Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:

The EdenTree Sustainability Standard

Across our range of funds, we seek to identify companies that create value for people, the planet and investors through their products, services and operations. We believe that investing in companies creating value through strong sustainability practices will enable us to build portfolios that are not only sound long-term investment propositions, but which also generate positive outcomes for people and the planet.

Our framework for doing so – The EdenTree Standard – sets out clear expectations of the companies we invest in to demonstrate value. We assess companies against these expectations to determine how much value they are creating, and to identify sustainable leaders.

Please refer to The EdenTree Standard: Identifying Sustainable Companies for more details.

EdenTree Sustainable European Equity Fund's Sustainability Approach

The Fund seeks to invest 100% in companies that the manager classifies as sustainable, based on the EdenTree Standard of Sustainability (“the EdenTree Standard”). A company is considered to be sustainable if it makes a positive contribution to people and the planet through its products, services, and/or operations.

• People - A company’s impact on social groups across its value chain including employees, supply chain workers, local communities and customers. The company must have implemented measures, supported by sufficient oversight structures, to ensure these groups benefit from the company’s activities.
• Planet - A company’s impact on the environment, including natural ecosystems. The company must have implemented measures, supported by sufficient oversight structures, to ensure the environment benefits from the company’s activities.

How We Select Assets: The EdenTree Standard of Sustainability

A fund using a Sustainability Focus Label must decide which investments meet its sustainability objective using a robust, evidence-based standard that is an absolute measure of sustainability. This section explains what that standard is for the Fund. A company is classified as sustainable if it achieves a positive rating against the EdenTree Standard of Sustainability. When assessing a company against this Standard, and therefore whether it is considered sustainable, we follow a systematic, three stage assessment process:

The assessment is conducted independently from the Fund Management Team by the Sustainability Team. The Sustainability Team is comprised of experts in sustainability. The assessment considers all aspects of sustainability, including environmental, social, and governance topics which affect a company’s ability to deliver positive outcomes for people and the planet. As such it allows for a rigorous and detailed assessment of whether a company’s practices are resulting in outcomes that meet the sustainability objective of benefitting people and the planet.

Exclusions

A fund using a Sustainability Label must not invest in any assets that conflict with the sustainability objective. This section explains how the investment manager avoids conflicting assets and any other types of investment that it will not choose to hold for sustainability reasons.

The Fund does not invest in assets that the manager deems conflict with the sustainability objective. This refers to assets that not only fail to meet the sustainability objective, but also actively conflict with the positive outcomes it seeks.

As the Fund aims to invest in companies that provide a positive contribution to people and the planet, the investment manager defines conflicting assets as companies which have a significant negative effect on people and the planet. Such companies are identified as those scoring below “adding value” on the EdenTree Standard, as well as those involved in the excluded activities listed below.

• Excluded sectors and activities: There are certain sectors and economic activities where we consider the sustainability risks fundamentally misaligned with the Manager’s Sustainability Objective. The Manager therefore applies baseline exclusions to actively exclude such companies from the investment universe. The Fund will avoid investment in companies which have a material involvement (10% or more) in alcohol and tobacco production, conventional weapon production, gambling, publication of violent or explicit materials, intensive farming, fossil fuel exploration and production and high interest (sub prime) lending. It will also avoid companies that have exposure to the manufacture of unconventional weapons where these are defined as nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, land mines and cluster bombs. Finally, the Fund will seek to avoid companies using animals to test cosmetics, beauty or household products. Please refer to the EdenTree Exclusions Policy for more details.
• Exposure to oppressive regimes: The Fund will avoid companies and governments with material operations in oppressive regimes. The Fund has a proprietary means of assessing oppressive regime risk based on assessment by Freedom House and Transparency International and operates this on a case-by-case basis. Further detail on how our Oppressive Regimes list is constructed, is available here.

Investor Stewardship

Funds using a Sustainability Label must have a ‘stewardship’ strategy designed to support their achievement of their sustainability objective, which sets out how the investment manager will try to influence the management teams of its investments to encourage behaviour that supports the Fund’s sustainability objective and discourage behaviour that does not. The Investor Stewardship section on Page number 42 of Prospectus summarises what types of stewardship the investment manager may use.

