Vanguard has launched the Vanguard Global Government Bond Index fund – the firm’s seventh fixed income portfolio to be created in Europe this year.
It will track the Bloomberg Global Treasury Developed Countries Float Adjusted index and will be hedged to reduce currency risk.
The ongoing charges figure (OCF) of all share classes will be 0.14% and the fund will complement the Vanguard Global Government Bond UCITS ETF launched earlier this year, providing investors with a choice of investment wrappers.
Mark Fitzgerald, head of product specialism at Vanguard Europe, said: “When it comes to fixed income it can be tempting for investors to invest locally. However, underscored by recent market events, the added breadth of a global allocation can help diversify risk.
“By adding a global government bond fund, investors gain exposure to more securities, different inflation and economic environments, as well as different business cycles, from a wider range of markets.”
Vanguard’s fixed income suite of funds manages more than $2.6trn of assets, with the latest launch increasing the number of options available to investors to 40.
Meanwhile, Swiss asset management firm UBS has launched two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this morning.
The UBS EUR Treasury Yield Plus UCITS ETF and UBS USD Treasury Yield Plus UCITS ETF aim to outperform their respective Bloomberg indices by targeting higher option-adjusted spread (OAS), while maintaining similar duration, credit quality and country exposure to the benchmarks.
They will use high-quality sovereign, supranational and agency (SSA) bonds, which can offer a higher yield than government bonds.
André Mueller, head of client coverage at UBS AM, said: “The rapidly increasing assets in enhanced fixed income ETFs signals growing investor demand for funds that go beyond traditional passive benchmarks.”
The funds will be available across Europe, as well as in the UK, and will have an OCF of 0.15%.