Fulcrum Climate Change Fund

SRI Style:

Sustainability Tilt

SDR Labelling:

Not eligible to use label

Product:

SICAV/Offshore

Fund Region:

Global

Fund Asset Type:

Equity

Launch Date:

03/08/2020

Last Amended:

Aug 2024

Dialshifter ():

Fund Size:

£139.00m

(as at: 30/06/2024)

Total Screened Themed SRI Assets:

£139.00m

(as at: 30/06/2024)

Total Responsible Ownership Assets:

£293.00m

(as at: 30/06/2024)

Total Assets Under Management:

£5807.00m

(as at: 30/06/2024)

ISIN:

LU2164658655, LU2164657509, LU2164657418, LU2164658143, LU2164658499, LU2164657178

Objectives:

The Fulcrum Climate Change Fund aims to deliver capital growth over the long term by investing in listed equities worldwide. Investments will be made with due consideration to the climate change impact of the underlying companies.

Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:

The Fulcrum Climate Change Fund (“the Fund”) is a diversified global equity fund based on a rigorously researched climate alignment temperature metric developed by environmental engineers. The Fund commits to a weighted average portfolio temperature of below 2 degrees Celsius with no individual company exceeding 2 degrees, in line with the goal of the Paris Agreement.

This long-only Fund builds on Fulcrum’s thematic equity market expertise in identifying various megatrends. The Fund employs a thematic ESG-aware equity approach to best represent our long-term themes, research and informational advantages. We invest in the leaders who we view as best positioned to set themselves on pathways consistent with the scientific requirements of the Paris Agreement and best able to represent our themes.

The Fund’s sustainability aim is to impact the flow of capital to fund the green transition by investing in firms that are well-positioned for the low-carbon economy.

 

Primary fund last amended:

Aug 2024

Information directly from fund manager.

Fund Filters

Sustainability - General
Sustainability focus

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Encourage more sustainable practices through stewardship

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) focus

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Report against sustainability objectives

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Environmental - General
Environmental policy

Funds that have policies which relate to environmental issues. These will typically set out the fund's stance on issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, plastics and/or additional environmental impacts. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.

Limits exposure to carbon intensive industries

Funds that limit or 'reduce' their exposure to carbon intensive industries (ie sectors which are major contributors to climate change. Funds vary - some funds may be 'underweight' in this area which means they may have some investment in highly carbon intensive areas. Funds of this kind may choose companies they consider to be 'best in sector' and encourage ever higher standards. Strategies vary. See fund information for further details.

Environmental damage and pollution policy

Funds that have written policies explaining the approach they take when companies damage the environment or are significant polluters. Funds of this kind may work with companies to encourage higher standards, or exclude companies - sometimes dependent on the situation. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Favours cleaner, greener companies

Funds that aim to invest in companies with strong or market leading environmental policies and practices. Strategies vary - in particular the balance between 'financial' aspects and environmental benefits. Some may invest substantially in solutions or 'positive impact' companies - others may invest in more conventional companies providing certain environmental criteria are met. See fund information for further detail.

Climate Change & Energy
Climate change / greenhouse gas emissions policy

Funds that have policies (documented strategies that explain their position on) climate change related issues such as greenhouse gas/carbon emissions, net zero, transitioning to lower carbon. Strategies vary. Read fund details for further information.

Fossil fuel reserves exclusion

Funds that avoid investing in companies with coal, oil and gas reserves. See fund information for further details.

Clean / renewable energy theme or focus

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Encourage transition to low carbon through stewardship activity

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Invests in clean energy / renewables

Funds that hold companies in the clean energy and renewable energy sectors (at the time research was supplied). Fund strategies vary, in particular the proportion of investment in these areas may vary significantly. Check fund literature for details.

Paris aligned fund strategy

This fund has a strategy that aims ensure its holdings will gradually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with targets set at COP21 in Paris. The ultimate aim is to achieve ‘net zero emissions by 2050’ and a ‘maximum global temperature increase of +1.5 to +2 degrees above preindustrial levels’. Strategies and opinions vary. Read fund information.

Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Ethical policies

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Tobacco and related product manufacturers excluded

Companies are excluded if they are involved in any aspect of the production chain for tobacco products, including cigarettes, vaping, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars.

Tobacco and related products - avoid where revenue > 5%

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Gilts & Sovereigns
Does not invest in sovereigns

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Banking & Financials
Predatory lending exclusion

Fund excludes financial services companies with widely criticised, aggressive lending practices where interest rates are typically very high, includes ‘doorstep lending’)

Invests in insurers

Funds that do or may invest in insurance companies.

Governance & Management
UN sanctions exclusion

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Anti-bribery and corruption policy

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Encourage TCFD alignment for banks & insurance companies

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Encourage higher ESG standards through stewardship activity

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Require investee companies to report climate risk in R&A

The fund manager requires the companies they invest in to report on climate risks that are relevant to their business in their report and accounts

Fund Governance
ESG integration strategy

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Asset Size
Over 50% large cap companies

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Invests in small, mid and large cap companies / assets

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Invests mostly in large cap companies / assets

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Targeted Positive Investments
Invests >25% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies

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EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy holdings 5-25% of fund assets

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EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy holdings >25% of fund assets

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Impact Methodologies
Aims to generate positive impacts (or 'outcomes')

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Positive environmental impact theme

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Invests in environmental solutions companies

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Aim to deliver positive impacts through engagement

Fund aims to deliver positive environmental and or social impacts (real world benefits) through its engagement with investee assets

How The Fund Works
Positive selection bias

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Negative selection bias

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Limited / few ethical exclusions

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ESG weighted / tilt

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Data led strategy

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Combines norms based exclusions with other SRI criteria

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Combines ESG strategy with other SRI criteria

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Balances company 'pros and cons' / best in sector

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Focus on ESG risk mitigation

A major focus of these funds is the careful management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) related risks - typically by avoiding or being underweight in companies seen as posing major risks in these areas (i.e. not necessarily by using themes, exclusions etc).

SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website

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Do not use stock / securities lending

This fund does not use stock lending for performance or risk purposes.

Unscreened Assets & Cash
Assets typically aligned to sustainability objectives 70 - 79%

The percentage of assets held within the fund that match the fund’s sustainability objectives and are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.

Assets typically aligned to sustainability objectives 80 – 89%

The percentage of assets held within the fund that match the fund’s sustainability objectives and are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.

Assets typically aligned to sustainability objectives > 90%

The percentage of assets held within the fund that match the fund’s sustainability objectives and are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets

All assets (except cash) meet published sustainability criteria

All assets held in the fund - except cash - meet the sustainability criteria published in fund documentation.

Intended Clients & Product Options
Intended for investors interested in sustainability

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Labels & Accreditations
SFDR Article 9 fund / product (EU)

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Fund Management Company Information

About The Business
Responsible ownership / stewardship policy or strategy (AFM company wide)

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ESG / SRI engagement (AFM company wide)

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Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM company wide)

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Responsible ownership / ESG a key differentiator (AFM company wide)

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Sustainable property strategy (AFM company wide)

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Integrates ESG factors into all / most (AFM) fund research

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In-house diversity improvement programme (AFM company wide)

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Diversity, equality & inclusion engagement policy (AFM company wide)

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Collaborations & Affiliations
PRI signatory

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Investment Association (IA) member

Fund management entity is a member of the Investment Association https://www.theia.org/

Resources
In-house responsible ownership / voting expertise

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Use specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability research companies

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ESG specialists on all investment desks (AFM company wide)

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Accreditations
UK Stewardship Code signatory (AFM company wide)

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Engagement Approach
Engaging on climate change issues

Fund manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that is focused on addressing climate change with investee assets.

Engaging on diversity, equality and / or inclusion issues

Asset management company has a stewardship strategy in place which involves working to raise diversity, equality and inclusion standards across investee assets

Company Wide Exclusions
Controversial weapons avoidance policy (AFM company wide)

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Tobacco avoidance policy (AFM company wide)

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Climate & Net Zero Transition
Net Zero commitment (AFM company wide)

Fund management organisations that have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’. Strategies vary - this area is changing rapidly.

Net Zero - have set a Net Zero target date (AFM company wide)

This asset management company has set a date by which they plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.

Encourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide)

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In-house carbon / GHG reduction policy (AFM company wide)

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Transparency
Publish responsible ownership / stewardship report (AFM company wide)

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Full SRI / responsible ownership policy information on company website

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Full SRI / responsible ownership policy information available on request

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Publish full voting record (AFM company wide)

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Dialshifter statement

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Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:

The Fund seeks to only invest in companies with an implied temperature rise (ITR) of below 2 degrees, as per the goals of the Paris Agreement. This means it is selecting companies demonstrating higher levels of ambition, in terms of reducing their emissions, compared to the average ITR of the global economy and global listed equity markets. Additionally, through some of the choices of its underlying themes, the fund is allocating capital to companies providing solutions on specific climate challenges, such as clean energy or lower-emission transport.


By using an innovative climate change indicator, an ITR metric, we can measure the extent to which any individual company in portfolio is aligned with the climate temperature targets. A company’s carbon performance is calculated by extrapolating its historical emissions, adjusted by its decarbonization ambition and credibility. This is then compared with its sector decarbonization trajectory before the difference is converted into a numerical ITR representing the level of alignment. Aggregated, these company-specific temperatures allow us to further measure the alignment at portfolio level.


In addition, we exclude companies involved in activities related to controversial weapons, tobacco and predatory lending from our investment universe and manage the stewardship and engagement side of the fund.


The solution thoughtfully balances climate-alignment with expected returns and diversification benefits.


The Fund is classified as an ‘article 9’ fund under EU sustainable finance legislation, a status it has retained even amid a wave of industry downgrades. This reflects its construction process, which pursues the individual alignment of all single-stock holdings, rather than merely improvements at the level of the overall portfolio average.

Process:

The Fund invests thematically in c. 300 companies, across 25-35 themes. Some of the themes are directly linked to climate action. Across the Fund we do not invest in any one company with a higher temperature than 2°C and we control for company, sector, regional and factor exposure. By using the ITR metric we are able to calculate the level of alignment for each of the themes we are invested in.


For every company we use a transition pathway approach which shows the rate of decarbonisation over time for that company to meet the carbon budget consistent with a rise in temperature of 2⁰C.


We then compute the past, current and future emissions of every company using a combination of both backward- and forward-looking emissions data. We can then assess whether a particular company is over-performing or under-performing with regard to its necessary emissions pathway for the 2°C target, as well as against a number of other available temperature scenario outcomes.