Please refer to Page number 42 of EdenTree Investment Funds Series 1 Prospectus for more details on Stewardship.

Ongoing Monitoring and Sustainability Metrics

The Fund’s compliance with the requirement to invest 100% of its portfolio in sustainable companies is monitored systematically on a daily basis via the manager’s compliance control framework.

In addition, the Manager uses the following KPIs to illustrate whether the Fund has invested in companies that are assessed as providing a positive contribution to people and the planet during the previous reporting period.

The manager measures progress against these KPIs annually. The following metric will be used to monitor whether investee companies (companies the Fund is invested in) continue to meet the Manager’s Sustainability Assessment:

• Percentage of sustainable investments: The proportion of the portfolio that meets the EdenTree Standard of Sustainability (%) – this measures the actual proportion of the fund made up of sustainable companies, as described under “how we select assets” above.
• Overall sustainability rating of the fund: EdenTree Standard is a measure of a company’s positive contribution to people and the planet, enabling us to identify companies aligned with the objective of the fund. Based on the EdenTree Standard of Sustainability, as described under “how we select assets” above, all companies in the Fund are assigned a rating of “maximising value”, “enhancing value”, “adding value” or “damaging value”. In order to measure the Fund’s performance against its objective, manager assigns all companies in the Fund a rating, and the overall score presents the % of the fund within each rating (i.e. the split between “adding value”, “enhancing value”, and “maximising value”). This represents the extent of the Fund’s positive contribution to people and the planet, in line with the sustainability approach of the Fund.

Please refer to the EdenTree Sustainable European Equity Fund Sustainability Disclosure for more information on Fund's Sustainability Metrics.

Process:

In continuation of the response provided above containing our Sustainability Approach, detailed below is the Fund’s Investment Process:

The EdenTree Standard is a core part of our investment approach and are integrated into our stock selection and management processes. Our dedicated in-house team of sustainability analysts consider each of our investments on the basis of their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials and long-term sustainable return potential. We believe that those companies which have a well-developed approach to managing ESG risk are more likely to offer good quality, long-term investment potential.

We pride ourselves on our independent thought and analysis and are not afraid to adopt positions which do not conform to conventional thinking or prevailing consensus. We do not have model portfolios or preferred stock lists, preferring to give fund managers the flexibility and responsibility to implement investment strategies that best match the needs of our investors. Finally, our investment process places a strong emphasis on portfolio diversification at all levels, including geographical, sector, company size and investment theme, with the aim of reducing risk. Please see below the summary of the Fund’s investment process:

Idea generation

In the modern era, of informational overload, investment ideas can come from a wide variety of sources, with the true skill coming from being able to narrow down the search to the best opportunities. Ideas can originate from:

• Value-orientated, quantitative screening.
• Internal sustainable thematic research.
• The extensive and deep knowledge of European companies from decades of experience in investing in European companies; indeed, previously held companies tend to remain part of our general watchlist.
• Stock and sector specific investment research whether in-house propriety research or external sources.
• Newsflow, whether from specialist financial news services such as Bloomberg or the FT, or more wider reading from traditional news outlets or internet sources.
• Conferences and company meetings.

We focus our attention on companies trading on low valuation multiples particularly where our expectations for the future prospects for these companies and industries differ markedly from those taken by the wider investment industry. This could be in terms of the general macroeconomic outlook, medium- or long-term structural growth rates or profitability for an industry. The Fund will also look to invest in companies where there are misperceptions over the quality of earnings generated by a business.

There is no doubt that the equity markets are heavily influenced by short-term fads leading to irrational market behaviour and these can provide opportunities to both add to areas of the market left behind and to exit areas which have been driven up by unrealistic expectations to excessive valuations. The manager’s experience investing in European equities, which spans more than 25 years, provides valuable insight into areas of the market that have become neglected or that have misunderstood sources of new growth and cashflows.

