VT AJ Bell Responsible Screened Growth fund
SRI Style:
Limited Exclusions
SDR Labelling:
Unlabelled with sustainable characteristics
Product:
OEIC
Fund Region:
Global
Fund Asset Type:
Multi Asset
Launch Date:
23/11/2020
Last Amended:
Aug 2024
Dialshifter (
):
Fund Size:
£120.55m
(as at: 31/03/2024)
Total Screened Themed SRI Assets:
£120.55m
Total Responsible Ownership Assets:
£120.55m
Total Assets Under Management:
£5800.00m
ISIN:
GB00BN0S2W00, GB00BN0S2V92
Objectives:
The fund aims to make a positive total return when measured over a period of at least five years. Over shorter periods the fund may lose value as it invests in securities that can go both up and down in price. It looks to achieve this by investing in different assets, with a preference towards riskier investments such as company shares, and a smaller holding in cash and bonds. The fund will have a bias towards assets with stronger environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics.
Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:
The AJ Bell Responsible Growth Fund is a well-diversified, multi-asset portfolio and is intended for clients who are seeking long-term capital growth, but who also wish to invest in line with a set of values and exclusions. The Fund adopts an approach that invests in companies that meet a minimum standard against a set of ESG criteria, as defined by MSCI. These are referred to as ‘best-in-class’ companies. In addition, the Fund will only invest in products that exclude companies involved in controversial industries, such as firearms and tobacco production, as defined by MSCI’s Socially Responsible Investing (“SRI”) methodology.
Primary fund last amended:
Aug 2024
Information directly from fund manager.
Fund Filters
Ethical Values Led Exclusions
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.
Find funds with a written civilian firearms exclusion policy - meaning that they will not invest in companies that make (or perhaps also sell) handguns made for non-military users.
Gilts & Sovereigns
Find funds that invest in loans issued the government, commonly known as gilts or government bonds. These may or may not be ringfenced for specific projects (see additional options). See fund literature for any selection criteria.
Find funds that invest in financial instruments issued by governments, but will only hold those that meet certain environmental and or social criteria. This may, for example mean certain assets are excluded in line with eg Freedom House research. Strategies vary, see fund literature for more information.
Banking & Financials
Finds funds that include financial instruments (cash, derivatives and / or foreign exchange) issued by banks. See fund literature for further information as strategies vary.
How The Fund Works
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.
Find funds where their main 'ethical approach' is to avoid companies by using negative screening criteria. Read fund literature for further information.
Find funds that use an investment index to direct where they can invest. Fund strategies and indices vary. See fund details and index used.
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.
Find funds that use internationally agreed standards, conventions and 'norms' to help direct where the fund can and cannot invest (e.g. the UN Global Compact, UN Sustainable Development Goals). Read fund literature for further information.
This fund does not use stock lending for performance or risk purposes.
Intended Clients & Product Options
Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Finds those that offer an SRI / ESG portfolio option
Fund Management Company Information
About The Business
Asset manager has information on their website that explains how they treat 'vulnerable clients' (as set out in FCA regulation)
Collaborations & Affiliations
Fund management entity is a member of the Investment Association https://www.theia.org/
Climate & Net Zero Transition
Finds organisations / fund management companies that are in the process of working out how to make a ‘net zero commitment’ - meaning that when that is finalised they will have started the process of reducing their total greenhouse gas emissions to'zero'.
Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:
In the first instance, the fund will use products tracking MSCI SRI Indices or follow the SRI exclusions.
These indices set out several different exclusions on controversial business areas, alongside companies that breach global standards or norms, such as the UN global compact. These exclusions are governed by MSCI, and as such AJBI have no control over future changes. For example, the indices recently transitioned to exclude companies producing fossil fuels in December 2020. When using products not tracking these indices, AJ Bell Investments will strive to reduce exposure to any sectors excluded by the SRI indices, however this is not a constraint.
MSCI provide controversy ratings ranging from 10 (no controversies) to 0 (very severe controversy exposure) for the companies in the MSCI equity indices. Any company scoring less than 3 cannot be added to the index. Any existing company is removed from the index if it subsequently is rated as 0 after inclusion.
Companies in breach of the UN Global Compact are also excluded.
In addition to exclusions, the SRI equity indices undertake a process called ‘best in class’ screening, where only companies with the highest MSCI ESG ratings are included. The MSCI SRI Select indices target the top 25% scoring companies (by market capitalisation) within each sector and region, whereas the MSCI Low Carbon SRI Leaders indices range targets the top 50%.
The MSCI ESG ratings identify key ESG risks and opportunities for the industry in which a company operates and scores the company on each of the issues. This means in sectors such as Energy, the companies positioning for alternative energies are likely to score well.
