Fund Name | SRI Style | Product | Region | Asset Type | Launch Date | |
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CFP Castlefield Sustainable European Fund | Sustainability Select | OEIC/Unit Trust | Europe ex UK | Equity | 01/11/2017 | |
Fund Size: £22.68m Total screened & themed / SRI assets: £150.47 Total Responsible Ownership assets: £345.53 Total assets under management: £345.53 As at: 31/12/22 Contact: John.Alexander@Castlefield.com |
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OverviewOur investment strategy first and foremost follows our proprietary B.E.S.T framework, which was developed as a consistent method of evaluating all investment opportunities across asset classes on more than just traditional financial metrics, broadly grouped into environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. Funds in our sustainable range are also subject to our screening policy. By means of our negative screens, we aim to exclude those investments which contradict our belief that responsible and sustainable business practices will produce better returns for investors over the long term. This belief also leads to a positive bias towards investments which contribute towards key sustainability themes and those which conduct their operations with due care and attention to the environment and society.
ESG and responsible investment principles are fully integrated into our investment process. Every member of our investment team takes an active role. Our External Advisory Committee also provide independent oversight.
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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 Report against sustainability objectives Encourage more sustainable practices through stewardship Nature & BiodiversityPlastics policy / reviewing plastics 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 Paris aligned fund strategy 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 Invests >50% 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 Health & wellbeing policies or theme Diversity, equality & inclusion Policy (fund level) Labour standards policy Fast fashion exclusion Favours companies with strong social policies Mining exclusion Ethical Values Led ExclusionsTobacco and related product manufacturers excluded Armaments manufacturers avoided Alcohol production excluded Gambling avoidance policy Pornography avoidance policy Civilian firearms production exclusion Banking & FinancialsPredatory lending exclusion Exclude banks with significant fossil fuel investments Governance & ManagementGovernance policy Anti-bribery and corruption policy Avoids companies with poor governance Encourage board diversity e.g. gender 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 mostly in large cap companies How The Fund WorksCombines ESG strategy with other SRI criteria Significant harm exclusion SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website Impact MethodologiesAims to generate positive impacts (or 'outcomes') Measures positive impacts Positive environmental impact theme Positive social impact theme Invests in environmental solutions companies Invests in social solutions companies Invests in sustainability / ESG disruptors Aim to deliver positive impacts through engagement Over 50% in assets providing environmental or social ‘solutions’ Intended Clients & Product OptionsIntended for investors interested in sustainability Available via an ISA (OEIC only) Portfolio SRI / ESG options available (DFMs) Bespoke SRI / ESG portfolios available (DFMs) Fund management company informationAbout The BusinessESG / SRI engagement (AFM company wide) Responsible ownership / stewardship policy or strategy (AFM company wide) Responsible ownership policy for non SRI funds (AFM company wide) Responsible ownership / ESG a key differentiator (AFM company wide) Diversity, equality & inclusion engagement policy (AFM company wide) Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM company wide) Boutique / specialist fund management company Integrates ESG factors into all / most fund research Just Transition policy on website (AFM company wide) Invests in newly listed companies (AFM company wide) 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 Investment Association (IA) member AccreditationsUK Stewardship Code signatory (AFM company wide) Engagement ApproachEncourage responsible corporate taxation (AFM company wide) Engaging on climate change issues Engaging to reduce plastics pollution / waste Engaging on biodiversity / nature issues Engaging on human rights issues Engaging on labour / employment issues Engaging on diversity, equality and / or inclusion issues Engaging on governance issues Engaging on mental health issues Company Wide ExclusionsDo not invest in companies with fossil fuel reserves Climate & Net Zero TransitionEncourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide) Net Zero commitment (AFM company wide) Working towards a ‘Net Zero’ commitment (AFM company wide) Net Zero - have set a Net Zero target date (AFM company wide) TransparencyPublish full voting record (AFM company wide) Publish responsible ownership / stewardship report (AFM company wide) Full SRI policy information on company website |
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PolicyAll fund assets within our Sustainable fund range are subject to analysis under our B.E.S.T framework, which provides a consistent outline for assessing all investment opportunities at Castlefield and takes the following considerations into account: Business and Financial; Environmental and Ecological; Social; Transparency and Governance. As long-term investors, the incorporation of ESG and sustainability analysis is integral to our research on all asset classes.
