05 Nov 2026
RSMR fund ratings are more than just a badge of quality — they represent trust, due diligence, and a reputation built on rigorous research and expert analysis. Every month we study the universe of funds in the investment marketplace to assess whether they meet our exacting standards and should be given the RSMR seal of approval.
Here are the new rated funds from our October review:
Managed by Ian Lance and Nick Purves of Redwheel Asset Management, Temple Bar Investment Trust aims to deliver a growing income alongside long term capital growth through investment primarily in UK equities. The trust has a clear value bias, seeking opportunities in companies whose share prices stand at a meaningful discount to the managers’ assessment of intrinsic value. While the portfolio is predominantly invested in UK large and mid-cap companies, it retains the flexibility to invest up to 30% of assets overseas and can employ gearing to enhance long term returns. This combination of income generation, valuation discipline and structural flexibility differentiates the trust from many traditional UK equity income strategies.
The investment process is founded on the belief that markets often overreact to short term developments, creating opportunities to acquire fundamentally sound businesses at attractive valuations. Potential investments are identified through valuation screening and detailed fundamental research, with particular attention paid to earnings power, balance sheet strength, capital allocation and long term prospects. The managers require a significant margin of safety before investing and favour companies where clear catalysts, such as management change, operational improvement or earnings recovery, can unlock shareholder value. RSMR's decision to rate the trust reflects the strength and consistency of this approach, the extensive experience of the management team and the structural advantages provided by the investment trust vehicle. The ability to utilise gearing, invest more widely than many peers and actively allocate capital to the most compelling opportunities supports a differentiated and well-defined strategy that RSMR believes offers investors an attractive way to access a disciplined value investing style.
Adrian Frost, Nick Shenton and Andy Marsh manage Murray Income Trust, a UK equity income investment trust that aims to deliver a combination of growing income and long-term capital growth through investment primarily in UK-listed companies. Managed by Artemis since March 2026, the trust adopts a style-agnostic approach, seeking opportunities across the market rather than being constrained to traditional value, growth or quality categories. Instead, the managers focus on businesses capable of generating sustainable earnings, dividend growth and, most importantly, growing free cash flow. The portfolio is diversified and supported by modest gearing, while the trust’s progressive dividend policy and long-standing record of dividend growth reinforce its appeal for income-focused investors seeking capital appreciation alongside rising distributions.
The investment process is built on the belief that long-term shareholder returns are ultimately driven by a company’s ability to generate and grow free cash flow. Research is fundamentally driven, with the managers assessing industry dynamics, competitive advantages, management quality, capital allocation and long-term cash flow prospects to identify businesses where market expectations underestimate future potential. Portfolio construction is conviction-led, with capital allocated according to risk-reward opportunities rather than benchmark weightings, resulting in a portfolio that can look meaningfully different from the wider market. RSMR has awarded the trust a rating following the appointment of Artemis, reflecting confidence in a well-established and repeatable investment process with a strong long-term track record. The combination of an experienced management team, a disciplined cash flow-focused philosophy, modest structural gearing and the potential for additional shareholder value through discount management provides investors with a differentiated and compelling approach to UK equity income investing.
Click here to read the factsheet for the Murray Income Investment Trust
The Oaktree Global Credit Select Fund seeks to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns through a diversified portfolio of global credit investments. The strategy combines exposure to a range of specialist credit sectors, including US and European high yield bonds, structured credit, real estate debt, emerging market corporate debt and convertible securities. Unlike many strategic bond funds, returns are expected to be driven primarily by credit selection rather than duration management or macroeconomic positioning.
The investment approach is centred on Oaktree's long-established principles of risk control, market inefficiency and bottom-up credit analysis. Specialist credit teams undertake detailed research of issuers and securities, focusing on borrower fundamentals, cash flow resilience and recovery values. Capital allocation is then overseen by the Global Credit Investment Committee, which seeks to identify the most attractive opportunities across Oaktree's various credit capabilities. The process therefore combines specialist security selection with active portfolio construction and relative value assessment.
The fund is led by Bruce Karsh and benefits from Oaktree's extensive global credit platform, drawing upon dedicated teams across multiple credit disciplines. This provides access to a wider opportunity set than is typically available within conventional high yield or strategic bond funds, while maintaining a consistent and disciplined investment framework..
A key differentiator of the strategy is its emphasis on downside protection and avoidance of permanent capital loss. Credit underwriting focuses first on risk assessment, rather than simply identifying the highest-yielding opportunities, with the resulting portfolio diversified across hundreds of issuers, sectors and regions. Duration and currency exposures are managed conservatively, ensuring portfolio outcomes remain predominantly driven by credit decisions.
A notable strength of the fund is the depth of Oaktree's specialist credit resource and the consistency of its investment philosophy. The combination of broad credit expertise, rigorous underwriting and centralised portfolio construction provides a compelling approach to accessing global credit markets. Investors should, however, recognise that returns will be driven primarily by credit spreads and default experience rather than government bond markets, meaning the strategy is unlikely to behave like a traditional defensive bond allocation
Click here to read the factsheet for the Oaktree Global Credit Select Fund
The Artemis Short Duration Strategic Bond Fund seeks to deliver a combination of income and capital growth through investment across global fixed income markets, while maintaining a lower level of interest rate sensitivity than traditional strategic bond funds. The strategy combines a core allocation to short-dated investment grade credit with selective exposure to high yield bonds and active rates management. By targeting a duration of less than four years, the fund aims to provide greater resilience during periods of rising bond yields while retaining flexibility to exploit opportunities across credit and interest rate markets.
