in line with the fund’s investment mandate, with regular checks in place to ensure fair execution and correct allocation. The compliance team reviews these processes frequently, and daily trade reports are submitted to Investment Fund Services (IFSL). In addition, Church House’s compliance team reviews investment parameters each month, with independent oversight from IFSL.
The fund’s risk monitoring is handled by a team separate from the investment managers. This team has the authority to step in or stop a trade before it happens if it doesn’t meet the required standards. Liquidity is monitored closely and tested regularly under both normal and stressed market conditions, following UCITS and AIFMD guidelines.

The fund invests only in highly liquid assets, meaning the entire portfolio could be sold within four working days even during challenging markets. There are no holdings in assets that would be considered illiquid or hard to sell within a week.

The fund does not use borrowing (gearing) or derivatives, and it has not had any leverage or rule breaches in the past three years. The absence of complex instruments such as derivatives or currency hedging reflects the fund’s conservative and low-risk investment approach.

ESG

The fund doesn’t integrate ESG considerations into its investment process.

Related Insights

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