Goldman Sachs Global Environmental Impact Equity Portfolio Fund
SRI Style:
Sustainable Style
SDR Labelling:
Not eligible to use label
Product:
SICAV/Offshore
Fund Region:
Global
Fund Asset Type:
Equity
Launch Date:
14/02/2020
Last Amended:
Jun 2025
Dialshifter (
):
Fund Size:
£178.10m
(as at: 31/03/2025)
Total Responsible Ownership Assets:
£299867.77m
(as at: 30/09/2024)
Total Assets Under Management:
£2443450.98m
(as at: 31/03/2025)
ISIN:
LU2106859791, LU2106859874, LU2106861268, LU2106859957, LU2106860021, LU2106860617, LU2106860708, LU2106860294, LU2106860377, LU2106860963, LU2106860880, LU2106860450, LU2106860534, LU2106861185, LU2106861003, LU2309350507, LU2133327911, LU2299137518, LU2300162596, LU2417704355
Contact Us:
Objectives:
The Goldman Sachs Global Environmental Impact Equity Portfolio has two objectives [2] at its core:
- Investing in companies which provide impactful solutions to drive environmental sustainability.
- Generating superior returns against global equities (measured by MSCI ACWI[3])
In today’s time where governments, corporates and consumers are more unified than ever in their desire and willingness to fight climate change, we believe that those companies that can provide innovative products and solutions to help solve environmental challenges will benefit from secular growth and demand tailwinds. This effort is more and more supported by increasingly attractive economics, as alternative energy and sustainable products become more cost-effective, shifting from philanthropy to sound investment. We launched the Portfolio to capitalize on today’s investment landscape and pursue our two core objectives.[4]
(2) There is no guarantee that objectives will be met
(3) MSCI All Country World Index
(4) Further information in relation to the sustainability-related aspects of the Fund can be found at https://am.gs.com/public-assets/documents/a43ffaa9-80ca-11ef-b01a-7fd15f00b87b?view=true
Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:
The Portfolio seeks to create positive environmental impact by investing in companies that the Investment Adviser considers to be sustainable investments (minimum 90% allocation to sustainable investments) and which provide solutions that drive environmental sustainability, by virtue of their alignment to key themes associated with solving environmental problems [5]. The key themes are represented by companies that, in the Investment Adviser’s view, provide, invest in or help create products, services or technologies in areas including but not limited to:
- Clean Energy: present in areas such as solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy, energy storage, grid services and carbon sequestration.
- Resource Efficiency: present in areas such as electric and autonomous vehicles, sustainable manufacturing, logistics and smart cities.
- Sustainable Consumption: present in areas such as agriculture, food, tourism and fashion.
- Circular Economy: present in areas such as recycling and reuse, waste management and single-use substitution.
- Water Sustainability: present in areas such as water treatment, water distribution and desalination.
[5] As part of our investment process, we may integrate ESG factors alongside traditional factors. The identification of a risk related to an ESG factor will not necessarily exclude a particular investment that, in our view, is otherwise suitable and attractively priced for investment, and we may invest in an issuer without integrating ESG factors or considerations into our investment process. Moreover, ESG information, whether from an external and/or internal source, is, by nature and in many instances, based on a qualitative and subjective assessment. An element of subjectivity and discretion is therefore inherent to the interpretation and use of ESG data. The relevance and weightings of specific ESG factors to or within the investment process vary across asset classes, sectors and strategies and no one factor or consideration is determinative. Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessments depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. The process for conducting ESG assessments and implementation of ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis, may also vary among portfolio management teams. Portfolio holdings and/or allocations shown above are as of the date indicated and may not be representative of future investments. Future investments may or may not be profitable.
Primary fund last amended:
Jun 2025
Information directly from fund manager.
Fund Filters
Sustainability - General
Funds that have policies that consider (environmental and social) sustainability issues. Strategies vary but are likely to consider environmental issues like climate change, carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, resource management, environmental impacts; and social issues like equal opportunities, human rights, labour standards, diversity and adherence to internationally recognised codes. See fund information.
Find funds which substantially focus on sustainability issues
Find funds that have documented policies or thematic investment approaches relating to investment in more sustainable, greener transport methods. These will typically set out a preference for companies that run, enable or support more sustainable methods of transport. See fund information for further detail.
A core element of these funds aim to encourage higher sustainability standards across business practices through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity
Find funds that use the UN Global Compact to inform or help direct where they can or cannot invest and will typically not invest in companies with significant breaches (low standards) - although strategies vary. (The UNGC covers a wide range of issues - search 'UNGC'). See https://unglobalcompact.org/
Find funds that publicly report their performance against specifically named sustainability objectives (in addition to reporting their financial performance)
Fund has a theme or investment strand focused on the shift to a circular economy (where products are reused and recycled not incinerated or dumped). See eg https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview
Environmental - General
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.
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.
Find funds that have a policy or theme that relates to managing natural resources more efficiently. Funds with this policy will be likely to favour companies that make (or enable the) more efficient use of resources - and either avoid or encourage change amongst companies with lower standards. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
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.
Find funds that have a written policy or theme on waste management - typically a view to encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste.
Nature & Biodiversity
A significant focus on investments that aim to protect, improve and, or restore natural habitat.
Fund has a significant focus or emphasis on investment in nature and biodiversity related opportunities
Find funds that have policies in place designed to ensure they do not invest in companies that are significantly involved in deforestation. This typically relates to palm oil plantations where biodiversity loss is a major concern (as well as other issues). Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Fund has a responsible palm oil policy which is likely to focus on the producers of palm oil and deforestation issues with a view to informing investment decisions (and / or engagement) to support and encourage high standards.
Climate Change & Energy
Funds that avoid investing in major coal, oil and/or gas (extraction) companies. Funds vary: some may exclude all companies that extract oil. Others may have exposure to oil extraction via more diversified energy companies. See fund literature to confirm details.
Funds that avoid companies involved in fracking and tar sands - which are widely regarded as controversial methods of oil and gas extraction. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.
Funds that avoid companies that are involved in extracting oil from the Arctic regions. See fund literature for further details.
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.
A core element of these funds will aim to encourage the transition to lower carbon activities through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity
Fund funds that have an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that a fund manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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.
Find funds that have policies which say they avoid or limit their investment in the nuclear industry. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Fund has a supply chain decarbonisation policy which sets out its position on the need to reduce carbon emissions throughout the investment chain. This will inform where the manager can and can not invest.
Has a policy or theme which sets out the fund's position on investment in companies researching/developing hydrogen as an energy solutions
The fund manager excludes companies with direct involvement in fossil fuel exploration (eg coal, oil and gas companies)
The fund manager excludes companies with indirect involvement in fossil fuel exploration. For example they would be expected to exclude banks and insurance companies that are effectively enabling new coal, oil and or gas reserves to be discovered and in due course extracted through the provision of necessary finance or services.
Social / Employment
Find funds that have policies which set out their approach to social issues (e.g. human rights, labour standards, equal opportunities, child labour and adherence to internationally recognised codes such as the UN Global Compact). Funds with social policies typically avoid companies with low standards or work to encourage higher standards. See fund information for detail.
Find funds that invest in line with positive strategies that relate to 'people' issues - such as having strong human rights, labour standards and equal opportunities practices. Such funds are likely to invest in companies that have market leading standards with regard to employee and supplier practices. Read fund literature for further information.
Find individual funds that have a written diversity policy – where the fund manager will aim to select companies with a carefully considered, sound approach to diversity. This should ideally cover a range of issues including gender, ethnicity, disability, beliefs, sexual orientation, etc.
All mining companies excluded
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.
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.
Find funds that exclude companies which make controversial weapons such as landmines, cluster munitions and chemical weapons. See fund literature for further information.
Find funds that avoid companies that manufacture products intended specifically for military use. Fund strategies vary - particularly with regard to non-strategic military products. See fund literature for fund specific details.
Find funds that avoid companies with military contracts of any kind. This may include medical supplies, food, safety equipment, housing, etc. Fund strategies vary. See fund liteterature for more information.
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.
Find funds that avoid investment in companies involved in the production of alcohol. Strategies vary; some funds allow a small proportion of profits to come from this area. See fund literature for further information.
Find funds that avoid companies with significant involvement in the gambling industry. Some funds may allow a small proportion of profits to come from this area. See fund policy for further details.
Find funds that avoid companies that derive significant income from pornography and related areas. Strategies vary. See fund details for further information.
Human Rights
The fund has a policy which excludes assets with involvement in Modern Slavery
Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Find funds that have policies or themes that set out their position on investment in the water sector and/or sanitation. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Fund has a theme that may direct investment towards newer forms of food such as plant based meat alternatives. A fund may have one or many themes. See fund information.
Fund has a responsible food production or agriculture theme or strand of investment. Funds may have a single theme or many themes. See fund information.
Gilts & 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
Governance & Management
Find fund options that have policies that relate to corporate governance issues such as board structure, executive remuneration, bribery and/or corporate corruption. These funds will typically avoid companies with poor practices. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.
