ESG Investor’s weekly round-up of news about funds designed to meet sustainable investing criteria, including EdenTree IM, Mirova, BNPP AM, Ninety One, and WisdomTree.
UK-based investment manager Edentree Investment Management has launched the Edentree Green Infrastructure Fund (GIF), to provide investors with access to the green infrastructure asset class. It will include exposure to inflation-linked income streams, and a favourable risk-return profile with low correlation to stock and bond markets. The fund allows investors access to infrastructure projects designed to bolster energy security and establish a greener economy by investing in companies that are committed to responsible, sustainable and ethical business. The GIF’s holdings will include companies responding to environmental challenges by investing in alternative energy, energy storage and the circular economy. Charlie Thomas, EdenTree’s Chief Investment Officer, said: “This is a highly innovative investment vehicle that meets increasing demand for access to real assets that contribute to a greener, more sustainable economy delivered by companies with a track record of responsible and ethical excellence.”
Mirova, a subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers, has introduced two new bond funds that are labelled as Article 9 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The Mirova Euro High Yield Sustainable Bond Fund is made up of impact-generating companies across medical care, sustainable mobility, clean packaging, recycling or waste treatment, and sustainable real estate. The Mirova Euro Short Term Sustainable Bond Fund looks to combine positive impact and low duration, seeking to reduce the negative impact of increasing interest rates on the absolute performance of the portfolio and to benefit from yields on maturities of less than four years. Hervé Guez, CIO of Equity and Fixed Income and Social Impact at Mirova, said: “Today, more than ever, we must give priority to financing that contributes to environmental and social development. 2022 has unfortunately shown us that the problem of energy dependence must be addressed as quickly as possible and integrated into a longer-term energy transition plan. Our two new funds align with this wish and with Mirova’s mission.”
BNP Paribas Asset Management’s (BNPP AM) new Easy ESG Eurozone Biodiversity Leaders PAB UCITS ETF aims to offer investors exposure to companies with a lower potential impact on biodiversity. The Article 9 fund replicates a Euronext index made up of approximately 60 Eurozone stocks which have been chosen based on their potential impact on biodiversity, which is calculated using Iceberg Data Lab’s ‘Corporate Biodiversity Footprint’ score. This new fund looks to boost BNPP AM’s range of thematic ETFs, which includes low-carbon, circular economy, oceans, innovative medical technologies, green hydrogen and sustainable bonds. Denis Panel, BNPP AM’s Head of Multi-Asset, Quantitative and Solutions, said: “This new ETF offers clients the opportunity to invest in companies whose potential impact on biodiversity is lower than that of their peers, while adhering to strict requirements regarding the exclusion of fossil fuels and reducing carbon intensity.”
Global investment management firm Ninety One has developed an Emerging Markets Sustainable Equity Strategy which will identify companies capturing structural growth opportunities in under-served areas, including climate change solutions, financial inclusion, and access to digital infrastructure. The strategy looks to boost Ninety One’s existing suite of sustainable capabilities, including Global Environment, UK Sustainable Equity, Global Sustainable Equity, Emerging Markets Sustainable Blended Debt, and Global Multi-Asset Sustainable Growth. Juliana Hansveden, Ninety One’s Emerging Markets Sustainable Equity Portfolio Manager, said: “Our strategy has a differentiated lens on long-term potential, which allows time to engage with companies to improve sustainability outcomes. We believe that this active engagement alongside a bottom-up, high conviction approach, results in superior outcomes.”
New York-based asset manager WisdomTree has launched the WisdomTree Global Automotive Innovators UCITS ETF (WCAR). WCAR looks to track the price and yield performance – before fees and expenses – of the WisdomTree Berylls LeanVal Global Automotive Innovators NTR Index, which tracks the performance of companies involved in the future automotive and mobility industry that meet WisdomTree’s ESG criteria. WisdomTree partnered with Berylls Strategy Advisors to develop WCAR, to ensure companies’ innovation and focus on the value chain are considered. Christopher Gannatti, WisdomTree’s Global Head of Research, said: “The automotive and mobility industry is moving from a traditional ecosystem to an extended multimodal ecosystem leveraging new technologies and attempting to decarbonise transportation services. This has created a clear gap for an ETF providing diversified geographic and sector exposure, covering companies that are relevant today and identified the companies that stand to benefit the most from the further proliferation of the theme and are poised to grow with it.”
