IN an investment environment where the concept of risk has been shoved to the background by investors scrambling for hefty profits, Fidelity Investments portfolio manager Donald Taylor stands out from the crowd.
Mr Taylor oversees the Fidelity Income Fund, a no-load investment vehicle which primarily invests in short-term bonds with an average maturity of three years or less.
Since its launch in May, the fund has grown to US$20 million while the net asset value has edged up by 2.5 per cent to $10.25 a unit. The yield has been 5.27 per cent.
Mr Taylor said an important theme was the emphasis on avoiding risk to preserve capital and provide returns superior to money market rates.
''It's much more important for me to avoid the downside in the event interest rates rise as opposed to catching the upside if interest rates fall,'' Mr Taylor said yesterday. ''We're trying to take as little risk as possible. I'm not trying to take a bighit on the bond market.'' The fund is the first no-load and the first short-term bond fund in Hong Kong.
With about $1.5 trillion in a number of savings instruments, Fidelity said the market potential was enormous.