Find funds that aim to avoid investing in companies with poor governance practices.(e.g. board structure, management practices etc.) Views may however vary on what counts as 'poor' practices - and funds may not immediately divest as they may prefer to work to encourage higher standards. See fund literature for further information.
Fund managers encourage the companies they invest in to have more diverse board structures (e.g. more women on boards)
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).
A core element of these funds will aim to encourage higher ESG standards through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement /voting activity
Fund Governance
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
Find funds where more than half of the funds' assets are invested in smaller or medium sized companies (i.e. below around £5 -10 billion).
Find a fund that invests in a combination of small, medium and larger (potentially multinational)companies.
Targeted Positive Investments
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.
Find funds that invest >50% of their capital in companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.
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.
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
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.
Funds that aim to measure the positive real world environmental and / or social benefits that are associated with their investment strategy. Funds that aim to deliver positive impacts and measure those impacts may be referred to as 'impact funds' - although impact measurement is not restricted to impact funds. Strategies vary. See fund information.
Funds that are specifically marketed as ‘Impact investments funds' will work to deliver both financial performance and specific, measurable positive, real world social and/or environmental benefits. Strategies vary.
Find funds that specifically set out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.
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.
Find funds that specifically set out to invest in companies that are regarded as 'disrupting' existing business practices - typically through the development of innovative (sustainability aware) products and/or practices.
Fund aims to deliver positive environmental and or social impacts (real world benefits) through its engagement with investee assets
50% of fund assets are regarded by the fund manager as being significantly focused on providing solutions to environmental or social challenges. 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 with few exclusions - typically for example exclude tobacco or companies that breach commonly adopted standards or norms such as the UN Global Compact.
Find funds that have 'mapped' (reviewed) their investment selection and management strategies to identify which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the fund is helping to address.
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.
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).
See fund information for different risk options of this fund strategy
This fund does not use stock lending for performance or risk purposes.
Unscreened Assets & Cash
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.
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.
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
Fund that only invest in cash to aid the practical management (buying and selling) of assets. These funds do not use additional financial instruments.
All assets held in the fund - except cash - meet the sustainability criteria published in fund documentation.
Intended Clients & Product Options
Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in sustainability issues.
Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in ‘Impact investment funds’ which 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.
Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Finds those that offer an SRI / ESG portfolio option
Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Find service providers who offer bespoke ('personalised') SRI / ESG portfolio options
Labels & Accreditations
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
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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
Find fund management companies that have signed up to the UN backed 'Principles of Responsible Investment'.
Resources
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.
Find a fund management company that directly employs specialist ESG/SRI/sustainability researchers or analysts. This allows asset managers to discuss environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities directly with 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.
Finds organisations / fund managers that have one or more ESG/sustainability experts on all investment teams or 'desks' (all asset types)
Accreditations
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
Find fund management companies that regularly initiate or run industry wide (collaborative) investor projects aimed at raising environmental, social and governance standards amongst investee companies.
Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage more responsible corporate taxation.
Fund manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that is focused on addressing climate change with investee assets.
Asset manager has a stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that involves working with fossil fuel companies on climate change related issues. See fund manager website for details.
Asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy with involves encouraging investee asset to reduce plastic waste and pollution.
Asset manager has a stewardship / responsible ownership policy that means they are working to encourage more responsible mining practices - where environmental and social issues are properly dealt with by the companies they invest in.
The asset manager has a responsible ownership / stewardship strategy that focuses on biodiversity and nature issues relating to the assets they invest the aim of which will be to reduce harm and or deliver improvement. Strategies vary. https://tnfd.global
Asset manager has a responsible ownership / stewardship strategy which means they are working to encourage the shift to more sustainable business practices in ways that respect and are sensitive to social issues and the impact change has on people effected by the changes that are taking place. https://www.transitionpathwayinitiative.org/ https://transitiontaskforce.net/
Asset manager has responsible ownership / stewardship strategy in place which aims to address human rights issues in investee companies (and potentially their suppliers) with the aim of raising standards
Asset manager has responsible ownership / stewardship strategy in place that aims to improve labour standards for the benefit of employees in investee companies (and potentially their suppliers)
Asset management company has a stewardship strategy in place which involves working to raise diversity, equality and inclusion standards across investee assets
working with the assets they hold to help stamp out modern slavery - where direct or indirect company employees are exploited for business benefits.
Fund managers have stewardship strategies in place that focus on improving governance standards across investee assets
Has a stewardship / responsible ownership strategy that encourages responsible supply chain - ie the managers will discuss environmental, social and governance issues with investee companies with the aim of raising standards
Working to address sustainability, ESG and related concerns around artificial intelligence.
Escalation policies describe how a manager will proceed if stewardship / engagement activity is not successful in the short term.
Company Wide Exclusions
Fund management company excludes assets with significant involvement in the nuclear industry - across all funds. Strategies vary.
Climate & Net Zero Transition
Fund management organisations that have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’. Strategies vary - this area is changing rapidly.
Fund manager AGM / EGM voting strategy has processes in place that mean they will normally be expected to vote in a way that will encourage the transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
This asset management company has set a date by which they plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.
Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
Finds organisations / fund managers that have a company wide carbon transition plan - meaning that they have plotted a path to how they will move away from activities that produce or use carbon based energy sources (that emit greenhouse gases) towards clean, alternative, renewable energy sources.
Finds organisations / fund managers that have published ‘forward looking climate metrics’ e.g. 'implied temperature rise' data that are a total of the asset management company's share (% owned) of all the investee company emissions of the assets they manage, as well as their own direct and other indirect emissions.
Find fund management companies that are working to reduce their own (fund management company) carbon/greenhouse gas emissions.
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'.
See https://sciencebasedtargets.org/
Transparency
Find fund management companies that publish a report detailing their responsible investment ownership - also known as 'Stewardship' - activity.
Find companies that publish information about their sustainable and responsible investment strategies on their company website.
Find fund management companies that will supply information about their sustainable and responsible investment activity on request.
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.
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are to become a sustainable business - without significant negative environmental or social impacts.
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they will align to the climate change commitments made at the Paris Climate Talks, COP21.
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are going to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.
Find fund management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information.
Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:
We focus our investments[1] in companies which are aligned to five key impact themes which, in our view, are collectively driving environmental sustainability. The themes we are focused on are
- clean energy,
- resource efficiency,
- sustainable consumption,
- the circular economy, and
- water sustainability.
As part of this approach, we are
- determining the company’s alignment to our thematic framework,
- assessing the company’s impact on the environment, and
- forming a partnership between the company and us to promote change.
- Thematic Alignment
When constructing the portfolio, we aim to focus on companies that demonstrate a direct and meaningful link to the five key impact themes we are targeting: clean energy, resource efficiency, sustainable consumption, the circular economy and water sustainability. Each of these themes can be further broken down into sub-themes, which ensure that we are accessing the company universe holistically and we are not missing out on investment opportunities in certain segments. Please refer to the previous section for the detailed break-down of our thematic framework.
As it relates to examining the ‘thematic purity’ of companies in our investment universe and portfolio, our team takes a variety of metrics into consideration. While revenues are in many cases the easiest and most tangible approach to establish thematic alignment, it remains a backward-looking metric which runs risk to overlook certain pockets of the market. For instance, we invest in a few businesses which are in the process of transforming their operations and build-out new technologies that may have, in our view, a meaningfully positive impact on the environment once at scale. However, while this is often the dominant driver of the company’s future growth potential, today’s revenue share might still be skewed to their legacy operations. If we have conviction that the company is committed to progressing in their transformation, we are comfortable to invest and ensure our portfolio is exposed to innovation that is exciting from an impact and return perspective.
It is fair to say that this makes the measurement of thematic alignment, or environmental impact, somewhat more challenging, but we seek to stay broad in the metrics we consider to ensure we are not creating an unnecessarily restrictive universe which could have negative implications from an impact and alpha optimization standpoint. As a result, while revenues are relevant for a number of our portfolio holdings, e.g. established utilities who have made major progress in advancing their renewable business over the last decade, we also consider factors such as capital expenditures, future earnings growth estimates, operating profits and corporate strategy to assess a company’s thematic purity.
- Impact Measurement[2]
One of the primary objectives of the Goldman Sachs Global Environmental Impact Equity Portfolio is to generate meaningful and measurable impact for our clients. In this context, we aim to identify the best candidates for the portfolio, in terms of their alignment with our five key investment areas, and their potential for having a positive impact on the environment over the long-term.
The ability to make an impact starts with the investment process. We seek to:
- Identify impactful businesses that are aligned with at least one of the five key themes to create an investment universe of environmental solution providers.
- Assess the impact of companies that are part of our final portfolio over time with quantitative metrics and report meaningful data.
- Engage with management teams to expand a company’s impact footprint, while monitoring progress and targets.