It is important to note that the MSCI SRI indices do not have a specific target in terms of ESG improvement, for example carbon intensity, gender diversity or ESG profile. However, given the combination of exclusions and weighting towards high scoring ESG companies it in anticipated that the portfolio will have improved ESG characteristics compared to other AJ Bell funds.
We operate on a basis of only using managers that comply with the principles outlined in the UK Stewardship Code or can provide a robust explanation for why they do not comply (for example this may be due to following local stewardship regulations in the country it is based).
Through our initial and ongoing due diligence with managers, we seek to obtain voting and stewardship policies and cover more specific areas such as signatory status for the UN PRI UN Global Compact; stewardship philosophy, engagement approach, historic voting record and details behind any votes which may have been deemed controversial (for example, opposition to mergers and acquisitions or appointment of board members). These issues are considered as part of the AJ Bell Investments index research process.
Process:
The indices tracked should where possible follow an ESG process, however this is not practical for every single asset class (for example government bonds and commodities). In the first instance the fund will use the following waterfall when selecting products:
- A product from an approved manager tracking a variant of an MSCI SRI index, or following SRI exclusions
- A product from an approved manager tracking any other MSCI ESG index
- A product from an approved manager tracking any other ESG index
- A product from an approved manager taking an active approach, with ESG integration
- A product from an approved manager tracking an index excluding companies breaching the UN Compact
- A product from an approved manager taking an active approach and excluding companies breaching the UN Compact
- A product from an approved manager tracking a non-ESG index
- A product from an approved manager taking an active approach
Selection of index-tracking funds (both index funds and ETFs) is undertaken by AJ Bell Investments following from an Investment Universe of vehicles with UK reporting status and have completed the AJ Bell Investments Due Diligence Questionnaire (AJBI DDQ). In addition, the provider must manage at least £1bn in European domiciled investment tracking funds. This is to ensure long term commercial viability.
An individual fund must have documented due diligence before entering the portfolio – the process is determined by the AJ Bell Investments Research Team and may change from time to time, and considers issues such as cost, liquidity and index tracked.
SDR Labelling:
Unlabelled with sustainable characteristics
Key Performance Indicators:
Currently reviewing KPIs
- Consumer Facing Disclosure
SDR Literature:
Literature
Fund Holdings
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
Where practical the Responsible portfolios invest in products tracking MSCI Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) indexes for equity exposure. These indexes exclude companies with certain controversial business involvements and also utilise MSCI's Environmental Social Governance (ESG) ratings and ESG Controversy assessments.
For further details please see MSCI's latest SRI Indexes Methodology document.
| Fund Name | SRI Style | SDR Labelling | Product | Region | Asset Type | Launch Date | Last Amended |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VT AJ Bell Responsible Screened Growth fund |
Limited Exclusions | Unlabelled with sustainable characteristics | OEIC | Global | Multi Asset | 23/11/2020 | Aug 2024 | |
ObjectivesThe fund aims to make a positive total return when measured over a period of at least five years. Over shorter periods the fund may lose value as it invests in securities that can go both up and down in price. It looks to achieve this by investing in different assets, with a preference towards riskier investments such as company shares, and a smaller holding in cash and bonds. The fund will have a bias towards assets with stronger environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics.
|
Fund Size: £120.55m (as at: 31/03/2024) Total Screened Themed SRI Assets: £120.55m (as at: 31/03/2024) Total Responsible Ownership Assets: £120.55m (as at: 31/03/2024) Total Assets Under Management: £5800.00m (as at: 31/03/2024) ISIN: GB00BN0S2W00, GB00BN0S2V92 |
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Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG OverviewThe AJ Bell Responsible Growth Fund is a well-diversified, multi-asset portfolio and is intended for clients who are seeking long-term capital growth, but who also wish to invest in line with a set of values and exclusions. The Fund adopts an approach that invests in companies that meet a minimum standard against a set of ESG criteria, as defined by MSCI. These are referred to as ‘best-in-class’ companies. In addition, the Fund will only invest in products that exclude companies involved in controversial industries, such as firearms and tobacco production, as defined by MSCI’s Socially Responsible Investing (“SRI”) methodology. |
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Primary fund last amended: Aug 2024 |
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Information received directly from Fund Manager |
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Please select what you would like to read:
Fund FiltersEthical Values Led Exclusions
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.
Civilian firearms production exclusion
Find funds with a written civilian firearms exclusion policy - meaning that they will not invest in companies that make (or perhaps also sell) handguns made for non-military users. Gilts & Sovereigns
Invests in gilts / government bonds
Find funds that invest in loans issued the government, commonly known as gilts or government bonds. These may or may not be ringfenced for specific projects (see additional options). See fund literature for any selection criteria.
