Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:

Investment Objective
The aim of the Fund is to: (i) generate an income and capital return (net of fees) over the long term (being a period of five years or more) in line with the sterling denominated investment grade corporate bond market, as represented by the ICE BofA Sterling Non-Gilts Index (the Index); and (ii) contribute to the global transition to net zero by investing in issuers which demonstrate a clear and credible commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 or are decreasing their carbon emissions intensity to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The fund manager will seek to keep the weighted average carbon intensity (WACI)[1] of the Fund lower than its Emissions Benchmark. The Fund's Emissions Benchmark has been calculated by the fund manager to ensure that the Fund's investments are on a trajectory to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050[2]. The initial value of the Emissions Benchmark is calculated as a 30% reduction of the WACI of the ICE BofA Sterling Non-Gilt index (the “Index”) as of 31st December 2021. Thereafter, the Emissions benchmark will be reduced by 7% year on year[3]. For more detail on how the WACI is calculated, please refer to the “Responsible Investment” section of the Fund's prospectus.

[1] The Weighted Average Carbon Intensity (WACI) of a fund or index is used to show the fund's or the index's exposure to companies' carbon emissions. For the index, this exposure is calculated by summing each holding's Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions intensity (measured in tons of carbon dioxide emissions per USD 1 million of their revenue) multiplied by its weight in the index. For the fund, the carbon emissions intensity is calculated by summing each holding's carbon emissions intensity (measured in tons of carbon dioxide emissions per USD 1 million of their revenue) multiplied by its weight as a fraction of the total holdings of the fund.
[2] The Emissions Benchmark is not a benchmark or an index in the typical sense (i.e. it is not tracking the performance of a particular group of assets), but is being used as a marker (calculated relative to the ICE BofA Sterling Non-Gilt index).
[3] These percentage targets are in line with the minimum standards for reduction of carbon emissions intensity set by EU climate transition benchmarks (which is a 30 per cent reduction initially, followed by a 7 per cent reduction year on year thereafter). Further, the ACD has chosen the ICE BofA Sterling Non-Gilt index for the purposes of calculating the Emissions Benchmark as this short-dated global corporate bonds index is the closest aligned with investment strategy of the Fund.

Investment Policy
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing: (i) at least 70% of its Net Asset Value in sterling-denominated investment grade corporate bonds (meaning bonds with a credit rating of at least BBB- by Standard & Poor or equivalent rating by Moody's or Fitch or, if unrated, an equivalent rating as deemed by the fund manager) but may also invest in non-sterling denominated investment grade corporate bonds hedged back into sterling. Investment will be made globally, largely in more developed markets, but may also be made in emerging markets; and (ii) at least 70% of its Gross Asset Value in companies which are categorised by the fund manager as either Committed to Align (being companies which have communicated long term goals consistent with achieving global net zero by 2050); Aligning (being companies which have communicated quantified and credible net zero targets); or Aligned to a net zero carbon economy (being companies which are on track to meeting their quantified and credible net zero targets). To assess which category a company falls into, the fund manager will evaluate, through quantitative and qualitative methods, a company's targets and timeframes to align to Net Zero or its commitment to align with the goal of Net Zero emissions by 2050, as well as, among other things, a company's decarbonization strategy, supportive actions, expenditure, governance and performance in relation to the same. The Fund is managed in a way that seeks to limit turnover and therefore avoids unnecessary trading costs. The fund manager also focuses on avoiding downgrades and defaults through its analysis and selection of issuers and bonds and, by diversifying the Fund's portfolio across different corporate sectors, it aims to mitigate the risks associated with any particular sector.
The Fund may invest no more than 30% of its Gross Asset Value outside of its sustainability objective in other transferable securities, cash, deposits and money market instruments for liquidity and/or for the purpose of pursuing its financial objective. Any investments falling in this category (save cash) will be screened using our exclusion policies (described below). No investments falling in this category will conflict with the Fund's sustainability objective. The Fund may use derivatives for Efficient Portfolio Management.
Use may be made of borrowing, cash holdings, hedging and other investment techniques permitted in the applicable FCA rules. When defining the Fund's investment universe, the fund manager will seek to exclude companies which it considers present excessive degrees of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) risk, by applying (i) AXA IM's sector specific investment guidelines[4], which exclude investment in soft commodity derivatives or exposure to certain companies based on their involvement in specific sectors (such as tobacco production, natural ecosystem conversion and deforestation, controversial weapons and climate risks) and (ii) applying the AXA Investment Managers' ESG Standards policy[5], which excludes investment in companies based on: (a) manufacture of white phosphorus weapons; certain criteria relating to human rights and anti-corruption as well as other ESG factors, (b) companies which cause, contribute, or are linked to violations of international norms and standards in a material manner or which are involved in incidents and/or events that pose a severe business or reputational risk to the relevant company due to the impact of its involvement on stakeholders or the environment and (c) companies with the lowest ESG score.
The fund manager will not invest in companies which are not aligned to Net Zero. The fund manager may invest in companies which have insufficient data to show their net zero alignment where, based on available data, there is not a conflict with the sustainability objective.
When selecting issuers in accordance with the objectives, the fund manager will also analyse macroeconomic factors as well as issuers' fundamentals, quality of management and relative value.
Where the fund manager deems that a company no longer meets the criteria set out in the investment policy, and after unsatisfactory engagement or escalation, the fund manager will divest from such company as soon as practicable, considering the best interests of the Fund's investors and in line with the fund manager's best execution policy.
The fund manager will calculate the Fund's WACI and verify whether it is below the Emissions Benchmark on a monthly basis. If for any reason, the Fund has a higher WACI than the Emissions Benchmark, the fund manager will aim to bring the Fund's WACI back below the Emissions Benchmark as soon as practicable having regard to the best interests of the Fund's investors.
The Fund is actively managed in reference to the Index, which may be used by investors to compare the Fund's financial performance. The Fund seeks to have a WACI that is lower than the Emissions Benchmark, which the fund manager deems an appropriate target by reason of its alignment with internationally recognised climate targets.
[4] All sector specific policies are accessible via the following link: Our Policies and Reports | AXA IM UK (https://www.axa-im.co.uk/responsible-investing/policies) or available on request.
[5] AXA IM's Responsible Investment policy is accessible via the following link: Our Policies and Reports | AXA IM UK (https://www.axa-im.co.uk/responsible-investing/policies) or available on request.

(Source: KIID, as at January 2026)

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AXA IM is a founding member of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAMI), and as such has made a public commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To date, we consider that 41% of AXA IM's (eligible) assets under management are already on track to be carbon neutral by 2050 or earlier, with the aim of continuing to increase the proportion of net zero assets from 2022 onwards and over time (on which we will report to NZAMI, PRI, CDP in due course).

SDR Labelling:

Sustainability Improvers label

SDR Literature:

• Consumer Facing Disclosure link