Our approach to measuring impact at the company and Portfolio level is focused on understanding how the companies are helping to drive greater environmental sustainability across our key investment areas: clean energy, resource efficiency, sustainable consumption, the circular economy, and water sustainability. The corresponding primary key performance indicators (KPIs) we have sought to measure at the aggregate portfolio level are:
- Tons of CO2 avoided/saved (net)
- Liters of water saved/treated
- Tons of waste reduced
- Tons of material recycled/treated
- Installed renewable energy capacity
It is important to emphasize that the alignment to our key impact themes is a prerequisite for a company to be included in our investment universe. This is separate to our ESG integration efforts which are ingrained in our stock due diligence, i.e. strong ESG practice becomes crucial when considering the inclusion of a company from our investment universe into our final portfolio. As a result, being a good corporate citizen and employing high environmental standards as part of one’s operations does not alone qualify a company to be in scope for this investment solution. For instance, while we welcome broad based efforts of companies across many industries, most notably big tech, to go carbon neutral, we do not equate such efforts with offering a solution to the key environmental issues we are targeting. In this example, we would be most interested in those companies that offer products and services that ultimately allow their clients to achieve their ambitious carbon reduction targets.
As indicated above, ESG integration forms part of our investment process. Driven by our philosophy of investing in high quality businesses over the long-term, we integrate material ESG factors throughout our investment process, where relevant. Our ESG assessment is analyst-led and is part of our 1) stock-level due diligence, 2) risk management[5] and portfolio construction as well as 3) active ownership and stewardship efforts.
As it relates to our bottom-up company research, all research analysts can leverage our online investment platform, ‘Concert’. Concert allows our investment professionals to assess ESG factors across a large coverage universe by serving as a centralized investment research platform, which houses, among others, our ESG Dashboard. The ESG Dashboard pulls in material third party data tailored to a company’s business model and provides our investors with a first view of a company’s ESG profile. Additionally, analysts and all our investment teams across asset classes can access ESG news and research, engagement as well as proxy voting records via Concert to further enhance their views and allow for effective and coordinated corporate engagement.
Beyond leveraging our ESG Dashboard[6], analysts have the option to dig deeper on ESG by means of our proprietary Goldman Sachs Asset Management ESG Scorecard. The Scorecard serves the purpose of going beyond third-party data as it relates to assessing the ESG profile of a company. We have found this step to be valuable, as ESG data availability and accuracy can be challenging for certain companies. Thus, even though our analysts are not obligated to complete this more comprehensive assessment of ~70 ESG KPIs for our holdings in the portfolio, we have made the experience that the tool gets broadly leveraged and our research analysts have completed their own proprietary ESG assessment for ~85% of the portfolio’s market value.
For companies with a completed Scorecard, the assessment forms the basis for stock-level due diligence and engagement.[7] The Scorecard provides a standardized framework for conducting a baseline assessment of a company’s ESG characteristics relative to peers. Like our ESG Dashboard, the Scorecard pulls in material (defined by the SASB framework), time series data, allowing us to focus only on ESG factors that are meaningful to a firm’s growth, profitability and risk management[8] profile. However, this is merely the starting point for a more holistic assessment whereby our analysts are encouraged to fill in data gaps, challenge third party inputs and use their intimate company knowledge derived from direct engagements to enhance their fundamental analysis.
Once the scorecard is completed it is used to compare the company against peers, industry averages and best practices. This insight can help inform, challenge or validate the assumptions that the analyst has used in their quantitative valuation models. Additionally, the covering analyst will provide a qualitative summary of a company’s overall ESG profile and translate their assessment of the underlying ~70 ESG KPIs into a qualitative score.
Tied into the idea of enhancing our process by integrating material ESG factors into investment decisions, we conduct ongoing monitoring of ESG factors on a case-by-case basis at the stock and portfolio level. Our investment teams can pull in a company’s ESG rating into our traditional valuation tools and Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s proprietary portfolio construction and risk tools allow our PM to analyse the ESG credentials of the portfolio and simulate the impact of potential trades. We measure ESG metrics, such as carbon intensity, on an ongoing basis and ESG metrics, such as this, are included in our daily risk reports.
Once we own, our investors and the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Global Stewardship Team work together to use multiple levels of influence – proxy voting, corporate engagement, and active buying and selling – to encourage positive corporate change.
[1] Goldman Sachs Asset Management may invest in a security prior to completion of the ESG scorecard. Instances in which ESG scorecards may not be completed for a specific security prior to investment include but are not limited to IPOs, in-kind transfers, corporate actions, and/or certain short-term holdings.
[2] Goldman Sachs Asset Management may invest in a security prior to completion of the ESG scorecard. Instances in which ESG scorecards may not be completed for a specific security prior to investment include but are not limited to IPOs, in-kind transfers, corporate actions, and/or certain short-term holdings
[3] As part of our investment process, we may integrate ESG factors alongside traditional factors. The identification of a risk related to an ESG factor will not necessarily exclude a particular investment that, in our view, is otherwise suitable and attractively priced for investment, and we may invest in an issuer without integrating ESG factors or considerations into our investment process. Moreover, ESG information, whether from an external and/or internal source, is, by nature and in many instances, based on a qualitative and subjective assessment. An element of subjectivity and discretion is therefore inherent to the interpretation and use of ESG data. The relevance and weightings of specific ESG factors to or within the investment process vary across asset classes, sectors and strategies and no one factor or consideration is determinative. Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessments depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. The process for conducting ESG assessments and implementation of ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis, may also vary among portfolio management teams.
[4] Goldman Sachs Asset Management may invest in a security prior to completion of the ESG scorecard. Instances in which ESG scorecards may not be completed for a specific security prior to investment include but are not limited to IPOs, in-kind transfers, corporate actions, and/or certain short-term holdings
[5] The portfolio risk management process includes an effort to monitor and manage risk, but does not imply low risk.
[6] Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessment depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. No one factor or consideration is determinative in the fundamental research and asset selection process
[7] Goldman Sachs Asset Management may invest in a security prior to completion of the ESG scorecard. Instances in which ESG scorecards may not be completed for a specific security prior to investment include but are not limited to IPOs, in-kind transfers, corporate actions, and/or certain short-term holdings
[8] The portfolio risk management process includes an effort to monitor and manage risk, but does not imply low risk.
Process:
Our investment process can be broken down into three steps as below:[1]
Step 1: Ongoing Theme Identification & Proprietary Investment Universe
We have built an extensive and proprietary universe of stocks which are exposed to the key impact themes highlighted in the below illustration. Each stock is assigned a sub-theme and level of exposure to the theme ranging from high to low based on proprietary research.
These thematically aligned companies exist across the market capitalization, sector and regional spectrum. We rely on first-hand, fundamental research and our global presence to help us build our investment universe which today consists of ~500 names.
Step 2: Local Analyst Idea Generation & Stock Research
The research team brings forward attractive businesses with an appx. upside target of 50% over 3 years. Each analyst is responsible for rigorously analyzing companies from a financial, ESG and impact perspective.
Final stock selection is determined by the Portfolio Manager and will be the conclusion of extensive discussion and debate.
Step 3: Final Portfolio Construction
Final position sizing for holdings within the portfolio are determined by the Portfolio Manager who takes into consideration the following factors:
- The exposure of the company to the environmental impact theme
- Maximize upside potential[2] while prudently managing risk[3]
- Avoid unintended risks
In general, the higher the exposure to the environmental impact theme effect, the higher the potential returns and the lower the volatility of the shares, the larger the position size is likely to be in the portfolio.
The portfolio risk management process includes an effort to monitor and manage risk, but does not imply low risk.
For further details on our ESG process for the fund, please refer to the question immediately above.
Internal and External sources of data:
We use proprietary ESG research as well as leverage external research providers. The vast majority of our ESG research is internally generated and investor led. As a result, all of our investors conduct ESG research and engagement, which is naturally embedded into our fundamental research process, informs our models and is part of every decision we make at the company level.
Our Credit analysts and sovereign economists consider material and relevant ESG factors and risks that can affect the credit quality of the issuer; they incorporate these into their overall research and issuer valuations. In performing this internal analysis, our dedicated corporate analysts and sovereign economists may leverage MSCI platform and/or Bloomberg – third party vendors, to assist our ESG analysis; the MSCI platform provides in-depth research, ratings and analysis of the ESG-related business practices across a number of developed and emerging markets. We may also engage additional data providers such as Sustainalytics, CDP and TruCost to assist our ESG analysis. Additionally, we may use a third party vendor, ETHIX SRI Advisors, to source the listings of entities engaged in in financing/ manufacturing cluster munitions. Furthermore, in our effort to maintain a high level of risk management to help ensure that we stay within the portfolio’s investment and regulatory guidelines, we also utilize Sentinel which is a Fidessa product, a pre- and post-trade compliance monitoring tool which provides managers with the necessary tools to adhere to client guidelines and portfolio constraints.
The portfolio risk management process includes an effort to monitor and manage risk, but does not imply low risk.
We continually review our external providers to remain abreast with the latest technology and services that complement our process and investment philosophy.
[1] As part of our investment process, we may integrate ESG factors alongside traditional factors. The identification of a risk related to an ESG factor will not necessarily exclude a particular investment that, in our view, is otherwise suitable and attractively priced for investment, and we may invest in an issuer without integrating ESG factors or considerations into our investment process. Moreover, ESG information, whether from an external and/or internal source, is, by nature and in many instances, based on a qualitative and subjective assessment. An element of subjectivity and discretion is therefore inherent to the interpretation and use of ESG data. The relevance and weightings of specific ESG factors to or within the investment process vary across asset classes, sectors and strategies and no one factor or consideration is determinative. Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessments depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. The process for conducting ESG assessments and implementation of ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis, may also vary among portfolio management teams.
