Fund Name | SRI Style | Product | Region | Asset Type | Launch Date | |
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EdenTree Responsible & Sustainable European Equity Fund |
Ethical | OEIC/Unit Trust | Europe ex UK | Equity | 13/09/1999 | |
Fund Size: £147.70m Total screened & themed / SRI assets: £1981.50 Total Responsible Ownership assets: £1782.20 Total assets under management: £3763.70 As at: 31/03/23 Contact: adam.kelly@edentreeim.com |
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OverviewWe follow a ‘Performance with Principles’ investment approach. We hold to the belief that long-term returns are more likely to be achieved by investing responsibly in sustainable businesses and therefore seek companies that generate returns without future detriment to the environment and society. We consider both the financial and responsible research, risks and opportunities, with the goal of identifying the best opportunities to deliver long-term returns for clients.
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FiltersFund informationSustainabilityEnvironmental policy Sustainability policy Limits exposure to carbon intensive industries Resource efficiency policy or theme Sustainable transport policy or theme Sustainability theme or focus Environmental damage and pollution policy Favours cleaner, greener companies Waste management policy or theme Sustainability focus Encourage more sustainable practices through stewardship Circular economy theme Nature & BiodiversityDeforestation / palm oil policy Plastics policy / reviewing plastics Biodiversity / nature policy Nature / biodiversity based solutions theme Nature / biodiversity focus Responsible palm oil policy Sustainable fisheries policy Nature / biodiversity protection policy Water stewardship policy Climate Change & EnergyNuclear exclusion policy Coal, oil & / or gas majors excluded Climate change / greenhouse gas emissions policy Invests in clean energy / renewables Fracking and tar sands excluded Clean / renewable energy theme or focus Arctic drilling exclusion Fossil fuel reserves exclusion Energy efficiency theme Require net zero action plan from all/most companies Encourage transition to low carbon through stewardship activity Fossil fuel exploration exclusion - direct involvement Targeted Positive InvestmentsInvests >25% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies Human RightsHuman rights policy Child labour exclusion Responsible supply chain policy or theme Oppressive regimes (not free or democratic) exclusion policy Modern slavery exclusion policy Social / EmploymentSocial policy Favours companies with strong social policies Meeting Peoples' Basic NeedsWater / sanitation policy or theme Healthcare / medical theme Ethical Values Led ExclusionsEthical policies Animal welfare policy Tobacco and related product manufacturers excluded Armaments manufacturers avoided Alcohol production excluded Gambling avoidance policy Pornography avoidance policy Animal testing - excluded except if for medical purposes Civilian firearms production exclusion Banking & FinancialsPredatory lending exclusion Governance & ManagementGovernance policy Anti-bribery and corruption policy Avoids companies with poor governance Digital / cyber security policy Encourage board diversity e.g. gender Encourage TCFD alignment for banks & insurance companies UN sanctions exclusion Encourage higher ESG standards through stewardship activity Fund GovernanceESG integration strategy ESG factors included in Assessment of Value (AoV) report Employ external (fund) oversight or advisory committee Asset Size & MetricsOver 50% large cap companies Invests in small, mid and large cap companies Invests mostly in large cap companies How The Fund WorksSingle resource theme or focus Strictly screened ethical fund Positive selection bias Negative selection bias Norms focus Combines norms based exclusions with other SRI criteria Combines ESG strategy with other SRI criteria Focus on ESG risk mitigation Significant harm exclusion SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website All assets (except cash) meet published sustain'y criteria Impact MethodologiesAims to generate positive impacts (or 'outcomes') Invests in environmental solutions companies Invests in social solutions companies Invests in sustainability / ESG disruptors Aim to deliver positive impacts through engagement Labels & AccreditationsRSMR rated (OEIC funds only) Eurosif Transparency Intended Clients & Product OptionsFaith friendly Available via an ISA (OEIC only) Fund management company informationAbout The BusinessESG / SRI engagement (AFM company wide) Responsible ownership / stewardship policy or strategy (AFM company wide) Responsible ownership / ESG a key differentiator (AFM company wide) Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM company wide) Diversity, equality & inclusion engagement policy (AFM company wide) Sustainable property strategy (AFM company wide) Specialist positive impact fund management company Boutique / specialist fund management company Integrates ESG factors into all / most fund research In-house diversity improvement programme (AFM company wide) Just Transition policy on website (AFM company wide) Invests in newly listed companies (AFM company wide) Invests in new sustainability linked bond issuances (AFM company wide) Offer structured intermediary training on sustainable investment Offer unstructured intermediary sustainable investment training ResourcesIn-house responsible ownership / voting expertise Employ specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability researchers Use specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability research companies ESG specialists on all investment desks (AFM company wide) Collaborations & AffiliationsPRI signatory UKSIF member Climate Action 100+ or IIGCC member Fund EcoMarket partner Investment Association (IA) member AccreditationsUK Stewardship Code signatory (AFM company wide) PRI A+ rated (AFM company wide) Engagement ApproachRegularly lead collaborative ESG initiatives (AFM company wide) Encourage responsible corporate taxation (AFM company wide) Engaging on climate change issues Engaging to reduce plastics pollution / waste Engaging on biodiversity / nature issues Engaging to encourage a Just Transition Engaging on human rights issues Engaging on labour / employment issues Engaging on diversity, equality and / or inclusion issues Engaging on governance issues Engaging on responsible supply chain issues Company Wide ExclusionsReview(ing)carbon / fossil fuel exposure for all funds (AFM company wide) Coal exclusion policy (group wide coal mining exclusion policy) Coal divestment policy (AFM company wide) Controversial weapons avoidance policy (AFM company wide) Tobacco avoidance policy (AFM company wide) Fossil fuel exclusion policy (AFM company wide) Do not invest in companies with fossil fuel reserves Climate & Net Zero TransitionEncourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide) In-house carbon / GHG reduction policy (AFM company wide) Publish 'CEO owned' Climate Risk policy (AFM company wide) Committed to SBTi / Science Based Targets Initiative TransparencyPublish full voting record (AFM company wide) Publish responsible ownership / stewardship report (AFM company wide) Full SRI policy information on company website Full SRI policy information available on request Paris Alignment plan publicly available (AFM company wide) |
