
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund

This fund invests in quality investment grade bonds, looking for a competitive income whilst generating attractive total returns. Ethical exclusions are simple: no mining, arms, gambling, pornography, animal testing, nuclear power, alcohol or tobacco. This rules out about one third of the index. All positions must also have at least one positive environmental, social or corporate governance quality.
Our Opinion
Fund Managers
Fund Managers

Bryn Jones, Lead Manager Bryn heads fixed income at Rathbones, managing the Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund and the Rathbone Strategic Bond Fund. He joined Rathbones in 2004 from Merrill Lynch, where he managed $2 billion in fixed income assets. Bryn is a key member of the Rathbone Strategic Asset Allocation Committee and serves as the non-executive chairman of the Fixed Income Committee. He represents Rathbones in the HMT Debt Management Office's gilt market consultations and is an active media commentator on CNBC and Bloomberg TV. Bryn holds a BA in Geography from Birmingham University and has received numerous awards for his funds, including Best Ethical Investment Fund and Best Sustainable and ESG Bond Fund.

Stuart Chilvers, Deputy Manager Stuart assists Bryn Jones in managing the Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund and the Rathbone Strategic Bond Fund, and he is the lead fund manager of the Rathbone High Quality Bond Fund. He joined Rathbones in September 2017, becoming an Assistant Fund Manager in January 2020 and a Fund Manager in January 2022. Before Rathbones, Stuart worked at Brown Shipley for three years. He holds a first-class degree in Mathematics from Bath University and is a CFA Charterholder. Stuart also has the CISI Chartered Wealth Manager qualification, winning awards in 2016 and 2017 for his achievements in financial markets and wealth management.

Christle Goncalves, Deputy Manager Christie is an Assistant Fund Manager at Rathbones Asset Management, focusing on Fixed Income Strategies and working closely with the Head of Fixed Income, Bryn Jones. She joined Rathbones in January 2024. Christie brings extensive experience in fixed income markets, having previously worked at Vanguard for eight years as an Assistant Portfolio Manager on global corporate ESG funds and ETFs, and as a Senior Trader specializing in EUR and GBP rates and credit. Before Vanguard, she was an Emerging Markets Trader and Portfolio Manager at Stanlib in South Africa. Christie holds an honours degree in Investment Management from the University of Pretoria (cum laude), is a CFA Charterholder, and has the Financial Risk Management qualification.
Fund Performance
Risk
Talking Factsheet
Quote from the Fund Manager
My fund offers one of the best yields in the corporate bond fund universe and the bonus of a strong ethical screening process.

Bryn Jones
Lead Manager
Investment process
The fund has a four-step investment process. Idea generation comes first, with extensive research and meetings. This is followed by a ‘four Cs plus’ approach to assessing bonds; looking at character - the quality of the management team; capacity - the ability to pay off the debt; collateral - what specific assets are offered as security; and covenants - the rules behind what the company can borrow. The ‘plus’ is conviction in the idea. Relative valuations are considered in the penultimate step of the process. The ethical screen is applied at the final stage and companies will also need at least one positive ethical factor to be included in the fund. The ethical research is provided by Rathbones’ Greenbank division.
Risk
The risk profile for Rathbone Ethical bond fund is average relative to its sector, but it is not low-risk. In the words of Bryn, it is not a diversification from equities, or somewhere to hide if things get nasty. It tends to do better when markets are rising steadily or falling, but may underperform in strongly performing gilt markets.
ESG
ESG - Explicit
Ethical research for this fund is provided by Rathbone Greenbank Investments, a dedicated ethical, sustainable and impact team of Rathbones, that works with the fund manager. After attractive corporate bonds are identified by the manager, Rathbone Greenbank’s ethical researchers will then investigate the companies issuing the bonds. Companies are assessed against a number of positive and negative social and environmental criteria. Negative screening excludes organisations involved in activities such as animal testing, alcohol manufacturing, fossil fuel exploration and production, arms dealing and gambling. Issuers involved in any negative criteria will be discounted. Positive practices include community investment, management of environmental impacts and provision of products or services that offer social or environmental benefits.
Those demonstrating well-developed policies and practices in at least one positive area will be considered for investment. The shortlisted bonds will then need to be approved by a member of the fund’s ethical committee. The portfolio, criteria and investment and research processes are subject to an annual review and subsequent report.