[2] Complete information on the risks of investing in the Fund are set out in the Fund’s prospectus.
[3] Your capital is at risk and you may lose some or all of the capital you invest.
Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:
Resources & Governance
Within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, many of our investment personnel conducting sustainable investment research, focusing on ESG factors in portfolio construction, and driving our stewardship and engagement efforts sit within each of our investment teams. We devote considerable resources to sustainable and impact investing and have over 200 professionals who spend the majority of their time on sustainability related research, portfolio management, stewardship, engineering, and/or risk management.
The Sustainability and Impact Client Solutions team is a dedicated resource within Asset and Wealth Management that mobilizes the full range of insights, advisory services, and investment solutions across our client segments.
In Public Markets Investing, sustainable investment professionals are supported by the centralised Sustainable Investing Platform (SIP). There is emphasis on enhancing and setting the direction for sustainability through sustainability research and regulatory expertise. SIP develops sustainable investing data, methodologies, and internal education; provides sustainable investing strategic advice and analytics to Public Markets Investing teams and clients; and enhances ESG integration (inclusive of climate) within certain investment strategies. Additionally, Public Markets Investing has appointed ESG SI Heads who are embedded within its investment teams: Equities, Fixed Income, and Multi-Asset Solutions.
In Private Markets (GS Alternatives), the GS Alternatives Sustainability & Impact (“S&I”) team is led by the Chief Sustainability Officer for Private Markets Investing and is focused on institutionalizing ESG practices across GS Alternatives, as and where relevant, enhancing data collection and monitoring, implementing, and reporting on new regulatory requirements and codes, and communicating with GS Alternatives about updates in the sustainable finance space, where applicable. This includes conducting training, designing, and implementing ESG governance frameworks, analyzing ESG data and developing strategic initiatives as applicable. The S&I team assesses upcoming and developing ESG regulatory and industry standards, leveraging guidance from internal resources as well as external conferences, counsel or advisors and implement improvements to our ESG processes, as necessary. The S&I team partners closely with investing professionals (across Sustainable Investing Group, Private Equity, Infrastructure, Growth Equity, Real Estate and Private Credit), Alternatives Capital Formation (“ACF”), Fund & Information Management Group, Legal, Compliance and Operational Risk Environmental Group, among others, to design, implement, deliver, enhance, and monitor the ESG program, as relevant, for GS Alternatives.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s External Investing Group (“XIG”) has meaningfully expanded its ESG and impact investing capabilities and resources in recent years. In 2015, Goldman Sachs Asset Management acquired the assets of Imprint Capital Advisors LLC, a dedicated ESG and impact investing investment advisor with over 17 years of experience creating, building, and managing ESG and impact portfolios. Today, as part of XIG’s open architecture platform, the XIG Imprint team is dedicated to identifying, researching, and selecting leading third-party impact investment managers across asset classes and impact themes, both in private and public markets. The XIG Imprint team now manages over $9bn in client assets across public and private markets and serves as a valuable resource for the broader XIG platform to further strengthen its ESG and impact capabilities across asset classes.
In addition to our efforts within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, within the Executive Office, our Sustainable Finance Group (SFG) serves as the centralized group that drives climate strategy and sustainability efforts across Goldman Sachs. This includes commercial efforts alongside the firm’s businesses — all with the goal of advancing the success of our clients and promoting sustainable, inclusive growth and advancing the climate transition.
Affiliations / Memberships
Goldman Sachs and Goldman Sachs Asset Management seek to promote best practices in ESG and stewardship through various memberships and affiliations. Below, find a select list of our affiliations/memberships:
Goldman Sachs:
- Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) – Goldman Sachs has been a supporter of the TCFD since 2018 and published its first report in 2019.
- OS-Climate – In 2021, Goldman Sachs joined as the founding US bank of OS-Climate, a cross-industry coalition and open-source platform for climate data and analytical tools that will be critical for clients to achieve their net zero ambitions.
- CDP – Goldman Sachs has been a signatory to the CDP climate change survey since 2006 and has made our climate change-related disclosures publicly available since 2010. In 2021, to facilitate dialogue with our vendors around their own emissions management programs, we joined CDP Supply Chain as a lead member.
- The Climate Group (RE100, EV100, EP100) – As part of our commitment to advancing renewable energy markets, we were the first US corporate to sign onto all three of The Climate Group’s RE100, EV100 and EP100 programs. Goldman Sachs Group joined RE100 in 2015, and EV100 and EP100 in 2019. These initiatives are focused on, respectively: 100% procurement of electricity from renewables; electric transport; and energy productivity. Additionally, we set a firmwide target of sourcing 100% renewable electricity, which we achieved in 2020.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management:
- PRI – Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been a signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI) since 2011.
- Climate Bonds Initiative – Goldman Sachs Asset Management became a Climate Bonds Initiative Partner in 2015.
- One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund Framework – Goldman Sachs Asset Management became a member of the Asset Manager Working group within the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund Framework in 2018.
- International Capital Market Association (ICMA) – Goldman Sachs Asset Management joined ICMA’s Green, Social & Sustainability Bond Committees in 2019.
- Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) – Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been a member of the IIGCC since 2019.
- Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) – Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been a member of SASB since 2018.
- Japan Stewardship Code – Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been a signatory since 2014.
- Singapore Stewardship Principles – Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been a supporter of the Singapore Stewardship Principles since 2016.
- 30% Club Japan – Goldman Sachs Asset Management became a member of the 30% Club’s Japan Investors Group in February 2020.
- UK Stewardship Code – Signatory to the 2020 UK Stewardship Code since 2022 and were previously a signatory to the 2012 code.
- Asia Corporate Governance Association (ACGA) – Goldman Sachs Asset Management joined the ACGA in 2022 and is a member of the China Working Group.
- Council of Institutional Investors – We have been a member since 2017 and hold a seat on their Corporate Governance Advisory Council
- ESG Disclosure Study Group – We became a founding member of the EDSG in June 2020. EDSG is a Japan-based organization focused on carrying out research related to ESG information disclosure best practices to enhance corporate value and growth as well as the sustainable development of society.
- International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) – We became a member of the ICGN in January 2020. Established in 1995 as an investor-led organization, the ICGN’s mission is to promote effective standards of corporate governance and investor stewardship to advance efficient markets and sustainable economies worldwide.
- Japan Stewardship Initiative – We are part of the steering committee.
- EDCI: Goldman Sachs Asset Management signed onto the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) ESG Data Convergence Project in 2021, which convenes leading GPs and LPs in an effort to standardize ESG data collection in the private equity sector.
- GRESB: Goldman Sachs Asset Management have been participating members of GRESB since 2023.
- PRI Nature Reference Group: Goldman Sachs Asset Management became a member of the reference group in 2024.
- Impact Capital Managers (ICM) – Goldman Sachs Asset Management joined the ICM membership association as of 2024.
- Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) – Goldman Sachs Asset Management became a member as of August 2024.
Dialshifter
This fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by…
The fund seeks to invest in companies that have a net positive impact on the environment via their products and/or services which are aligned to five key impact themes. Therefore, our team does not only take into account the carbon emissions which are a direct result of a company’s production process and internal energy consumption but are also focused on the entire value chain and product life cycle. To note, all holdings in the portfolio derive their revenues from products/ services that contribute to environmental sustainability. While some of these are pure plays, some are transitioning to renewable space.
SDR Labelling:
Not eligible to use label
Key Performance Indicators:
We are able to monitor the progress of incorporating responsible investment in the investment process through metrics for each of our holdings that we track on our internal system and looking at how they have evolved over time. Research analysts who are closer to the companies they track, are in the best position to identify ESG[1] practices work directly with the dedicated ESG team to build our ESG view on any company. Governance forms the foundation of our analysis and is evaluated universally across sectors. We look at questions related to board quality, management quality, risk management and minority shareholder rights to evaluate governance. The analysis of material environmental and social factors varies depending on the sector the company operates in.
At the outset, we identify material ESG risks through the SASB materiality map which highlights sustainability issues that are likely to affect the financial condition or operating performance of companies within an industry. SASB has identified 26 sustainability-related business issues which vary by industry.
The potential warning signs from an environmental and social perspective may include:
- environmental and social reporting disclosure and transparency
- material environmental litigation and/or controversies
- material social litigation and/or controversies; labour practices, for example track record in treatment of employees and supply chain management
- human rights considerations
- climate change policies and environmental practices.
