Fifteen funds across the Investment Association’s sterling fixed income sectors have beaten their sector average return in at least eight of the 10 calendar years between 2016 and 2025, according to Trustnet research.
This analysis compared the discrete annual returns of funds in the IA Sterling Corporate Bond, IA Sterling High Yield and IA Sterling Strategic Bond sectors over the decade to identify the strategies that delivered the most consistent outperformance.
Starting with the IA Sterling Corporate Bond sector, the five funds listed in the table below beat the sector average in at least eight of the assessed 10 years.
Source: FE Analytics. Figures highlighted in red represent years in which a fund underperformed the IA Sterling Corporate Bond sector average.
Schroder Sterling Corporate Bond was the second-best in the sector behind Neuberger Corporate Hybrid Bond – posting the strongest 10-year return of the five funds in the list (60.2%).
It had several stand-out years, topping the table in 2025 with an 8.8% gain and again in 2023 and 2021, gaining 12.6% and 1.8% respectively. In 2021, it was also the best-performing fund in the sector.
Launched in 1995, the £519.3m strategy is co-managed by Julian Houdain and Martin Coucke, following the departure of former manager Jonathan Golan, who joined M&G’s fixed income team.
The fund demonstrated its ability to hold up when the wider sector struggles and was recently identified as one of 30 sterling fixed income funds yielding more than cash.
RSMR analysts described it as a “core investment grade bond offering”, noting that the experienced team and the fund’s relatively modest size allow the managers to exploit opportunities larger strategies may miss.
Royal London Corporate Bond posted the fourth-best 10-year return in the whole sector, gaining 47.2% over the assessed period.
It posted the strongest return in the table of funds in 2024 and was second only to Schroder Sterling Corporate Bond last year.
The £1.9bn strategy was launched in 1999 and has been managed by FE fundinfo Alpha Manager Shalin Shah since 2017, with Matthew Franklin joining as co-manager in 2022.
“Royal London describe themselves as value investors in corporate bonds with opportunities arising because [of their more unconstrained approach]” RSMR analysts noted. “This fund has more of an investment-grade bias to it.”
More than half of the portfolio is invested in BBB-rated bonds, and over 60% of the portfolio matures within 10 years.
Performance of the funds vs sector, 2016-2025
Source: FE Analytics
IA Sterling High Yield
Turning to the IA Sterling High Yield sector, only two funds managed to beat the sector average in at least eight years: Aegon High Yield Bond and Schroder High Yield Opportunities.
Source: FE Analytics. Figures highlighted in red represent years in which a fund underperformed the IA Sterling High Yield sector average.
Aegon High Yield Bond was the best-performing fund in the whole sector in 2025, with a gain just shy of 10%. The fund also proved popular among investors last year, attracting £400m in net new money.
The strategy also stands out for its defensiveness, protecting capital better than many peers during the 2022 sell-off, losing 9.3%.
Thomas Hanson and Mark Benbow have co-managed the £1.5bn index-agnostic strategy since 2019, blending individual bond selection with macroeconomic assessment and fundamental analysis across valuation and sentiment.
Over the full 10-year period, the fund has delivered 76.4%, which is the second-best return in the whole sector.
It was one of five income funds backed by fund experts going into 2026.
Meanwhile, Schroder High Yield Opportunities has been the outright performance leader, delivering 81.1% over the assessed 10 years – the highest return in the sector.
On a year-by-year basis, the fund topped the sector in 2017 with a 9.9% return and also ranked in the top three in 2020. It gained 11.1% in 2024 and 9.1% in 2025 – both top-quartile results.
Year-to-date (to 15 May 2026), however, Schroder High Yield Opportunities has posted the weakest return in the sector at 0.3%.
Managed by Daniel Pearson, the fund aims to deliver income and capital growth of 4.5% and 6.5% per year over three to five years. Most of the portfolio is invested in B-, BB- or BBB-rated bonds, with only 1.1% in AA-rated bonds.
RSMR analysts noted that the fund’s emphasis on total return and the resources applied to credit selection should enable the fund to perform across most market cycles.
Performance of the funds vs sector, 2016-2025
Source: FE Analytics
IA Sterling Strategic Bond
Finally, eight funds beat the IA Sterling Strategic Bond sector average in at least eight years.
Source: FE Analytics. Figures highlighted in red represent years in which a fund underperformed the IA Sterling Strategic Bond sector average.
The £1.8bn Royal London Sterling Extra Yield Bond fund was the strongest performer, posting a 90.8% 10-year return – the best in both the table and the sector.
The fund has logged a particularly strong recent track record, posting first-quartile returns in 2024 and 2025 and leading the table year-to-date with a 1.4% gain.
It has also proven resilient in difficult markets, as it was the only strategy in the table to achieve a first-quartile return in 2022.
Alpha Manager Eric Holt has managed the strategy since its launch in 2003 and was joined by co-manager Rachid Semaoune in 2019.
Similarly, the £565m Aegon Strategic Bond fund has been a strong performer in several years, including a top-quartile 15.8% return in 2020 and 10.8% gain in 2024 – the third-best in the whole sector.
It has also been managed by an Alpha Manager – Alexander Pelteshki – since 2017, with co-manager Colin Finlayson joining as co-manager in 2018.
Their high conviction and total return approach produces a portfolio of between 90 to 150 bonds across government, investment-grade, high yield and emerging market debt.
However, the Aegon strategy has been the weakest performer of the table of funds year-to-date, losing 0.6%.
Meanwhile, Artemis High Income posted a first-quartile return in six of the 10 assessed years. However, it struggled in 2020, slipping into the fourth quartile with a 1.7% return.
The strategy selectively invests in investment-grade and government bonds and can also hold up to 20% in dividend-paying equities. It has been highlighted by platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell for its short duration and lower-volatility profile.
The £918.1m fund has an FE fundinfo Crown Rating of five and has been co-managed by Alpha Manager Ed Legget, Jack Holmes and David Ennett since 2021.
Performance of the funds vs sector, 2016-2025
Source: FE Analytics