Our Castlefield Sustainable Screening Policy is also applied to the fund research process and seeks to exclude specific industries and activities from our investment universe. By means of our negative screens, we aim to exclude those investments which contradict our belief that responsible and sustainable business practices (such as armaments and tobacco) will produce better returns for investors over the long term. This belief also leads to a positive bias towards investments which contribute towards key sustainability themes and those which conduct their operations with due care and attention to the environment and society. These positive themes are also detailed within the Screening Policy.
The industries and activities screened out of our investment universe are done so on a 10% revenue or operating profit threshold (whichever is higher). Materiality assessments also take place to differentiate between primary vs secondary involvement, etc. Screened out industries include: armaments, nuclear, fossil fuels, gambling, alcohol, and tobacco, amongst others. There are also issues which are not able to be addressed by a quantitative screen; these include social issues such as human rights, labour standards and responsible marketing, as well as environmental topics such as resource efficiency and pollution.
We also believe active ownership is a key part of any sustainable investment mandate and have made out Corporate Governance & Voting Guidelines available on our website for investors. |
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ProcessFollowing the identification of an investment opportunity, either through quantitative screening or alternative idea generation opportunities, investment ideas are subject to our internal screening process. The industries and activities screened out of our investment universe are done so on a 10% revenue or operating profit threshold (whichever is higher). Materiality assessments also take place to differentiate between primary vs secondary involvement, etc. Screened out industries include: armaments, nuclear, fossil fuels, gambling, alcohol, and tobacco, amongst others. There are also issues which are not able to be addressed by a quantitative screen; these include social issues such as human rights, labour standards and responsible marketing, as well as environmental topics such as resource efficiency and pollution.
In order to then identify the best investment opportunities which pass our screening process. we’ve developed a proprietary investment selection system – the B.E.S.T framework - to assess the merits of competing investment choices. It’s used across and within asset classes and provides a consistent framework for assessing all investment opportunities at Castlefield. It’s not a filter or screen, but a responsible investment process which incorporates four main criteria to assess both financial and non-financial attributes that we think can affect long-term investor returns.
B – Business and Financial E – Environmental and Ecological S – Social T – Transparency & Governance
In most cases we are able to meet with management or an investor relations representative before investing, which provides and opportunity to conduct further due diligence on the investment case and its E.S.T credentials. Finally, all investment ideas are subject to a peer review process in which the investment team. |
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Resources, Affiliations & Corporate StrategiesThere is no separation between non-financial and financial research responsibilities within the investment team. The entire team is involved in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations as well as analysing the numbers and assessing share price upside. We believe that integration is more valuable than an overlay approach as sustainability issues are embedded within company activities and therefore need to be assessed holistically from the origin of the process. This avoids the risk of ESG being viewed as a secondary or subordinate factor in the decision-making process.
Regarding additional resources, we subscribe to Ethical Screening for access to their specialist expertise in ESG assessments. We also have access to ISS research for voting purposes but have our own voting policy which takes precedence to proxy voting recommendations. We pay for broker research from Kepler Cheuvreux, who along with more traditional equity research, also assess ESG and sustainability trends.
To provide further insight to our clients and investors in the funds, we have enlisted the services of Impact Cubed to provide an assessment of how our Sustainable funds perform against a number of ESG impact metrics.
We are signatories to or members of the following collaborative investor initiatives:
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DialshifterThis fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by… Alongside excluding companies which do not meet our screening criteria, we also seek to invest in companies which positively benefit people and planet over the long term. Our ten positive themes include: Cyber & Digital Security, Health & Wellbeing, Education, Resource Efficiency, Employee Ownership & Responsible Business, Safety & Regulatory Compliance, Environmental Management, Sustainable Infrastructure, Financial Resilience and Sustainable Supply Chains. All holdings are assessed to determine their contribution to these themes, and we publish details on each funds overall alignment.
Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by… Castlefield have committed to making our own emissions and supply chain net zero by 2030. We have also committed to achieve net zero across our investment portfolio by 2040. Our investment approach seeks companies with excellent environmental credentials, which can help bring society closer to net zero. We also track the extent to which the companies that we invest in have set net zero and other emission reduction targets, monitoring them on an ongoing basis and actively encouraging target setting to help reduce portfolio emissions.
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Literature
Last amended: 21/06/23 10:42 |
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05/06/2024