Columbia Threadneedle Investments has won a £1.7bn mandate to manage a new global investment grade credit mandate for St James's Place, International Investment's sister title Investment Week has revealed.
It will be co-managed by Columbia Threadneedle's head of investment grade credit Alasdair Ross and senior portfolio manager Ryan Staszewski.
Ross, who has been with the firm since he began in the industry in 2003, also manages a range of global, euro and UK credit portfolios and is deputy manager to a credit opportunities fund.
Staszewski joined Columbia Threadneedle in 2012 and holds responsibility for European and global credit portfolio. He previously served as a credit analyst at JP Morgan and Aviva Investors.
The mandate adds to the range of funds managed by Columbia Threadneedle on behalf of St James's Place, including a £7.9bn Strategic Managed mandate and a £760m UK Equity mandate.
Michaela Collet-Jackson, head of distribution, EMEA at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, said: "We have a long-standing relationship with St. James's Place and we are very honoured to be able to grow this relationship further.
"Alasdair Ross is an award-winning portfolio manager with a track record of delivering strong risk adjusted returns for clients through issuer and security selection and we are excited to manage the global investment grade credit allocations for St. James's Place clients.
"We have seen an increase in demand for our credit capabilities, as investors recognise the benefits of a research-driven, active approach in finding opportunities in fixed income.
"We are looking forward to continuing to support St. James's Place as they help their clients achieve their financial goals."