We next translate the relative deviation into a temperature using a change of sign method. If a company is over budget compared to a 2⁰C scenario but under budget compared to a 3⁰C one, then the company is said to have a temperature between 2 and 3⁰C.


Our transition pathway assessment tracks company emissions and activity levels by incorporating both backward- and forward-looking indicators. Data from multiple data providers informs our portfolio construction process.


Engagement is a core part of our investment process as well and, as we meet with companies, we discuss in our meetings the SBTi methodology and propose that company management explores committing to this initiative in more detail. This, we believe, is a key part of our stewardship and engagement programme and is valuable in helping to increase the number of companies committing to and setting science-based targets.


Testimony to our approach, in 2023, the Fund won the award for “Best ESG Investment Fund (Climate-Alignment)” at 2023 ESG Investing Awards. The judges highlighted Fulcrum as “a clear winner” due to being “focused on forward looking solutions to combat climate change whilst employing a science-based plan to reduce future GHG emissions.” The judges went on to say: “the fund is well positioned to contribute to the sustainable investing space.”

Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:

Internal resources

Fulcrum has a Responsible Investment Committee (RIC) which reports to our Management Board and has responsibility for day-to-day oversight and implementation of all aspects of ESG. The RIC includes members from across Fulcrum’s departments including members of the investment team:

  • Matthew Roberts, Partner, Head of Fulcrum Alternative Solutions and Chair of RIC
  • Fawaz Chaudhry, Partner, Head of Equities
  • Piotr Chmielowski, Chief Risk Officer
  • Joe Davidson, Managing Partner & COO
  • Rahil Ram, Head of Climate Investing


In addition, in 2023, we formalised the sustainability “foundational layer” following a firm-wide reorganisation, with sustainability leads in each of the three core investment “pillars”:

  • Pillar 1 – Discretionary Strategies (Rahil Ram FIA)
  • Pillar 2 – Alternative Solutions (Samriddhi Sharma)
  • Pillar 3 – Quantitative Strategies (Dr Gino Cenedese)


The Sustainability team meets on a monthly basis, alongside other Firm members, with discussions focusing on sustainability integration and engagement solutions and challenges. The key discussions are fed into our RIC, which meets monthly.


Reflecting our belief that climate-aligned portfolios must be able to play a core part of investors’ (equity) allocation, in 2023 we have completed the alignment of the majority of Fulcrum’s long-term, long-only equity allocation, which is invested directly in (or replicates) the Fulcrum Climate Change strategy.

 


External resources

Our approach is to combine third party data with our own proprietary analysis, with the combination depending on the capability. As climate change has been the biggest thematic focus of our stewardship efforts, we have relied most heavily on ‘E’-related data, drawing on multiple data providers to give us a more rounded view of companies’ policies and progress.

Fulcrum uses the following data providers for a variety of ESG purposes:

  • Sustainalytics,
  • MSCI,
  • S&P Global Trucost,
  • the Science Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”),
  • CDP,
  • Urgewald,
  • InfluenceMap,
  • Bloomberg, and
  • ESG for Investors.


In certain areas where we believed data and tools were lacking, we have also collaborated on the development of new resources, such as the ‘ESG for Investors’ initiative, which provides free-to-use tools trying to assess the potential upside for companies if they were to improve ESG performance in line with peers, with carbon emissions identified as the most material ESG variable: https://esgforinvestors.com/. The ESG for Investors platform also has portfolio optimisation tools that aim to quantify the trade-offs and synergies between reducing transition risk (e.g., by reductions in the implied temperature of a portfolio) and the risk/return/volatility characteristics of a portfolio.

 


Collaborative efforts

Fulcrum are signatories to the 2020 UK Stewardship Code.

In addition, we became signatories to UN PRI in 2015 as we believe it to be part of our fiduciary responsibility to include responsible investment consideration within our investment process. We are also part of the global policy reference group.

In 2019, we also added our public support to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) where we state that we will consider both the physical and transitional climate related risks of our investments.


In 2020, Fulcrum became a member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) to ensure our work in this area is aligned with industry best practice. In addition, we signed up as supporters of ClimateAction 100+ (where we co-lead engagements with BP) and CDP in 2020 to aid our engagement efforts and show our support of their work on decarbonisation.


Pensions for Purpose is another commitment of ours as we engage with the investment community by providing training sessions for their members on the use of Implied Temperature Rise (ITR) metrics in equity portfolios.


Fulcrum is a founding member of the ESG for Investors platform, providing free data and tools to support ESG engagement and portfolio construction. https://esgforinvestors.com/articles/detail/21/


In 2022, we joined the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and committed to support the goal of net zero greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) emissions by 2050 across our assets under management.


In the same year, we joined the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and are contributors to the working group on portfolio alignment measurement. This strategy was one of the few featured in the final GFANZ report as an example of portfolio construction https://assets.bbhub.io/company/sites/63/2022/09/Measuring-Portfolio-Alignment-Enhancement-Convergence-and-Adoption-November-2022.pdf

 

Finally, in 2023 we joined the Investor Coalition for Equal Votes (ICEV). We were the first asset manager to join ICEV, a coalition launched by leading UK and US pension funds, calling on companies to improve the governance by upholding the democratic ‘one share, one vote’ principle.