We have found that companies tend to lag their global peers on governance more than any other aspect of ESG. Hence, governance has been an area of enhanced focus for us within our FE suite of products. We look at questions related to board quality, management quality, risk management and minority shareholder rights to evaluate governance. The potential warning signs from a governance perspective may include:
- poor quality of earnings
- lack of concern for shareholder interests and minority shareholder rights
- unethical business conduct, for example unethical methods of obtaining contracts and/or close connections with authorities
- poor board structure, lack of board diversity and independence
- executive management team (CXO) not acting in interest of shareholders
- executive compensation not aligned to performance
We also have access to ESG reports on our fund from external vendors such as MSCI which is a valuable tool to assess the total portfolio over a longer time period as well as against our peers. On a case-by case basis, we may conduct enhanced evaluation of any company from an ESG perspective with the investment team working alongside our Stewardship team to use multiple levels of influence – proxy voting, corporate engagement, and active buying and selling – to encourage positive corporate change.
[1] As part of our investment process, we may integrate ESG factors alongside traditional factors. The identification of a risk related to an ESG factor will not necessarily exclude a particular investment that, in our view, is otherwise suitable and attractively priced for investment, and we may invest in an issuer without integrating ESG factors or considerations into our investment process. Moreover, ESG information, whether from an external and/or internal source, is, by nature and in many instances, based on a qualitative and subjective assessment. An element of subjectivity and discretion is therefore inherent to the interpretation and use of ESG data. The relevance and weightings of specific ESG factors to or within the investment process vary across asset classes, sectors and strategies and no one factor or consideration is determinative. Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessments depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. The process for conducting ESG assessments and implementation of ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis, may also vary among portfolio management teams
Literature
Voting Record
Disclaimer
Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) strategies may take risks or eliminate exposures found in other strategies or broad market benchmarks that may cause performance to diverge from the performance of these other strategies or market benchmarks. ESG strategies will be subject to the risks associated with their underlying investments’ asset classes. Further, the demand within certain markets or sectors that an ESG strategy targets may not develop as forecasted or may develop more slowly than anticipated.
Confidentiality
No part of this material may, without Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s prior written consent, be (i) copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form, by any means, or (ii) distributed to any person that is not an employee, officer, director, or authorized agent of the recipient.
© 2025 Goldman Sachs. All Rights Reserved.
Date of First Use: 5/26/2025
Compliance Code: 432194-OTU-2276066
Fund Name | SRI Style | SDR Labelling | Product | Region | Asset Type | Launch Date | Last Amended |
|
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Goldman Sachs Global Environmental Impact Equity Portfolio Fund |
Sustainable Style | Not eligible to use label | SICAV/Offshore | Global | Equity | 14/02/2020 | Jun 2025 | |
ObjectivesThe Goldman Sachs Global Environmental Impact Equity Portfolio has two objectives [2] at its core:
In today’s time where governments, corporates and consumers are more unified than ever in their desire and willingness to fight climate change, we believe that those companies that can provide innovative products and solutions to help solve environmental challenges will benefit from secular growth and demand tailwinds. This effort is more and more supported by increasingly attractive economics, as alternative energy and sustainable products become more cost-effective, shifting from philanthropy to sound investment. We launched the Portfolio to capitalize on today’s investment landscape and pursue our two core objectives.[4] (2) There is no guarantee that objectives will be met |
Fund Size: £178.10m (as at: 31/03/2025) Total Responsible Ownership Assets: £299867.77m (as at: 30/09/2024) Total Assets Under Management: £2443450.98m (as at: 31/03/2025) ISIN: LU2106859791, LU2106859874, LU2106861268, LU2106859957, LU2106860021, LU2106860617, LU2106860708, LU2106860294, LU2106860377, LU2106860963, LU2106860880, LU2106860450, LU2106860534, LU2106861185, LU2106861003, LU2309350507, LU2133327911, LU2299137518, LU2300162596, LU2417704355 Contact Us: gs-uk-tpd-ss@gs.com |
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Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG OverviewThe Portfolio seeks to create positive environmental impact by investing in companies that the Investment Adviser considers to be sustainable investments (minimum 90% allocation to sustainable investments) and which provide solutions that drive environmental sustainability, by virtue of their alignment to key themes associated with solving environmental problems [5]. The key themes are represented by companies that, in the Investment Adviser’s view, provide, invest in or help create products, services or technologies in areas including but not limited to:
[5] As part of our investment process, we may integrate ESG factors alongside traditional factors. The identification of a risk related to an ESG factor will not necessarily exclude a particular investment that, in our view, is otherwise suitable and attractively priced for investment, and we may invest in an issuer without integrating ESG factors or considerations into our investment process. Moreover, ESG information, whether from an external and/or internal source, is, by nature and in many instances, based on a qualitative and subjective assessment. An element of subjectivity and discretion is therefore inherent to the interpretation and use of ESG data. The relevance and weightings of specific ESG factors to or within the investment process vary across asset classes, sectors and strategies and no one factor or consideration is determinative. Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessments depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. The process for conducting ESG assessments and implementation of ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis, may also vary among portfolio management teams. Portfolio holdings and/or allocations shown above are as of the date indicated and may not be representative of future investments. Future investments may or may not be profitable. |
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Primary fund last amended: Jun 2025 |
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Information received directly from Fund Manager |
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Fund FiltersSustainability - General
Sustainability policy
Funds that have policies that consider (environmental and social) sustainability issues. Strategies vary but are likely to consider environmental issues like climate change, carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, resource management, environmental impacts; and social issues like equal opportunities, human rights, labour standards, diversity and adherence to internationally recognised codes. See fund information.
Sustainability focus
Find funds which substantially focus on sustainability issues
Sustainable transport policy or theme
Find funds that have documented policies or thematic investment approaches relating to investment in more sustainable, greener transport methods. These will typically set out a preference for companies that run, enable or support more sustainable methods of transport. See fund information for further detail.
Encourage more sustainable practices through stewardship
A core element of these funds aim to encourage higher sustainability standards across business practices through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity
UN Global Compact linked exclusion policy
Find funds that use the UN Global Compact to inform or help direct where they can or cannot invest and will typically not invest in companies with significant breaches (low standards) - although strategies vary. (The UNGC covers a wide range of issues - search 'UNGC'). See https://unglobalcompact.org/
Report against sustainability objectives
Find funds that publicly report their performance against specifically named sustainability objectives (in addition to reporting their financial performance)
Circular economy theme
Fund has a theme or investment strand focused on the shift to a circular economy (where products are reused and recycled not incinerated or dumped). See eg https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview 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.
Resource efficiency policy or theme
Find funds that have a policy or theme that relates to managing natural resources more efficiently. Funds with this policy will be likely to favour companies that make (or enable the) more efficient use of resources - and either avoid or encourage change amongst companies with lower standards. 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.
Waste management policy or theme
Find funds that have a written policy or theme on waste management - typically a view to encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste. Nature & Biodiversity
Nature / biodiversity based solutions theme
A significant focus on investments that aim to protect, improve and, or restore natural habitat.
Nature / biodiversity focus
Fund has a significant focus or emphasis on investment in nature and biodiversity related opportunities
Deforestation / palm oil policy
Find funds that have policies in place designed to ensure they do not invest in companies that are significantly involved in deforestation. This typically relates to palm oil plantations where biodiversity loss is a major concern (as well as other issues). Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Responsible palm oil policy
Fund has a responsible palm oil policy which is likely to focus on the producers of palm oil and deforestation issues with a view to informing investment decisions (and / or engagement) to support and encourage high standards. Climate Change & Energy
Coal, oil & / or gas majors excluded
Funds that avoid investing in major coal, oil and/or gas (extraction) companies. Funds vary: some may exclude all companies that extract oil. Others may have exposure to oil extraction via more diversified energy companies. See fund literature to confirm details.
Fracking and tar sands excluded
Funds that avoid companies involved in fracking and tar sands - which are widely regarded as controversial methods of oil and gas extraction. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.
Arctic drilling exclusion
Funds that avoid companies that are involved in extracting oil from the Arctic regions. See fund literature 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
Energy efficiency theme
Fund funds that have an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that a fund manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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.
Nuclear exclusion policy
Find funds that have policies which say they avoid or limit their investment in the nuclear industry. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Supply chain decarbonisation policy
Fund has a supply chain decarbonisation policy which sets out its position on the need to reduce carbon emissions throughout the investment chain. This will inform where the manager can and can not invest.
Hydrogen policy or theme
Has a policy or theme which sets out the fund's position on investment in companies researching/developing hydrogen as an energy solutions
Fossil fuel exploration exclusion - direct involvement
The fund manager excludes companies with direct involvement in fossil fuel exploration (eg coal, oil and gas companies)
Fossil fuel exploration exclusion – indirect involvement
The fund manager excludes companies with indirect involvement in fossil fuel exploration. For example they would be expected to exclude banks and insurance companies that are effectively enabling new coal, oil and or gas reserves to be discovered and in due course extracted through the provision of necessary finance or services. Social / Employment
Social policy
Find funds that have policies which set out their approach to social issues (e.g. human rights, labour standards, equal opportunities, child labour and adherence to internationally recognised codes such as the UN Global Compact). Funds with social policies typically avoid companies with low standards or work to encourage higher standards. See fund information for detail.
Favours companies with strong social policies
Find funds that invest in line with positive strategies that relate to 'people' issues - such as having strong human rights, labour standards and equal opportunities practices. Such funds are likely to invest in companies that have market leading standards with regard to employee and supplier practices. Read fund literature for further information.
