The New York-listed asset management firm said the opportunistic bond fund comes at a “juncture” in fixed income markets.

Legg Mason is launching a Dublin-domiciled global total return bond fund via its fixed income subsidiary, Western Asset.

The Legg Mason Western Asset Global Total Return Investment Grade Bond Fund will target positive returns by identifying relative value opportunities across global investment grade debt markets and currencies.

The benchmark-agnostic UCITS fund will be managed by Gordon Brown, co-head of global portfolios at Western Asset, who will be supported by fellow portfolio manager Andrew Cormack. It will use a combination of top-down global macro strategies and tactical sector allocation, as well as bottom-up security selection.

The managers will seek to mitigate risk, aiming to keep volatility of the fund between 4-6 per cent. The fund will invest solely in investment grade bond markets, which have historically suffered much lower defaults than high yield bonds.

“Fixed income markets are at a very interesting juncture, with the potential for rate rises in the US countered by concerns over global growth, particularly in China,” said Brown. 

“As such, financial markets should continue to be volatile, and therefore a flexible strategy that can exploit opportunities as they emerge could be an attractive addition to investors attempting to manage their fixed income exposure.”

The fund will carry an annual management charge of 0.75 per cent payable on the retail share class.