 

Stewardship

We see the pursuit of Stewardship, in its broadest sense, as an ongoing journey. We are proud of the steps we have taken so far and are mindful of the road still ahead. More details on our work can be found in our Stewardship Report.


The nature of climate change as an undiversifiable macro risk – coupled with our awareness of the potential for capturing ‘transition alpha’ as climate factors get priced by the market - has led us to focus our initial engagements in this area, as a Firm.


Separately, ten European names on the engagement list have been selected for inclusion into a concentrated equity strategy, reflecting our belief that there is share price upside from improvements in sustainability – for example, as shown by the research on the ‘engagement maximiser’ of ESGforInvestors.com, which contributed to the choice of stocks.


With regards to proxy voting, we obtain independent advice from proxy advisor Glass Lewis, executed via their direct platform. We use Glass Lewis’s “Climate Policy” for proxy voting guidance, to ensure a stronger stance with regards to sustainability matters is reflected as our default choice. Fulcrum will vote in line with these independent research recommendations unless it chooses to override them based on its own analysis.

Dialshifter

This fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by…

...only investing in companies with an implied temperature rise (ITR) of below 2°C, as per the goals of the Paris Agreement. This means that it is selecting companies demonstrating higher levels of ambition, in terms of reducing their emissions, compared to the average ITR of the global economy and global listed equity markets. Furthermore, a major part of the investment process is engagement with companies on setting science-based decarbonisation plans, thereby further improving the credibility of their emission reductions.

 

Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by…

...Setting “sustainability” as one of the Firm’s core values and being committed to embedding it on an enterprise and investment level. In particular, we regard climate change as one of the largest risks facing investors over the medium- to long-term, and believe that climate-aligned investing can boost risk-adjusted returns, especially relative to an approach that minimises backward-looking carbon emissions. This is why we became signatories to TCFD in 2019 and launched a climate-aligned equity strategy in August 2020 to allow investors to allocate a core portion of their portfolio to companies that are transitioning to a net zero world.

 

SDR Labelling:

Not eligible to use label

Fund Name SRI Style SDR Labelling Product Region Asset Type Launch Date Last Amended

Fulcrum Climate Change Fund

Sustainability Tilt Not eligible to use label SICAV/Offshore Global Equity 03/08/2020 Aug 2024

Objectives

The Fulcrum Climate Change Fund aims to deliver capital growth over the long term by investing in listed equities worldwide. Investments will be made with due consideration to the climate change impact of the underlying companies.

Fund Size: £139.00m

(as at: 30/06/2024)

Total Screened Themed SRI Assets: £139.00m

(as at: 30/06/2024)

Total Responsible Ownership Assets: £293.00m

(as at: 30/06/2024)

Total Assets Under Management: £5807.00m

(as at: 30/06/2024)

ISIN: LU2164658655, LU2164657509, LU2164657418, LU2164658143, LU2164658499, LU2164657178

Contact Us: ir@fulcrumasset.com

Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Overview

The Fulcrum Climate Change Fund (“the Fund”) is a diversified global equity fund based on a rigorously researched climate alignment temperature metric developed by environmental engineers. The Fund commits to a weighted average portfolio temperature of below 2 degrees Celsius with no individual company exceeding 2 degrees, in line with the goal of the Paris Agreement.

This long-only Fund builds on Fulcrum’s thematic equity market expertise in identifying various megatrends. The Fund employs a thematic ESG-aware equity approach to best represent our long-term themes, research and informational advantages. We invest in the leaders who we view as best positioned to set themselves on pathways consistent with the scientific requirements of the Paris Agreement and best able to represent our themes.

The Fund’s sustainability aim is to impact the flow of capital to fund the green transition by investing in firms that are well-positioned for the low-carbon economy.

 

Primary fund last amended: Aug 2024

Information received directly from Fund Manager

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Fund Filters

Sustainability - General
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Environmental - General
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Funds that have policies which relate to environmental issues. These will typically set out the fund's stance on issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, plastics and/or additional environmental impacts. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.

Limits exposure to carbon intensive industries

Funds that limit or 'reduce' their exposure to carbon intensive industries (ie sectors which are major contributors to climate change. Funds vary - some funds may be 'underweight' in this area which means they may have some investment in highly carbon intensive areas. Funds of this kind may choose companies they consider to be 'best in sector' and encourage ever higher standards. Strategies vary. See fund information for further details.

Environmental damage and pollution policy

Funds that have written policies explaining the approach they take when companies damage the environment or are significant polluters. Funds of this kind may work with companies to encourage higher standards, or exclude companies - sometimes dependent on the situation. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Favours cleaner, greener companies

Funds that aim to invest in companies with strong or market leading environmental policies and practices. Strategies vary - in particular the balance between 'financial' aspects and environmental benefits. Some may invest substantially in solutions or 'positive impact' companies - others may invest in more conventional companies providing certain environmental criteria are met. See fund information for further detail.

Climate Change & Energy
Climate change / greenhouse gas emissions policy

Funds that have policies (documented strategies that explain their position on) climate change related issues such as greenhouse gas/carbon emissions, net zero, transitioning to lower carbon. Strategies vary. Read fund details for further information.

Fossil fuel reserves exclusion

Funds that avoid investing in companies with coal, oil and gas reserves. See fund information for further details.