Stock Selection

As value-orientated investors, we are seeking to buy undervalued companies which nonetheless have the ability to generate strong profits and cashflows and to grow these over time. Often taking a contrarian view from the ‘investment’ herd, we seek out-of-favour businesses, with robust balance sheets, and an underappreciated potential to enhance cashflows and create value for long-term investors.

Identification of potential opportunities starts with a quantitative approach to find companies which appear cheap in terms of forward valuation multiples, which is followed by more in-depth analysis from both fundamental quantitative and qualitative  to ensure the companies are not ‘value traps’, but have strong business franchises, so can maintain and grow these cashflows. Each prospective holding is subject to our screening process, which helps to develop a more holistic view of a company using a wider mosaic of information which informs our understanding of the opportunities and risks associated with each holding. We believe that this process adds value as it has the potential to reduce short-term performance volatility, by reducing the risk of unexpected negative surprises related to ESG issues.

The companies we invest in can be seen to fall into one of three broad buckets:

• Income Accumulators: unfashionable businesses with strong free cash generation operating in relatively mature industry but which nonetheless should continue to grow over time.
• Contrarian Plays: businesses suffering from short-term challenges but where we believe that these fears are overstated, and there are strong grounds to believe the businesses will recover.
• Hidden Value: businesses which are seen as mature businesses but where the market has overlooked longer term structural growth opportunities from new technology or new market opportunities.

Our value-orientation naturally draws us to focus on companies on attractive valuation multiplies, although this is far from the only consideration. We also look for companies which have strong market positions, re-invest back into the business (whether that be in terms of growth investment in capital equipment, innovation, brand or people), as well as looking for opportunities to benefit from longer-term structural trends, particularly in terms of sustainable solutions but also in terms of scientific and technological advances.

When assessing potential candidates for the Fund, we place particular importance on three attributes:

1. The company is capable of delivering strong short to medium-term cashflows.
2. The company is in a good position to grow revenues over the medium to long term.
3. The business aligns well with our sustainable approach to investment.

These steps are not mutually exclusive, but they help us to determine the investment thesis and whether the valuation is attractive enough to offer enough upside potential to compensate for potential downside risks. The degree of upside that we look for in a new equity investment will vary depending on factors such as market capitalisation, visibility of earnings with preference given the cash returns in the near term, the stability of earnings in different economic and market environments, and the degree of leverage within the business.

Fundamental investment analysis and decision-making process

Assessment of upside potential

Our approach to the fundamental analysis of a company will be tailored to best suit type of company we are investing and its present circumstances. However, an emphasis on assessment of the ability of the company to generate high and sustainable cashflows which can be returned to shareholders and the outlook for the company given the prevailing macroeconomic conditions is common across holdings.  We believe it is important to remain flexible about valuation techniques; they each have strengths and weaknesses, and the intention is to build a robust framework of information and to avoid simply choosing measures that satisfy confirmation bias.

• For Income Accumulators, we are interested in established companies operating in relatively stable markets which generate an attractive level of earnings and cashflow enabling them to pay a high and growing level of income through dividends (or via share buybacks though flexible nature of these payments would generally mean we would place less emphasis on them). In considering the sustainability of income payouts we would consider both financial and business factors. In our examination of financial factors, we would concentrate on fundamental analysis in areas such as earnings and cashflow coverage, the strength of the balance sheet (both in terms of the level of leverage and refinancing risk), historic stability of revenues and earnings margins, pricing power and the degree of inflation protection. In terms of the business, we would look at more qualitative factors such as the quality of the management, their market position, that they are maintaining the strength of their franchise through investment in innovation, brand, workforce, etc, as well as the degree to which the business face competitive or structural threats and opportunities. In general, these are companies which will tend to have a lower risk profile, we expect to offer stable, but growing, income streams and provide a stable base for the wider portfolio.
• For Contrarian Plays, we focus on catalysts for a re-rating, such as an increase in cashflow and earnings (which may be company-specific or related to the industry or economic cycle – e.g. for banks) that have potential to drive margin improvements, multiple expansion and reversion to mean valuations across a sector (or historical averages).
• For Hidden Value, we seek to understand the nature of the opportunity, the impact of an innovation or strategic shift of the business’s efficiency or new market opportunity (e.g. alternative energy and sustainability markets), conducting scenarios for growth in cashflows (the incremental cost of growing revenues, plus prevailing macro trends), employing techniques such as discounted cashflow and earnings growth analysis, as well as forecasts of prospective returns on operating assets. This bucket has the potential to generate the highest levels of alpha.

