David Lis, Head of Equities appointed as Fund Manager of the High Yield Equity Fund

Following the Strategic Review undertaken by Aviva Investors at the end of last year, Kirill Pyshkin, who was the fund manager for the Aviva Irl High Yield Equity Fund, has left the company. Aviva Investors remains committed to Equities and the Aviva Irl High Yield Equity Fund will form an integral part of delivering our strategy of income and low volatility going forward. The investment structure for the Aviva Irl High Yield Equity proposition has been enhanced and will now consist of a Lead Fund Manager, David Lis who is Head of Equities at Aviva Investors, supported by a team of 5 experienced specialist regional fund managers.

No change to the philosophy or process of the fund

There will be no change to the investment philosophy that has underpinned the success of the Aviva Irl High Yield Equity Fund - targeting high yielding, high quality companies with growing and sustainable dividends remains at the core of the strategy. The investment process remains unchanged and continues to feature robust screening of stocks, together with rigorous fundamental analysis to construct the portfolios.

Best ideas from other equity income fund managers

The Equities Team at Aviva Investors has a wealth of experience managing funds across all regions; in total over eur40bn (£33bn) of assets are run by this team, split across active and passive strategies. Each of the fund managers have a successful long term track record in their respective regions.  Investing in companies with high conviction, as well as a long-term investment horizon (3-5 years) is central to how this team manage money and how the Aviva Irl High Yield Equity Fund will continue to be run.

Aviva Investors firmly believes this team-based approach is a compelling investment proposition for brokers and their clients, and one that will further differentiate us from many competitors in the market. The approach enables Aviva Life & Pensions broker network to benefit from the best stock ideas delivered by an array of experienced regional fund managers. As part of the fund management process:

• The lead fund manager, David Lis,  will have oversight of the whole process.
• The fund management team will meet for a weekly portfolio construction review to provide their input.
• The Aviva Investors MAF Team will provide weekly Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation inputs.
• In addition we have appointed a portfolio constructor, with a key role of risk management oversight, to ensure the successful integration of these ideas into the funds.
• Additional resources include equity analyst support and a dedicated research team, as before.
• Increased corporate access is also a key additional benefit of utilising this team based approach.

Improvements will widen the funds appeal

Aviva Investors recognises the Aviva Irl High Yield Equity Fund as a flagship fund for Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland, with a proven track record.  By providing the expertise of the Equities team to enhance the investment proposition we hope to increase the asset base of these funds in the longer term.

Widespread Broker Communications planned

As part of the communication of this new approach, we will be arranging presentations to Aviva Life & Pensions broker network in Ireland shortly (attended by David Lis and Richard Saldanha) to introduce the team.  We also aim to have regular webinars (on a quarterly basis) to update brokers on the fund and present the latest views and outlook from the team.

Compelling investment proposition

To summarise, Aviva Investors believe this is an enhanced and compelling investment proposition for brokers and their clients and we are committed to maintaining this as a flagship fund for Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland.

Learn more

Register here for the first webinar with David Lis, where he’ll talk about the fund investment philosophy and process, his impressive credentials in equity income, the team’s credentials and the fund's strong track record of performance.