Clean / renewable energy theme or focus

Find funds where investment in clean / renewable energy companies an other assets is central to their investment selection strategy. The proportion of the fund that is directly or indirectly invested in renewable energy varies between funds and over time. See fund information for further details.

Encourage transition to low carbon through stewardship activity

A core element of these funds will aim to encourage the transition to lower carbon activities through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity

Invests in clean energy / renewables

Funds that hold companies in the clean energy and renewable energy sectors (at the time research was supplied). Fund strategies vary, in particular the proportion of investment in these areas may vary significantly. Check fund literature for details.

Paris aligned fund strategy

This fund has a strategy that aims ensure its holdings will gradually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with targets set at COP21 in Paris. The ultimate aim is to achieve ‘net zero emissions by 2050’ and a ‘maximum global temperature increase of +1.5 to +2 degrees above preindustrial levels’. Strategies and opinions vary. Read fund information.

Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Ethical policies

Find funds that have policies that set out their position on ethical or 'personal values' based issues. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Tobacco and related product manufacturers excluded

Companies are excluded if they are involved in any aspect of the production chain for tobacco products, including cigarettes, vaping, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars.

Tobacco and related products - avoid where revenue > 5%

Companies are excluded if they make more than 5% of their revenue from the manufacture, sale or distribution of tobacco products including cigarettes, vaping, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars.

Gilts & Sovereigns
Does not invest in sovereigns

Find funds that do not invest in / exclude 'sovereigns' - debt issued by governments. See eg https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sovereign-debt.asp

Banking & Financials
Predatory lending exclusion

Fund excludes financial services companies with widely criticised, aggressive lending practices where interest rates are typically very high, includes ‘doorstep lending’)

Invests in insurers

Funds that do or may invest in insurance companies.

Governance & Management
UN sanctions exclusion

Exclude companies that are subject to United Nations sanctions. See eg https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/un-sc-consolidated-list

Anti-bribery and corruption policy

Find funds that have policies explaining how managers will respond to assets / companies that do not comply with relevant anti-bribery and anti-corruption standards or laws. Strategies vary; options include stewardship/ engagement and divestment - or a combination. See fund literature for further information.

Encourage TCFD alignment for banks & insurance companies

Find fund managers that encourage the banks and insurance companies they invest in to publish climate change related financial information - as set out by the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (with the aim of helping investors measure and respond to climate risk).

Encourage higher ESG standards through stewardship activity

A core element of these funds will aim to encourage higher ESG standards through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement /voting activity

Require investee companies to report climate risk in R&A

The fund manager requires the companies they invest in to report on climate risks that are relevant to their business in their report and accounts

Fund Governance
ESG integration strategy

Find funds that factor in 'environmental, social and governance' issues as part of their investment decision making process. A focus on 'ESG' typically means a fund is carrying out additional research to help reduce ESG related risks. It does not necessarily mean a focus on sustainability. Strategies vary. See fund literature.

Asset Size
Over 50% large cap companies

Find funds that invests more than half of their money into what are commonly regarded as 'large companies'. This will typically mean that the market capitalisation (or value) of the companies they hold is in excess of £5 to £10 billion.

Invests in small, mid and large cap companies / assets

Find a fund that invests in a combination of small, medium and larger (potentially multinational)companies.

Invests mostly in large cap companies / assets

Find funds that have SRI strategies and focus their investment stock selection on larger companies. (e.g. over circa £5-£10bn)

Targeted Positive Investments
Invests >25% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies

Find funds that invest >25% of their capital towards companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.

EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy holdings 5-25% of fund assets

Find funds that have calculated the proportion of fund asset that meet the new EU Taxonomy requirements and that they total 5-25% of assets. This will typically require adding up the proportion of each individual company's activity that is regarded as 'green' so that the fund manager can produce an overall total for the whole fund / portfolio.

EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy holdings >25% of fund assets

Find funds that have calculated the proportion of fund asset that meet the new EU Taxonomy requirements and that they total over 25% of fund assets. This will typically require adding up the proportion of each individual company's activity that is regarded as 'green' so that the fund manager can produce an overall total for the whole fund / portfolio.

Impact Methodologies
Aims to generate positive impacts (or 'outcomes')

Funds that aim to help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.

Positive environmental impact theme

Find funds that specifically set out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.

Invests in environmental solutions companies

Find funds that direct investment towards companies where a major part of their business is about solving environmental challenges. e.g. companies helping to address climate change.

Aim to deliver positive impacts through engagement

Fund aims to deliver positive environmental and or social impacts (real world benefits) through its engagement with investee assets

How The Fund Works
Positive selection bias

Find funds that focus on finding and investing in companies with positive / beneficial attributes. This strategy can be applied in addition to exclusion criteria and engagement/stewardship activity.

Negative selection bias

Find funds where their main 'ethical approach' is to avoid companies by using negative screening criteria. Read fund literature for further information.

Limited / few ethical exclusions

Find funds with few exclusions - typically for example exclude tobacco or companies that breach commonly adopted standards or norms such as the UN Global Compact.

ESG weighted / tilt

Find funds that invest more heavily in those that have higher ESG ratings/standards or scores and less heavily in companies with lower ESG ratings. Where this is central to a fund's strategy you should expect it to invest in most sectors. Strategies vary.