The investment process combines top-down macroeconomic analysis with bottom-up credit research. The credit component forms the core of the portfolio and is focused primarily on short-dated investment grade bonds, supplemented by selective higher-quality high yield opportunities where risk-adjusted returns are attractive. Security selection emphasises resilient business models, strong cash generation and balance sheet strength. Alongside this, the rates component seeks to add value through duration management, yield curve positioning and relative value opportunities across developed government bond markets. This dual approach provides multiple potential drivers of return and allows macro views to be expressed without materially disrupting the underlying credit portfolio. The fund is managed by Stephen Snowden and supported by Artemis' wider fixed income team, including dedicated investment grade, high yield and rates specialists. The expanded research platform allows the strategy to draw upon specialist expertise across a broad range of fixed income markets while maintaining a disciplined risk management framework.
A notable feature of the strategy is its ability to generate returns from multiple sources rather than relying solely on credit spreads or directional interest rate movements. The investment grade core provides stability and income, while the rates module offers an additional source of diversification that has historically helped offset periods of credit market weakness. The shorter duration profile also differentiates the strategy from many traditional strategic bond funds and should offer some protection during periods of rising yields.
A key strength of the fund is the balance it strikes between capital preservation and return generation. The combination of high-quality credit exposure, flexible rates management and strong risk controls creates a diversified and repeatable investment process. While the strategy remains exposed to credit spread widening and periods of market stress, its lower duration profile and multiple return drivers support its role as a core fixed income holding for investors seeking diversified bond exposure with reduced interest rate rises.
Click here to read the factsheet for the Artemis Short Duration Strategic Bond Fund
The Artemis (Lux) Short-Dated Global High Yield Bond Fund provides focused exposure to global high yield bonds with short remaining maturities, seeking to deliver a combination of income and capital growth while maintaining relatively low interest rate sensitivity. Unlike traditional strategic bond funds, the strategy is driven primarily by credit selection and issuer research rather than duration management or macroeconomic positioning. By concentrating on shorter-dated securities, the fund aims to reduce exposure to rising government bond yields while benefiting from coupon income, capital repayment and credit spread opportunities.
The investment approach is centred on detailed issuer-level research and the belief that inefficiencies within global high yield markets can be exploited through rigorous credit analysis. The managers focus on businesses with resilient cash flows, sustainable financing structures and a credible ability to repay debt at maturity. Particular emphasis is placed on cash generation, refinancing capacity, capital structure analysis and bondholder protections, reflecting the importance of downside protection within high yield investing. The portfolio is globally diversified, typically holding between 75 and 150 positions, with currency exposure generally hedged back to the relevant share class.
The fund is managed by David Ennett and Jack Holmes, supported by dedicated high yield analysts and the wider Artemis fixed income team. The strategy benefits from a clearly defined investment philosophy and extensive in-house research resources, allowing opportunities to be assessed across sectors, regions and currencies.
A distinguishing feature of the strategy is its focus on short-maturity bonds as the primary mechanism for controlling risk, rather than relying on active duration management. This approach brings expected capital repayment closer and creates regular opportunities to reinvest proceeds into new opportunities, while helping to moderate interest rate sensitivity relative to longer-dated high yield funds.
A key strength of the fund is the disciplined emphasis on credit quality assessment and avoidance of permanent capital loss. The focus on cash generation, refinancing risk and bondholder protections is well suited to the high yield market, where capital preservation is often as important as income generation. While the strategy remains exposed to economic deterioration, widening credit spreads and higher default rates, the short-duration profile and diversified portfolio construction provide a differentiated and potentially more defensive way to access global high yield markets.
Click here to read the factsheet for the Artemis (Lux) Short-Dated Global High Yield Bond Fund
The Pathbuilder range is built on 7IM’s core belief that strategic asset allocation is the primary driver of long-term investment returns, with portfolio success determined more by managing underlying investment risks than by forecasting asset class returns. Unlike many traditional investment approaches based on Modern Portfolio Theory, 7IM uses a proprietary, risk-factor-based framework that seeks to identify, measure and diversify the key drivers of returns across different market environments. The process begins by identifying three principal risk factors, namely economic growth, inflation and interest rates, which 7IM believes explain the majority of investment performance over time. These factors are then mapped to individual asset classes, recognising that many investments have exposure to multiple drivers. Portfolio construction is optimised around the desired exposure to these risk factors for each risk profile, ensuring diversification and reducing reliance on any single source of return.
More cautious portfolios have greater exposure to inflation and interest-rate factors, while higher-risk portfolios are more closely aligned to economic growth. The Pathbuilder funds represent a pure implementation of 7IM’s Strategic Asset Allocation framework and do not incorporate Tactical Asset Allocation decisions, resulting in a long-term investment horizon of around ten years. Portfolios are implemented through a blend of passive and systematic investments, with changes typically limited to periodic rebalancing and annual reviews. Comprehensive risk oversight, including stress testing, volatility monitoring and liquidity analysis, is embedded throughout the investment process to support consistent long-term outcomes.
Click here to read the factsheet for the 7IM Pathbuilder range
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