Diversity, equality & inclusion Policy (fund level)
Find individual funds that have a written diversity policy – where the fund manager will aim to select companies with a carefully considered, sound approach to diversity. This should ideally cover a range of issues including gender, ethnicity, disability, beliefs, sexual orientation, etc.
Mining exclusion
All mining companies excluded Ethical 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.
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.
Controversial weapons exclusion
Find funds that exclude companies which make controversial weapons such as landmines, cluster munitions and chemical weapons. See fund literature for further information.
Armaments manufacturers avoided
Find funds that avoid companies that manufacture products intended specifically for military use. Fund strategies vary - particularly with regard to non-strategic military products. See fund literature for fund specific details.
Military involvement exclusion
Find funds that avoid companies with military contracts of any kind. This may include medical supplies, food, safety equipment, housing, etc. Fund strategies vary. See fund liteterature for more information.
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.
Alcohol production excluded
Find funds that avoid investment in companies involved in the production of alcohol. Strategies vary; some funds allow a small proportion of profits to come from this area. See fund literature for further information.
Gambling avoidance policy
Find funds that avoid companies with significant involvement in the gambling industry. Some funds may allow a small proportion of profits to come from this area. See fund policy for further details.
Pornography avoidance policy
Find funds that avoid companies that derive significant income from pornography and related areas. Strategies vary. See fund details for further information. Human Rights
Modern slavery exclusion policy
The fund has a policy which excludes assets with involvement in Modern Slavery Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Water / sanitation policy or theme
Find funds that have policies or themes that set out their position on investment in the water sector and/or sanitation. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Plant based / smart food production theme
Fund has a theme that may direct investment towards newer forms of food such as plant based meat alternatives. A fund may have one or many themes. See fund information.
Responsible food production or agriculture theme
Fund has a responsible food production or agriculture theme or strand of investment. Funds may have a single theme or many themes. See fund information. 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 Governance & Management
Governance policy
Find fund options that have policies that relate to corporate governance issues such as board structure, executive remuneration, bribery and/or corporate corruption. These funds will typically avoid companies with poor practices. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.
Avoids companies with poor governance
Find funds that aim to avoid investing in companies with poor governance practices.(e.g. board structure, management practices etc.) Views may however vary on what counts as 'poor' practices - and funds may not immediately divest as they may prefer to work to encourage higher standards. See fund literature for further information.
Encourage board diversity e.g. gender
Fund managers encourage the companies they invest in to have more diverse board structures (e.g. more women on boards)
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 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% small / mid cap companies
Find funds where more than half of the funds' assets are invested in smaller or medium sized companies (i.e. below around £5 -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. 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.
Invests >50% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies
Find funds that invest >50% of their capital in 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.
Measures positive impacts
Funds that aim to measure the positive real world environmental and / or social benefits that are associated with their investment strategy. Funds that aim to deliver positive impacts and measure those impacts may be referred to as 'impact funds' - although impact measurement is not restricted to impact funds. Strategies vary. See fund information.
Described as an ‘impact investment fund’
Funds that are specifically marketed as ‘Impact investments funds' will work to deliver both financial performance and specific, measurable positive, real world social and/or environmental benefits. Strategies vary.
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.
Invests in sustainability / ESG disruptors
Find funds that specifically set out to invest in companies that are regarded as 'disrupting' existing business practices - typically through the development of innovative (sustainability aware) products and/or practices.
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
Over 50% in assets providing environmental or social ‘solutions’
50% of fund assets are regarded by the fund manager as being significantly focused on providing solutions to environmental or social challenges. 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.
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.
Assets mapped to SDGs
Find funds that have 'mapped' (reviewed) their investment selection and management strategies to identify which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the fund is helping to address.
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.
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).
Different risk options of this strategy are available
See fund information for different risk options of this fund strategy
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
No ‘diversifiers’ used other than cash
Fund that only invest in cash to aid the practical management (buying and selling) of assets. These funds do not use additional financial instruments.
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.
Intended for clients who want to have a positive impact
Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in ‘Impact investment funds’ which 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.
Portfolio SRI / ESG options available (DFMs)
Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Finds those that offer an SRI / ESG portfolio option
Bespoke SRI / ESG portfolios available (DFMs)
Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Find service providers who offer bespoke ('personalised') SRI / ESG portfolio options 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 InformationAbout 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.)
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'. 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.
Employ specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability researchers
Find a fund management company that directly employs specialist ESG/SRI/sustainability researchers or analysts. This allows asset managers to discuss environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities directly with companies.
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
Regularly lead collaborative ESG initiatives (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies that regularly initiate or run industry wide (collaborative) investor projects aimed at raising environmental, social and governance standards amongst investee companies.
Encourage responsible corporate taxation (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage more responsible corporate taxation.
Engaging on climate change issues
Fund manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that is focused on addressing climate change with investee assets.
Engaging with fossil fuel companies on climate change
Asset manager has a stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that involves working with fossil fuel companies on climate change related issues. See fund manager website for details.
Engaging to reduce plastics pollution / waste
Asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy with involves encouraging investee asset to reduce plastic waste and pollution.
Engaging to encourage responsible mining practices
Asset manager has a stewardship / responsible ownership policy that means they are working to encourage more responsible mining practices - where environmental and social issues are properly dealt with by the companies they invest in.
Engaging on biodiversity / nature issues
The asset manager has a responsible ownership / stewardship strategy that focuses on biodiversity and nature issues relating to the assets they invest the aim of which will be to reduce harm and or deliver improvement. Strategies vary. https://tnfd.global
Engaging to encourage a Just Transition
Asset manager has a responsible ownership / stewardship strategy which means they are working to encourage the shift to more sustainable business practices in ways that respect and are sensitive to social issues and the impact change has on people effected by the changes that are taking place. https://www.transitionpathwayinitiative.org/ https://transitiontaskforce.net/
Engaging on human rights issues
Asset manager has responsible ownership / stewardship strategy in place which aims to address human rights issues in investee companies (and potentially their suppliers) with the aim of raising standards
Engaging on labour / employment issues
Asset manager has responsible ownership / stewardship strategy in place that aims to improve labour standards for the benefit of employees in investee companies (and potentially their suppliers)
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
Engaging to stop modern slavery
working with the assets they hold to help stamp out modern slavery - where direct or indirect company employees are exploited for business benefits.
Engaging on governance issues
Fund managers have stewardship strategies in place that focus on improving governance standards across investee assets
Engaging on responsible supply chain issues
Has a stewardship / responsible ownership strategy that encourages responsible supply chain - ie the managers will discuss environmental, social and governance issues with investee companies with the aim of raising standards
Engaging on the responsible use of AI
Working to address sustainability, ESG and related concerns around artificial intelligence.
Stewardship escalation policy
Escalation policies describe how a manager will proceed if stewardship / engagement activity is not successful in the short term. Company Wide Exclusions
Nuclear exclusion policy (AFM company wide)
Fund management company excludes assets with significant involvement in the nuclear industry - across all funds. Strategies vary. 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.
Voting policy includes net zero targets (AFM company wide)
Fund manager AGM / EGM voting strategy has processes in place that mean they will normally be expected to vote in a way that will encourage the transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
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.
Carbon transition plan published (AFM company wide)
Finds organisations / fund managers that have a company wide carbon transition plan - meaning that they have plotted a path to how they will move away from activities that produce or use carbon based energy sources (that emit greenhouse gases) towards clean, alternative, renewable energy sources.
‘Forward Looking Climate Metrics’ published / ITR (AFM company wide)
Finds organisations / fund managers that have published ‘forward looking climate metrics’ e.g. 'implied temperature rise' data that are a total of the asset management company's share (% owned) of all the investee company emissions of the assets they manage, as well as their own direct and other indirect 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.
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'.
Committed to SBTi / Science Based Targets Initiative
See https://sciencebasedtargets.org/ 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.
Sustainability transition plan publicly available (AFM company wide)
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are to become a sustainable business - without significant negative environmental or social impacts.
Paris Alignment plan publicly available (AFM company wide)
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they will align to the climate change commitments made at the Paris Climate Talks, COP21.
Net Zero transition plan publicly available (AFM company wide)
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are going to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.
Dialshifter statement
Find fund management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information. Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:We focus our investments[1] in companies which are aligned to five key impact themes which, in our view, are collectively driving environmental sustainability. The themes we are focused on are
As part of this approach, we are
When constructing the portfolio, we aim to focus on companies that demonstrate a direct and meaningful link to the five key impact themes we are targeting: clean energy, resource efficiency, sustainable consumption, the circular economy and water sustainability. Each of these themes can be further broken down into sub-themes, which ensure that we are accessing the company universe holistically and we are not missing out on investment opportunities in certain segments. Please refer to the previous section for the detailed break-down of our thematic framework. As it relates to examining the ‘thematic purity’ of companies in our investment universe and portfolio, our team takes a variety of metrics into consideration. While revenues are in many cases the easiest and most tangible approach to establish thematic alignment, it remains a backward-looking metric which runs risk to overlook certain pockets of the market. For instance, we invest in a few businesses which are in the process of transforming their operations and build-out new technologies that may have, in our view, a meaningfully positive impact on the environment once at scale. However, while this is often the dominant driver of the company’s future growth potential, today’s revenue share might still be skewed to their legacy operations. If we have conviction that the company is committed to progressing in their transformation, we are comfortable to invest and ensure our portfolio is exposed to innovation that is exciting from an impact and return perspective. It is fair to say that this makes the measurement of thematic alignment, or environmental impact, somewhat more challenging, but we seek to stay broad in the metrics we consider to ensure we are not creating an unnecessarily restrictive universe which could have negative implications from an impact and alpha optimization standpoint. As a result, while revenues are relevant for a number of our portfolio holdings, e.g. established utilities who have made major progress in advancing their renewable business over the last decade, we also consider factors such as capital expenditures, future earnings growth estimates, operating profits and corporate strategy to assess a company’s thematic purity.
