"The consequences of failing to keep on track will be quite severe so we are treading very carefully. The cost of a strategy going wrong is potentially more catastrophic in the present climate so we have to keep a very close eye on the market now," he said.
Burdett co-manages five unfettered funds of funds with Gary Potter, including Thames River Balanced Managed and Thames River Cautious Managed. The manager prefers to keep a cautious portfolio as the world economy recovers from the downturn.
"We still favour a muddle-through outcome for the economy and are quite neutral from an asset-allocation perspective. We have a bias towards stock-picking managers. Strong companies are likely to get stronger, and stock-pickers will do well," he added.
Burdett says simplicity is the key to his investment strategy success and is wary of trying to be too clever. He continued by saying: "We are spending our cash flow very carefully at the moment and trying not to overcomplicate things. Any strategies out of the ordinary were punished heavily as the market fell in 2008."
"We favour high yield and strategic bonds at the expense of corporate bond funds."
Thames River Cautious Managed invests its £262m assets under management globally with a 36 per cent weighting to fixed interest bond funds. The fund has returned 17 per cent over the last three years compared with 11 per cent from the sector average.
Performance of fund vs sector over 3-yrs
Source: Financial Express Analytics
Ben Willis, who advises at Whitechurch, says he largely agrees with Burdett’s strategy but overall prefers investing in equities.
"Corporate bonds are looking pretty pricey but I can see with the high yields Rob Burdett is able to achieve, that, by investing in them, he could be sitting on some high value," he said.
"Ultimately it’s important to strike a balanced and diverse investment approach in the current environment and to go overweight in certain areas when you see value."