Invests in sovereigns subject to screening criteria
Find funds that invest in financial instruments issued by governments, but will only hold those that meet certain environmental and or social criteria. This may, for example mean certain assets are excluded in line with eg Freedom House research. Strategies vary, see fund literature for more information. Banking & Financials
Invests in financial instruments issued by banks
Finds funds that include financial instruments (cash, derivatives and / or foreign exchange) issued by banks. See fund literature for further information as strategies vary. 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.
Passive / index driven strategy
Find funds that use an investment index to direct where they can invest. Fund strategies and indices vary. See fund details and index used.
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.
Norms focus
Find funds that use internationally agreed standards, conventions and 'norms' to help direct where the fund can and cannot invest (e.g. the UN Global Compact, UN Sustainable Development Goals). Read fund literature for further information.
Do not use stock / securities lending
This fund does not use stock lending for performance or risk purposes. Intended Clients & Product Options
Portfolio SRI / ESG options available (DFMs)
Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Finds those that offer an SRI / ESG portfolio option Fund Management Company InformationAbout The Business
Vulnerable client policy on website (AFM company wide)
Asset manager has information on their website that explains how they treat 'vulnerable clients' (as set out in FCA regulation) Collaborations & Affiliations
Investment Association (IA) member
Fund management entity is a member of the Investment Association https://www.theia.org/ Climate & Net Zero Transition
Working towards a ‘Net Zero’ commitment (AFM company wide)
Finds organisations / fund management companies that are in the process of working out how to make a ‘net zero commitment’ - meaning that when that is finalised they will have started the process of reducing their total greenhouse gas emissions to'zero'. Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:In the first instance, the fund will use products tracking MSCI SRI Indices or follow the SRI exclusions. These indices set out several different exclusions on controversial business areas, alongside companies that breach global standards or norms, such as the UN global compact. These exclusions are governed by MSCI, and as such AJBI have no control over future changes. For example, the indices recently transitioned to exclude companies producing fossil fuels in December 2020. When using products not tracking these indices, AJ Bell Investments will strive to reduce exposure to any sectors excluded by the SRI indices, however this is not a constraint. MSCI provide controversy ratings ranging from 10 (no controversies) to 0 (very severe controversy exposure) for the companies in the MSCI equity indices. Any company scoring less than 3 cannot be added to the index. Any existing company is removed from the index if it subsequently is rated as 0 after inclusion. Companies in breach of the UN Global Compact are also excluded. In addition to exclusions, the SRI equity indices undertake a process called ‘best in class’ screening, where only companies with the highest MSCI ESG ratings are included. The MSCI SRI Select indices target the top 25% scoring companies (by market capitalisation) within each sector and region, whereas the MSCI Low Carbon SRI Leaders indices range targets the top 50%. The MSCI ESG ratings identify key ESG risks and opportunities for the industry in which a company operates and scores the company on each of the issues. This means in sectors such as Energy, the companies positioning for alternative energies are likely to score well. It is important to note that the MSCI SRI indices do not have a specific target in terms of ESG improvement, for example carbon intensity, gender diversity or ESG profile. However, given the combination of exclusions and weighting towards high scoring ESG companies it in anticipated that the portfolio will have improved ESG characteristics compared to other AJ Bell funds. We operate on a basis of only using managers that comply with the principles outlined in the UK Stewardship Code or can provide a robust explanation for why they do not comply (for example this may be due to following local stewardship regulations in the country it is based). Through our initial and ongoing due diligence with managers, we seek to obtain voting and stewardship policies and cover more specific areas such as signatory status for the UN PRI UN Global Compact; stewardship philosophy, engagement approach, historic voting record and details behind any votes which may have been deemed controversial (for example, opposition to mergers and acquisitions or appointment of board members). These issues are considered as part of the AJ Bell Investments index research process. Process:The indices tracked should where possible follow an ESG process, however this is not practical for every single asset class (for example government bonds and commodities). In the first instance the fund will use the following waterfall when selecting products:
Selection of index-tracking funds (both index funds and ETFs) is undertaken by AJ Bell Investments following from an Investment Universe of vehicles with UK reporting status and have completed the AJ Bell Investments Due Diligence Questionnaire (AJBI DDQ). In addition, the provider must manage at least £1bn in European domiciled investment tracking funds. This is to ensure long term commercial viability. An individual fund must have documented due diligence before entering the portfolio – the process is determined by the AJ Bell Investments Research Team and may change from time to time, and considers issues such as cost, liquidity and index tracked. SDR Labelling:Unlabelled with sustainable characteristics Key Performance Indicators:
Currently reviewing KPIs
SDR Literature:LiteratureFund HoldingsDisclaimerDisclaimer Where practical the Responsible portfolios invest in products tracking MSCI Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) indexes for equity exposure. These indexes exclude companies with certain controversial business involvements and also utilise MSCI's Environmental Social Governance (ESG) ratings and ESG Controversy assessments. For further details please see MSCI's latest SRI Indexes Methodology document. |
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