One of the primary objectives of the Goldman Sachs Global Environmental Impact Equity Portfolio is to generate meaningful and measurable impact for our clients. In this context, we aim to identify the best candidates for the portfolio, in terms of their alignment with our five key investment areas, and their potential for having a positive impact on the environment over the long-term. The ability to make an impact starts with the investment process. We seek to:
Our approach to measuring impact at the company and Portfolio level is focused on understanding how the companies are helping to drive greater environmental sustainability across our key investment areas: clean energy, resource efficiency, sustainable consumption, the circular economy, and water sustainability. The corresponding primary key performance indicators (KPIs) we have sought to measure at the aggregate portfolio level are:
It is important to emphasize that the alignment to our key impact themes is a prerequisite for a company to be included in our investment universe. This is separate to our ESG integration efforts which are ingrained in our stock due diligence, i.e. strong ESG practice becomes crucial when considering the inclusion of a company from our investment universe into our final portfolio. As a result, being a good corporate citizen and employing high environmental standards as part of one’s operations does not alone qualify a company to be in scope for this investment solution. For instance, while we welcome broad based efforts of companies across many industries, most notably big tech, to go carbon neutral, we do not equate such efforts with offering a solution to the key environmental issues we are targeting. In this example, we would be most interested in those companies that offer products and services that ultimately allow their clients to achieve their ambitious carbon reduction targets. As indicated above, ESG integration forms part of our investment process. Driven by our philosophy of investing in high quality businesses over the long-term, we integrate material ESG factors throughout our investment process, where relevant. Our ESG assessment is analyst-led and is part of our 1) stock-level due diligence, 2) risk management[5] and portfolio construction as well as 3) active ownership and stewardship efforts. As it relates to our bottom-up company research, all research analysts can leverage our online investment platform, ‘Concert’. Concert allows our investment professionals to assess ESG factors across a large coverage universe by serving as a centralized investment research platform, which houses, among others, our ESG Dashboard. The ESG Dashboard pulls in material third party data tailored to a company’s business model and provides our investors with a first view of a company’s ESG profile. Additionally, analysts and all our investment teams across asset classes can access ESG news and research, engagement as well as proxy voting records via Concert to further enhance their views and allow for effective and coordinated corporate engagement. Beyond leveraging our ESG Dashboard[6], analysts have the option to dig deeper on ESG by means of our proprietary Goldman Sachs Asset Management ESG Scorecard. The Scorecard serves the purpose of going beyond third-party data as it relates to assessing the ESG profile of a company. We have found this step to be valuable, as ESG data availability and accuracy can be challenging for certain companies. Thus, even though our analysts are not obligated to complete this more comprehensive assessment of ~70 ESG KPIs for our holdings in the portfolio, we have made the experience that the tool gets broadly leveraged and our research analysts have completed their own proprietary ESG assessment for ~85% of the portfolio’s market value. For companies with a completed Scorecard, the assessment forms the basis for stock-level due diligence and engagement.[7] The Scorecard provides a standardized framework for conducting a baseline assessment of a company’s ESG characteristics relative to peers. Like our ESG Dashboard, the Scorecard pulls in material (defined by the SASB framework), time series data, allowing us to focus only on ESG factors that are meaningful to a firm’s growth, profitability and risk management[8] profile. However, this is merely the starting point for a more holistic assessment whereby our analysts are encouraged to fill in data gaps, challenge third party inputs and use their intimate company knowledge derived from direct engagements to enhance their fundamental analysis. Once the scorecard is completed it is used to compare the company against peers, industry averages and best practices. This insight can help inform, challenge or validate the assumptions that the analyst has used in their quantitative valuation models. Additionally, the covering analyst will provide a qualitative summary of a company’s overall ESG profile and translate their assessment of the underlying ~70 ESG KPIs into a qualitative score. Tied into the idea of enhancing our process by integrating material ESG factors into investment decisions, we conduct ongoing monitoring of ESG factors on a case-by-case basis at the stock and portfolio level. Our investment teams can pull in a company’s ESG rating into our traditional valuation tools and Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s proprietary portfolio construction and risk tools allow our PM to analyse the ESG credentials of the portfolio and simulate the impact of potential trades. We measure ESG metrics, such as carbon intensity, on an ongoing basis and ESG metrics, such as this, are included in our daily risk reports. Once we own, our investors and the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Global Stewardship Team work together to use multiple levels of influence – proxy voting, corporate engagement, and active buying and selling – to encourage positive corporate change.
[1] Goldman Sachs Asset Management may invest in a security prior to completion of the ESG scorecard. Instances in which ESG scorecards may not be completed for a specific security prior to investment include but are not limited to IPOs, in-kind transfers, corporate actions, and/or certain short-term holdings. [2] Goldman Sachs Asset Management may invest in a security prior to completion of the ESG scorecard. Instances in which ESG scorecards may not be completed for a specific security prior to investment include but are not limited to IPOs, in-kind transfers, corporate actions, and/or certain short-term holdings [3] As part of our investment process, we may integrate ESG factors alongside traditional factors. The identification of a risk related to an ESG factor will not necessarily exclude a particular investment that, in our view, is otherwise suitable and attractively priced for investment, and we may invest in an issuer without integrating ESG factors or considerations into our investment process. Moreover, ESG information, whether from an external and/or internal source, is, by nature and in many instances, based on a qualitative and subjective assessment. An element of subjectivity and discretion is therefore inherent to the interpretation and use of ESG data. The relevance and weightings of specific ESG factors to or within the investment process vary across asset classes, sectors and strategies and no one factor or consideration is determinative. Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessments depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. The process for conducting ESG assessments and implementation of ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis, may also vary among portfolio management teams. [4] Goldman Sachs Asset Management may invest in a security prior to completion of the ESG scorecard. Instances in which ESG scorecards may not be completed for a specific security prior to investment include but are not limited to IPOs, in-kind transfers, corporate actions, and/or certain short-term holdings [5] The portfolio risk management process includes an effort to monitor and manage risk, but does not imply low risk. [6] Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessment depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. No one factor or consideration is determinative in the fundamental research and asset selection process [7] Goldman Sachs Asset Management may invest in a security prior to completion of the ESG scorecard. Instances in which ESG scorecards may not be completed for a specific security prior to investment include but are not limited to IPOs, in-kind transfers, corporate actions, and/or certain short-term holdings [8] The portfolio risk management process includes an effort to monitor and manage risk, but does not imply low risk. Process:Our investment process can be broken down into three steps as below:[1]
Step 1: Ongoing Theme Identification & Proprietary Investment Universe We have built an extensive and proprietary universe of stocks which are exposed to the key impact themes highlighted in the below illustration. Each stock is assigned a sub-theme and level of exposure to the theme ranging from high to low based on proprietary research. These thematically aligned companies exist across the market capitalization, sector and regional spectrum. We rely on first-hand, fundamental research and our global presence to help us build our investment universe which today consists of ~500 names.
Step 2: Local Analyst Idea Generation & Stock Research The research team brings forward attractive businesses with an appx. upside target of 50% over 3 years. Each analyst is responsible for rigorously analyzing companies from a financial, ESG and impact perspective. Final stock selection is determined by the Portfolio Manager and will be the conclusion of extensive discussion and debate.
Step 3: Final Portfolio Construction Final position sizing for holdings within the portfolio are determined by the Portfolio Manager who takes into consideration the following factors:
In general, the higher the exposure to the environmental impact theme effect, the higher the potential returns and the lower the volatility of the shares, the larger the position size is likely to be in the portfolio. The portfolio risk management process includes an effort to monitor and manage risk, but does not imply low risk. For further details on our ESG process for the fund, please refer to the question immediately above.