Data led strategy

Find funds that make stock selection (and ongoing fund management) decisions based on ESG data or company ratings (normally supplied by third parties) rather than focusing on what individual companies do, how they operate or their plans for the future

Combines norms based exclusions with other SRI criteria

Find funds that make significant use of internationally agreed 'norms' (e.g. United Nations Global Compact - UNGC - or the UN Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs) as part of their investment selection process alongside additional SRI criteria such as positive or negative stock selection policies and/or stewardship strategies.

Combines ESG strategy with other SRI criteria

Find funds that have an ESG strategy (which is typically focused on avoiding companies that pose environmental, social or governance related risks) with additional criteria such as positive and/or negative screens, themes and stewardship strategies.

Balances company 'pros and cons' / best in sector

Find funds that consider both the 'positive' and 'negative' aspects of company behaviour and make balanced, considered decisions as part of their investment approach. May apply to a range of different issues and policy areas.

Focus on ESG risk mitigation

A major focus of these funds is the careful management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) related risks - typically by avoiding or being underweight in companies seen as posing major risks in these areas (i.e. not necessarily by using themes, exclusions etc).

SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website

Find funds that have published explanations of their ethical, social and/or environmental policies online (i.e. fund decision making strategies/ buy/sell &/or asset management strategies).

Do not use stock / securities lending

This fund does not use stock lending for performance or risk purposes.

Unscreened Assets & Cash
Assets typically aligned to sustainability objectives 70 - 79%

The percentage of assets held within the fund that match the fund’s sustainability objectives and are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.

Assets typically aligned to sustainability objectives 80 – 89%

The percentage of assets held within the fund that match the fund’s sustainability objectives and are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.

Assets typically aligned to sustainability objectives > 90%

The percentage of assets held within the fund that match the fund’s sustainability objectives and are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets

All assets (except cash) meet published sustainability criteria

All assets held in the fund - except cash - meet the sustainability criteria published in fund documentation.

Intended Clients & Product Options
Intended for investors interested in sustainability

Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in sustainability issues.

Labels & Accreditations
SFDR Article 9 fund / product (EU)

Finds funds classified under Article 9 of the EU’s SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Requirements). Article 9 of the SFDR applies to financial products that have sustainable investment 'objectives' - including emissions reduction objectives. (These may currently be referred to as 'impact' funds or aiming to deliver clear, specific positive outcomes.) These rules do not currently apply in the UK so fund managers may leave this field blank.

Fund Management Company Information

About The Business
Responsible ownership / stewardship policy or strategy (AFM company wide)

Finds fund management companies that have a published company wide stewardship, engagement and / or responsible ownership policy or strategy that covers all investments. Stewardship typically involves encouraging higher ESG standards through voting and dialogue.

ESG / SRI engagement (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies that actively encourage higher 'environmental, social and governance' and/or 'sustainable and responsible investment' practices across investee companies - typically where the aim is to encourage positive change that is aligned with the best interests of investors. Strategies vary. See additional information and options.

Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM company wide)

Find fund managers that vote all* the shares they own at Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. A commitment to voting shares is a key indicator of 'responsible share ownership' demonstrating their support for or disagreement with management policy. (*situations can legitimately, occasionally occur where voting proves impossible, but in principle all shares should be voted.)

Responsible ownership / ESG a key differentiator (AFM company wide)

Find fund managers that consider responsible ownership and ESG to be a key differentiator for their business.

Sustainable property strategy (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies that take sustainability criteria into account when selecting and/or managing all of their property / real estate investments.

Integrates ESG factors into all / most (AFM) fund research

Find fund management companies that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues when deciding whether or not to invest in a company for all / almost all of their funds and other assets. This is increasingly seen as part of sound risk management.

In-house diversity improvement programme (AFM company wide)

Finds organisations / fund managers that have an in-house (company wide) diversity improvement programme - meaning that they are working to ensure that within their own businesses they employ people from diverse backgrounds - often typically focused on ethnicity and/or sex.

Diversity, equality & inclusion engagement policy (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies that encourage the companies they invest in to have strong diversity, race, gender and other equality policies across all assets held, not simply screened or themed SRI/ESG funds. (ie Asset Management company wide).

Collaborations & Affiliations
PRI signatory

Find fund management companies that have signed up to the UN backed 'Principles of Responsible Investment'.

Investment Association (IA) member

Fund management entity is a member of the Investment Association https://www.theia.org/

Resources
In-house responsible ownership / voting expertise

Find fund management companies that employ people to steer and support fund managers in voting shares at company AGM's and EGMs in ways that are consistent with encouraging higher ESG/sustainability standards.

Use specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability research companies

Find fund management companies that makes use of expert external research companies. This can help deliver specialist expertise and means resources are pooled with other investors.

ESG specialists on all investment desks (AFM company wide)

Finds organisations / fund managers that have one or more ESG/sustainability experts on all investment teams or 'desks' (all asset types)

Accreditations
UK Stewardship Code signatory (AFM company wide)

Find fund managers that are signatories to the FRC UK Stewardship Code, which sets out a framework for constructive investor / investee relations where fund managers are encouraged to behave like responsible, typically longer term 'company owners'.

Engagement Approach
Engaging on climate change issues

Fund manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that is focused on addressing climate change with investee assets.

Engaging on diversity, equality and / or inclusion issues

Asset management company has a stewardship strategy in place which involves working to raise diversity, equality and inclusion standards across investee assets

Company Wide Exclusions
Controversial weapons avoidance policy (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies (not funds) that avoid investment in 'controversial weapons' across all of their funds and other investment vehicles.

