Legal sector superannuation fund legalsuper has awarded a $30 million credit mandate to Babson Capital Management.

The mandate makes up 2 per cent of legalsuper's total funds under management and no mandates were terminated as a result of the move.

"We are still being cautious with equities," legalsuper chief executive Andrew Proebstl said.

"This mandate was an effort to diversify the portfolio. Credit behaves differently to equities and there is scope for return above equities."

In December last year, legalsuper made a number of investment changes.

The Colonial Global Credit Income Fund scored a $35 million mandate and hedge fund Fauchier Partners nabbed a $20 million mandate. Solaris won an Australian equities mandate and Invesco was awarded a small-cap mandate.

The legal industry fund also claimed a 100 per cent redemption of its investment in the Style Blend product with Alliance Bernstein. Fifty per cent of this was invested back into the Alliance Bernstein Value product and 50 per cent with new manager Platinum Asset Management.

As a result of the changes, a number of managers were terminated: Colonial First State, Challenger, Concord, Maple-Brown Abbott, State Street, Wallara, Contango Asset Management and Schroders.

In June 2009, legalsuper brokered a merger with the $142 million Victorian Bar Superannuation Fund and legal firm Blake Dawson's corporate superannuation fund.

Babson scored a $150 million mandate from REST Superannuation in June last year.