Internal and External sources of data: We use proprietary ESG research as well as leverage external research providers. The vast majority of our ESG research is internally generated and investor led. As a result, all of our investors conduct ESG research and engagement, which is naturally embedded into our fundamental research process, informs our models and is part of every decision we make at the company level. Our Credit analysts and sovereign economists consider material and relevant ESG factors and risks that can affect the credit quality of the issuer; they incorporate these into their overall research and issuer valuations. In performing this internal analysis, our dedicated corporate analysts and sovereign economists may leverage MSCI platform and/or Bloomberg – third party vendors, to assist our ESG analysis; the MSCI platform provides in-depth research, ratings and analysis of the ESG-related business practices across a number of developed and emerging markets. We may also engage additional data providers such as Sustainalytics, CDP and TruCost to assist our ESG analysis. Additionally, we may use a third party vendor, ETHIX SRI Advisors, to source the listings of entities engaged in in financing/ manufacturing cluster munitions. Furthermore, in our effort to maintain a high level of risk management to help ensure that we stay within the portfolio’s investment and regulatory guidelines, we also utilize Sentinel which is a Fidessa product, a pre- and post-trade compliance monitoring tool which provides managers with the necessary tools to adhere to client guidelines and portfolio constraints. The portfolio risk management process includes an effort to monitor and manage risk, but does not imply low risk. We continually review our external providers to remain abreast with the latest technology and services that complement our process and investment philosophy.
[1] As part of our investment process, we may integrate ESG factors alongside traditional factors. The identification of a risk related to an ESG factor will not necessarily exclude a particular investment that, in our view, is otherwise suitable and attractively priced for investment, and we may invest in an issuer without integrating ESG factors or considerations into our investment process. Moreover, ESG information, whether from an external and/or internal source, is, by nature and in many instances, based on a qualitative and subjective assessment. An element of subjectivity and discretion is therefore inherent to the interpretation and use of ESG data. The relevance and weightings of specific ESG factors to or within the investment process vary across asset classes, sectors and strategies and no one factor or consideration is determinative. Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessments depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. The process for conducting ESG assessments and implementation of ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis, may also vary among portfolio management teams. [2] Complete information on the risks of investing in the Fund are set out in the Fund’s prospectus. [3] Your capital is at risk and you may lose some or all of the capital you invest.
Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:Resources & Governance Within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, many of our investment personnel conducting sustainable investment research, focusing on ESG factors in portfolio construction, and driving our stewardship and engagement efforts sit within each of our investment teams. We devote considerable resources to sustainable and impact investing and have over 200 professionals who spend the majority of their time on sustainability related research, portfolio management, stewardship, engineering, and/or risk management. The Sustainability and Impact Client Solutions team is a dedicated resource within Asset and Wealth Management that mobilizes the full range of insights, advisory services, and investment solutions across our client segments. In Public Markets Investing, sustainable investment professionals are supported by the centralised Sustainable Investing Platform (SIP). There is emphasis on enhancing and setting the direction for sustainability through sustainability research and regulatory expertise. SIP develops sustainable investing data, methodologies, and internal education; provides sustainable investing strategic advice and analytics to Public Markets Investing teams and clients; and enhances ESG integration (inclusive of climate) within certain investment strategies. Additionally, Public Markets Investing has appointed ESG SI Heads who are embedded within its investment teams: Equities, Fixed Income, and Multi-Asset Solutions. In Private Markets (GS Alternatives), the GS Alternatives Sustainability & Impact (“S&I”) team is led by the Chief Sustainability Officer for Private Markets Investing and is focused on institutionalizing ESG practices across GS Alternatives, as and where relevant, enhancing data collection and monitoring, implementing, and reporting on new regulatory requirements and codes, and communicating with GS Alternatives about updates in the sustainable finance space, where applicable. This includes conducting training, designing, and implementing ESG governance frameworks, analyzing ESG data and developing strategic initiatives as applicable. The S&I team assesses upcoming and developing ESG regulatory and industry standards, leveraging guidance from internal resources as well as external conferences, counsel or advisors and implement improvements to our ESG processes, as necessary. The S&I team partners closely with investing professionals (across Sustainable Investing Group, Private Equity, Infrastructure, Growth Equity, Real Estate and Private Credit), Alternatives Capital Formation (“ACF”), Fund & Information Management Group, Legal, Compliance and Operational Risk Environmental Group, among others, to design, implement, deliver, enhance, and monitor the ESG program, as relevant, for GS Alternatives. Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s External Investing Group (“XIG”) has meaningfully expanded its ESG and impact investing capabilities and resources in recent years. In 2015, Goldman Sachs Asset Management acquired the assets of Imprint Capital Advisors LLC, a dedicated ESG and impact investing investment advisor with over 17 years of experience creating, building, and managing ESG and impact portfolios. Today, as part of XIG’s open architecture platform, the XIG Imprint team is dedicated to identifying, researching, and selecting leading third-party impact investment managers across asset classes and impact themes, both in private and public markets. The XIG Imprint team now manages over $9bn in client assets across public and private markets and serves as a valuable resource for the broader XIG platform to further strengthen its ESG and impact capabilities across asset classes. In addition to our efforts within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, within the Executive Office, our Sustainable Finance Group (SFG) serves as the centralized group that drives climate strategy and sustainability efforts across Goldman Sachs. This includes commercial efforts alongside the firm’s businesses — all with the goal of advancing the success of our clients and promoting sustainable, inclusive growth and advancing the climate transition.
Goldman Sachs and Goldman Sachs Asset Management seek to promote best practices in ESG and stewardship through various memberships and affiliations. Below, find a select list of our affiliations/memberships: Goldman Sachs:
Goldman Sachs Asset Management:
Dialshifter (Fund)This fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by… The fund seeks to invest in companies that have a net positive impact on the environment via their products and/or services which are aligned to five key impact themes. Therefore, our team does not only take into account the carbon emissions which are a direct result of a company’s production process and internal energy consumption but are also focused on the entire value chain and product life cycle. To note, all holdings in the portfolio derive their revenues from products/ services that contribute to environmental sustainability. While some of these are pure plays, some are transitioning to renewable space.
Dialshifter (Corporate)‘Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by…’ Designing our approach to sustainability that helps facilitate our clients’ strategic priorities. Providing our clients with our growing suite of sustainable finance capabilities including insights, tools, and innovative solutions is the single most important contribution we can make to the transition to a lower carbon, sustainable growth economy. In 2019, Goldman Sachs announced the 10-year, $750 billion sustainable finance target to support the increasing demand for sustainable finance solutions across our financing, investing, and advisory work with clients. For additional information, please refer to Goldman Sachs Group Sustainability Report and Goldman Sachs Asset & Wealth Management 2023 TCFD report SDR Labelling:Not eligible to use label Key Performance Indicators:
We are able to monitor the progress of incorporating responsible investment in the investment process through metrics for each of our holdings that we track on our internal system and looking at how they have evolved over time. Research analysts who are closer to the companies they track, are in the best position to identify ESG[1] practices work directly with the dedicated ESG team to build our ESG view on any company. Governance forms the foundation of our analysis and is evaluated universally across sectors. We look at questions related to board quality, management quality, risk management and minority shareholder rights to evaluate governance. The analysis of material environmental and social factors varies depending on the sector the company operates in. At the outset, we identify material ESG risks through the SASB materiality map which highlights sustainability issues that are likely to affect the financial condition or operating performance of companies within an industry. SASB has identified 26 sustainability-related business issues which vary by industry. The potential warning signs from an environmental and social perspective may include:
We have found that companies tend to lag their global peers on governance more than any other aspect of ESG. Hence, governance has been an area of enhanced focus for us within our FE suite of products. We look at questions related to board quality, management quality, risk management and minority shareholder rights to evaluate governance. The potential warning signs from a governance perspective may include:
We also have access to ESG reports on our fund from external vendors such as MSCI which is a valuable tool to assess the total portfolio over a longer time period as well as against our peers. On a case-by case basis, we may conduct enhanced evaluation of any company from an ESG perspective with the investment team working alongside our Stewardship team to use multiple levels of influence – proxy voting, corporate engagement, and active buying and selling – to encourage positive corporate change.
[1] As part of our investment process, we may integrate ESG factors alongside traditional factors. The identification of a risk related to an ESG factor will not necessarily exclude a particular investment that, in our view, is otherwise suitable and attractively priced for investment, and we may invest in an issuer without integrating ESG factors or considerations into our investment process. Moreover, ESG information, whether from an external and/or internal source, is, by nature and in many instances, based on a qualitative and subjective assessment. An element of subjectivity and discretion is therefore inherent to the interpretation and use of ESG data. The relevance and weightings of specific ESG factors to or within the investment process vary across asset classes, sectors and strategies and no one factor or consideration is determinative. Goldman Sachs Asset Management in its sole discretion and without notice may periodically update or change the process for conducting its ESG assessments and implementation of its ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis. Accordingly, the type of assessments depicted here may not be performed for every portfolio holding. The process for conducting ESG assessments and implementation of ESG views in portfolios, including the format and content of such analysis and the tools and/or data used to perform such analysis, may also vary among portfolio management teams LiteratureVoting RecordDisclaimerEnvironmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) strategies may take risks or eliminate exposures found in other strategies or broad market benchmarks that may cause performance to diverge from the performance of these other strategies or market benchmarks. ESG strategies will be subject to the risks associated with their underlying investments’ asset classes. Further, the demand within certain markets or sectors that an ESG strategy targets may not develop as forecasted or may develop more slowly than anticipated. Confidentiality No part of this material may, without Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s prior written consent, be (i) copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form, by any means, or (ii) distributed to any person that is not an employee, officer, director, or authorized agent of the recipient. |