Tobacco avoidance policy (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies that avoid investment in tobacco (manufacturing) companies across all their assets.

Climate & Net Zero Transition
Net Zero commitment (AFM company wide)

Fund management organisations that have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’. Strategies vary - this area is changing rapidly.

Net Zero - have set a Net Zero target date (AFM company wide)

This asset management company has set a date by which they plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.

Encourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

In-house carbon / GHG reduction policy (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies that are working to reduce their own (fund management company) carbon/greenhouse gas emissions.

Transparency
Publish responsible ownership / stewardship report (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies that publish a report detailing their responsible investment ownership - also known as 'Stewardship' - activity.

Full SRI / responsible ownership policy information on company website

Find companies that publish information about their sustainable and responsible investment strategies on their company website.

Full SRI / responsible ownership policy information available on request

Find fund management companies that will supply information about their sustainable and responsible investment activity on request.

Publish full voting record (AFM company wide)

Fund management companies that publish a full record of how they vote their shares at AGMs (annual general meetings) and EGMs (extraordinary general meetings). Voting strategies have an important role to play encouraging higher environmental, social and governance standards.

Dialshifter statement

Find fund management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information.

Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:

The Fund seeks to only invest in companies with an implied temperature rise (ITR) of below 2 degrees, as per the goals of the Paris Agreement. This means it is selecting companies demonstrating higher levels of ambition, in terms of reducing their emissions, compared to the average ITR of the global economy and global listed equity markets. Additionally, through some of the choices of its underlying themes, the fund is allocating capital to companies providing solutions on specific climate challenges, such as clean energy or lower-emission transport.


By using an innovative climate change indicator, an ITR metric, we can measure the extent to which any individual company in portfolio is aligned with the climate temperature targets. A company’s carbon performance is calculated by extrapolating its historical emissions, adjusted by its decarbonization ambition and credibility. This is then compared with its sector decarbonization trajectory before the difference is converted into a numerical ITR representing the level of alignment. Aggregated, these company-specific temperatures allow us to further measure the alignment at portfolio level.


In addition, we exclude companies involved in activities related to controversial weapons, tobacco and predatory lending from our investment universe and manage the stewardship and engagement side of the fund.


The solution thoughtfully balances climate-alignment with expected returns and diversification benefits.


The Fund is classified as an ‘article 9’ fund under EU sustainable finance legislation, a status it has retained even amid a wave of industry downgrades. This reflects its construction process, which pursues the individual alignment of all single-stock holdings, rather than merely improvements at the level of the overall portfolio average.

Process:

The Fund invests thematically in c. 300 companies, across 25-35 themes. Some of the themes are directly linked to climate action. Across the Fund we do not invest in any one company with a higher temperature than 2°C and we control for company, sector, regional and factor exposure. By using the ITR metric we are able to calculate the level of alignment for each of the themes we are invested in.


For every company we use a transition pathway approach which shows the rate of decarbonisation over time for that company to meet the carbon budget consistent with a rise in temperature of 2⁰C.


We then compute the past, current and future emissions of every company using a combination of both backward- and forward-looking emissions data. We can then assess whether a particular company is over-performing or under-performing with regard to its necessary emissions pathway for the 2°C target, as well as against a number of other available temperature scenario outcomes.


We next translate the relative deviation into a temperature using a change of sign method. If a company is over budget compared to a 2⁰C scenario but under budget compared to a 3⁰C one, then the company is said to have a temperature between 2 and 3⁰C.


Our transition pathway assessment tracks company emissions and activity levels by incorporating both backward- and forward-looking indicators. Data from multiple data providers informs our portfolio construction process.


Engagement is a core part of our investment process as well and, as we meet with companies, we discuss in our meetings the SBTi methodology and propose that company management explores committing to this initiative in more detail. This, we believe, is a key part of our stewardship and engagement programme and is valuable in helping to increase the number of companies committing to and setting science-based targets.


Testimony to our approach, in 2023, the Fund won the award for “Best ESG Investment Fund (Climate-Alignment)” at 2023 ESG Investing Awards. The judges highlighted Fulcrum as “a clear winner” due to being “focused on forward looking solutions to combat climate change whilst employing a science-based plan to reduce future GHG emissions.” The judges went on to say: “the fund is well positioned to contribute to the sustainable investing space.”

Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:

Internal resources

Fulcrum has a Responsible Investment Committee (RIC) which reports to our Management Board and has responsibility for day-to-day oversight and implementation of all aspects of ESG. The RIC includes members from across Fulcrum’s departments including members of the investment team:

  • Matthew Roberts, Partner, Head of Fulcrum Alternative Solutions and Chair of RIC
  • Fawaz Chaudhry, Partner, Head of Equities
  • Piotr Chmielowski, Chief Risk Officer
  • Joe Davidson, Managing Partner & COO
  • Rahil Ram, Head of Climate Investing


In addition, in 2023, we formalised the sustainability “foundational layer” following a firm-wide reorganisation, with sustainability leads in each of the three core investment “pillars”:

  • Pillar 1 – Discretionary Strategies (Rahil Ram FIA)
  • Pillar 2 – Alternative Solutions (Samriddhi Sharma)
  • Pillar 3 – Quantitative Strategies (Dr Gino Cenedese)


The Sustainability team meets on a monthly basis, alongside other Firm members, with discussions focusing on sustainability integration and engagement solutions and challenges. The key discussions are fed into our RIC, which meets monthly.