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PolicyThe Fund seeks to avoid investment in certain areas such as companies which have a material involvement (10% or more) in alcohol and tobacco production, conventional weapon production, gambling, publication of violent or explicit materials, intensive farming, fossil fuel exploration and production and high interest (sub-prime) lending. The Fund will seek to avoid companies with material operations in oppressive regimes. The Fund has a proprietary means of assessing oppressive regime risk, and operates this on a case by case basis. It will also seek to avoid companies that have exposure to the manufacture of unconventional weapons where these are defined as nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, land mines and cluster bombs. Finally, the Fund will seek to avoid companies using animals to test cosmetic, beauty or household products. It will invest in pharmaceuticals companies that may conduct animal testing but will encourage the adoption of the 3R principles: refine, reduce, and replace. Our responsible and sustainable screening captures the quality and strength of a company’s approach to sustainable business. This includes assessing a diverse range of indicators including environment and climate change, conflict minerals, custody of supply in raw materials sourcing (e.g. timber) and pollution etc. By way of example when specifically assessing corporate sustainability as it relates to climate change we would analyse key indicators such as emissions disclosure, how targets are set, whether they are science based and ambitious enough to demonstrate commitment to a low carbon economy and whether the company is providing solutions that support climate resilience, mitigation and / or adaptation.
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ProcessOur responsible and sustainable criteria form a core part of our investment approach and are integrated into our stock selection and management processes. Our dedicated in-house team of responsible investment (RI) analysts considers each of our investments on the basis of their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials and long-term sustainable return potential. We believe that those companies which have a well-developed approach to managing ESG risk are more likely to offer good quality, long term investment potential. EdenTree has been a long term proponent of investing with the aim of spreading risk. Our portfolios are well diversified and comprising 50-70 stocks. with a typical new holding being around 1% and no stock accounting for more than 5% of a fund. We use a broad spread of counterparties and do not participate in stock lending. We strongly believe in the merits of low portfolio turnover, believing that high trading activity acts as a drag on performance. We pride ourselves on our independent thought and analysis, and are not afraid to adopt positions which do not conform to conventional thinking or prevailing consensus. We do not have model portfolios or preferred stock lists, preferring to give Fund Managers the flexibility and responsibility to implement investment strategies that best match the needs of our investors. Finally, our investment process places a strong emphasis on portfolio diversification at all levels, including geographical, sector, company size and investment theme, with the aim of reducing risk.
Research Our RI team regularly publish expert briefs and opinion pieces, which help to inform our clients and drive idea generation within our investment team. The RI team also produces our flagship EdenTree Insight publications from time to time, which provide a sustainable perspective on some of the biggest challenges facing our world today and how we, as responsible and sustainable investors can be a part of the solution. Our fund managers also regularly write on a range of industry topics, from macro-economic and geo-political viewpoints through to individual stock ideas and how they are finding opportunities that align with our responsible and sustainable investment approach. As well as our own in-house research (including special thematic reports) we use a range of sources, including independent data from ISS ESG in respect of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) issues, although we do not rely on ISS ratings for our decision-making process. |
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Resources, Affiliations & Corporate StrategiesEdenTree has a specialist, dedicated RI Team which comprises five people.
Our basic ESG risk analysis is provided by ISS-ESG which provides core ESG disclosure data as well as rating each company within an industrial sector peer group across E, S & G pillars; this rating is used solely as a guide as suitability is driven by our in-house screening process. Our RI team conducts additional research and analysis from publicly available materials including:
EdenTree has been a proud signatory of the PRI since 2012. For more information on how EdenTree works with the PRI please see our PRI transparency report here and PRI Assessment Report here Whilst asset managers are able, and often choose, to omit or hide specific sections of the PRI Transparency Report, EdenTree publish the full report for complete transparency. For the PRI Assessment Report, we also publish the full report here. In 2021, EdenTree achieved a 4 star rating for our Investment & Stewardship Policy. Other signatory partnerships include:
The Responsible Investment Advisory Panel (“Panel”) meet three times each year to review the Responsible & Sustainable Fund portfolios, the recent investment decisions and to discuss the latest responsible and sustainable research and trends. The purpose of the Panel is to:
The Panel will provide advice to the RI team in a number of ways:
The Panel is made up of a number of industry experts, including:
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DialshifterThis fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by… Our responsibility criteria has six different considerations which assess ESG risks and reflect our commitment to responsible investment. One of the six criteria is environment and climate, including support for biodiversity, climate change impact and carbon footprint, water conservation, air pollution, manage waste, recycling, and support renewable energy.
Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by… We have close to 100% of assets (98%) managed in an ethical and sustainable way. We carefully scrutinize whether emissions reductions targets are science based, and all funds are currently in-line with the Paris Agreement target of no more than 1.5 degrees of warming. |
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LiteratureLast amended: 11/10/23 10:08 |
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04/29/2024