UK-based GIB Asset Management has launched the GIB AM European Focus Fund, which is labelled as Article 8 under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), due to its focus on sustainable corporate culture. It will target between 25 to 40 sustainability-focused mid- and large-cap companies that are also driving strong financial returns over “any meaningful time horizon”. Katherine Garrett-Cox, the firm’s CEO, said: “We believe that there should be an emphasis on assessing a company’s character, with specific focus on how they engage, motivate and develop their workforce as well as their attitudes towards customers and wider stakeholders.” The fund is part of the Amundi UCIT Fund Partners ICAV, an Ireland-domiciled UCITS collective investment scheme. Available to institutional investors in Ireland and the UK, it will be managed by Matthew Kates, and supported by the firm’s Head of Equities Neil Brown. “We believe long-run stock market returns are driven by a small number of exceptional companies. The fund seeks to identify these truly sustainable businesses and hold them over a significant timeframe, thereby enjoying the benefits of exponential growth,” said Kates. The GIB AM European Focus Fund follows the October 2022 launch of the Article 9-labelled GIB AM Sustainable World Corporate Bond Fund, which is also part of the Amundi UCITS Fund Partners ICAV.