Reflecting our belief that climate-aligned portfolios must be able to play a core part of investors’ (equity) allocation, in 2023 we have completed the alignment of the majority of Fulcrum’s long-term, long-only equity allocation, which is invested directly in (or replicates) the Fulcrum Climate Change strategy.

 


External resources

Our approach is to combine third party data with our own proprietary analysis, with the combination depending on the capability. As climate change has been the biggest thematic focus of our stewardship efforts, we have relied most heavily on ‘E’-related data, drawing on multiple data providers to give us a more rounded view of companies’ policies and progress.

Fulcrum uses the following data providers for a variety of ESG purposes:

  • Sustainalytics,
  • MSCI,
  • S&P Global Trucost,
  • the Science Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”),
  • CDP,
  • Urgewald,
  • InfluenceMap,
  • Bloomberg, and
  • ESG for Investors.


In certain areas where we believed data and tools were lacking, we have also collaborated on the development of new resources, such as the ‘ESG for Investors’ initiative, which provides free-to-use tools trying to assess the potential upside for companies if they were to improve ESG performance in line with peers, with carbon emissions identified as the most material ESG variable: https://esgforinvestors.com/. The ESG for Investors platform also has portfolio optimisation tools that aim to quantify the trade-offs and synergies between reducing transition risk (e.g., by reductions in the implied temperature of a portfolio) and the risk/return/volatility characteristics of a portfolio.

 


Collaborative efforts

Fulcrum are signatories to the 2020 UK Stewardship Code.

In addition, we became signatories to UN PRI in 2015 as we believe it to be part of our fiduciary responsibility to include responsible investment consideration within our investment process. We are also part of the global policy reference group.

In 2019, we also added our public support to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) where we state that we will consider both the physical and transitional climate related risks of our investments.


In 2020, Fulcrum became a member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) to ensure our work in this area is aligned with industry best practice. In addition, we signed up as supporters of ClimateAction 100+ (where we co-lead engagements with BP) and CDP in 2020 to aid our engagement efforts and show our support of their work on decarbonisation.


Pensions for Purpose is another commitment of ours as we engage with the investment community by providing training sessions for their members on the use of Implied Temperature Rise (ITR) metrics in equity portfolios.


Fulcrum is a founding member of the ESG for Investors platform, providing free data and tools to support ESG engagement and portfolio construction. https://esgforinvestors.com/articles/detail/21/


In 2022, we joined the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and committed to support the goal of net zero greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) emissions by 2050 across our assets under management.


In the same year, we joined the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and are contributors to the working group on portfolio alignment measurement. This strategy was one of the few featured in the final GFANZ report as an example of portfolio construction https://assets.bbhub.io/company/sites/63/2022/09/Measuring-Portfolio-Alignment-Enhancement-Convergence-and-Adoption-November-2022.pdf

 

Finally, in 2023 we joined the Investor Coalition for Equal Votes (ICEV). We were the first asset manager to join ICEV, a coalition launched by leading UK and US pension funds, calling on companies to improve the governance by upholding the democratic ‘one share, one vote’ principle.

 

Stewardship

We see the pursuit of Stewardship, in its broadest sense, as an ongoing journey. We are proud of the steps we have taken so far and are mindful of the road still ahead. More details on our work can be found in our Stewardship Report.


The nature of climate change as an undiversifiable macro risk – coupled with our awareness of the potential for capturing ‘transition alpha’ as climate factors get priced by the market - has led us to focus our initial engagements in this area, as a Firm.


Separately, ten European names on the engagement list have been selected for inclusion into a concentrated equity strategy, reflecting our belief that there is share price upside from improvements in sustainability – for example, as shown by the research on the ‘engagement maximiser’ of ESGforInvestors.com, which contributed to the choice of stocks.


With regards to proxy voting, we obtain independent advice from proxy advisor Glass Lewis, executed via their direct platform. We use Glass Lewis’s “Climate Policy” for proxy voting guidance, to ensure a stronger stance with regards to sustainability matters is reflected as our default choice. Fulcrum will vote in line with these independent research recommendations unless it chooses to override them based on its own analysis.

Dialshifter (Fund)

This fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by…

...only investing in companies with an implied temperature rise (ITR) of below 2°C, as per the goals of the Paris Agreement. This means that it is selecting companies demonstrating higher levels of ambition, in terms of reducing their emissions, compared to the average ITR of the global economy and global listed equity markets. Furthermore, a major part of the investment process is engagement with companies on setting science-based decarbonisation plans, thereby further improving the credibility of their emission reductions.

 

Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by…

...Setting “sustainability” as one of the Firm’s core values and being committed to embedding it on an enterprise and investment level. In particular, we regard climate change as one of the largest risks facing investors over the medium- to long-term, and believe that climate-aligned investing can boost risk-adjusted returns, especially relative to an approach that minimises backward-looking carbon emissions. This is why we became signatories to TCFD in 2019 and launched a climate-aligned equity strategy in August 2020 to allow investors to allocate a core portion of their portfolio to companies that are transitioning to a net zero world.

 

SDR Labelling:

Not eligible to use label