3 August 2026
Quilter has today announced that it has introduced index-linked gilts as a dedicated asset class within its Cirilium portfolios following an optimisation of its strategic asset allocation (SAA).
To get this exposure, the portfolios have added the Vanguard Inflation-Linked Gilt Index Fund to the lower risk portfolios to enhance overall diversification, particularly given the current outlook for inflation within the UK.
The allocation to the asset class will be approximately 5% for the Cirilium Conservative portfolios, and will scale down in line with reductions in fixed income exposure for higher risk profiles.
Quilter reviews the strategic asset allocations of all its ranges on a quarterly basis, with recommended changes typically being made annually. Elsewhere within this latest update, the Cirilium portfolios increased exposure to Japanese equities, at the same time as reducing its allocation to European equities.
Ian Jensen-Humphreys, portfolio manager of Quilter’s Cirilium portfolios, said: “This feels like a very pertinent time to be adding index-linked gilts to the portfolios. Bonds usually do well in a growth shock, but their diversification benefits break down when inflation is rising, reducing the value of the future income received consequently.
“Events earlier this year showed why you need both types of gilts within a portfolio given the geopolitical situation risked manufacturing a hit to growth, before transforming into an inflation risk the longer it went on. With the situation in the Middle East looking calmer, albeit with the fragile ceasefire wobbling on a regular basis, now feels like a good time to be adding exposure in our portfolios to an inflation mitigating asset.
“Investors in the UK care deeply about inflation and its ruinous properties, so we always want to look for opportunities to enhance their asset allocation and ensure they have the right diversification to not only grow their capital, but to protect it too.”