Assessment of downside risk

By investing in companies trading on low valuations, the Fund often takes contrarian positions which go against the prevailing consensus for the outlook for businesses. This could potentially lead to the risk of investment in companies in poor financial health or which are structurally challenged (value traps).

To minimise this risk, the investment process includes focused analysis of:

• The balance sheet, cash requirements and refinancing needs of companies facing short term negative trading conditions.
• An assessment of the outlook for the company in terms of the danger there will be no short- to medium-term improvement in operating conditions and the extent to which economic and market development may impact on product demand and the profitability of the business.
• The EdenTree Standard, which can highlight potential ESG risks and opportunities, and those the business may face as a result to the shift towards a more sustainable economy.

The team believes the extra layer of due diligence provided by the Sustainability Investment Team provides potential informational advantages, which is especially important given the Fund invests in companies that have been neglected or priced for poor outcomes. It helps to inform our understanding of the potential margin of safety.

Continual review of valuation levels rather than setting price targets

We do not set specific price targets as these rapidly become obsolete, as economic, financial environment prospects are ever evolving, the movement in the wider investment market changes relative valuation levels, and frequent updates in company and industry Newsflow alter the attractiveness of individual businesses. Instead, we prefer to regularly refer back to valuation metrics and how attractive they appear given the current market environment.

We believe that the attractiveness of a business from an investment perspective comes down to the future cashflows that it can be expected to generate and return back to shareholders. We monitor all our companies for corporate and industry Newsflow, including company meetings, earnings reports and trading statements, and will assess whether any new information materially changes the investment case. We consider the risks and opportunities for a company associated with cashflows, including short and long-run assessments of drivers of future cash generation, strategic planning by the business and the economic cycle. This informs our stock level review process and sell discipline.

Portfolio Construction

This is a bottom-up stock driven fund where we seek to create a well-balanced portfolio, diversified across countries and economic factors within the strategy’s investible universe. We seek to maintain a low-turnover portfolio of long-term money-making opportunities.

Through our process of fundamental, bottom-up stock selection the fund’s value orientation can tilt towards deep value to core value. Where the fund is biased at any particular time is a result of the market opportunity. And while the portfolio’s value-orientated process does mean it is more correlated to value than to the wider market, this correlation varies over time.

As stated above, most of the companies in which the strategy invests typically fall into three buckets.

• Income accumulators: companies with high, sustainable and growing dividends that provide a layer of potential downside protection to the portfolio.
• Contrarian plays: companies that have fallen out of favour with the wider market (for example due to recent poor operating performance) which we believe are good quality companies with the potential to perform ahead of expectations. European banks fall into this category. However, being flexible, our contrarian plays can also include out-of-favour cyclical names that might be less common in traditional value-style funds; for example, manufacturers in the semiconductor industry.
• Hidden value: companies which we feel are misunderstood or where the market has not fully recognised opportunities which may exist outside of their normal operational activities. Some of the most exciting of these are seemingly mature companies that prove more agile and innovative than investors expect, with hidden gems that can transform the business into a potential growth proposition for investors. Importantly, we retain the flexibility to hold these sorts of companies through their “growthier” phase, as long as its risk-reward profile continues to be skewed in the Fund’s favour.

Each bucket has different upside potential, with income accumulators typically offering less upside to hidden value, although this will obviously depend on factors such as the macroeconomic cycle and individual potential of each bucket. Nevertheless, our allocation to each is driven by the strength of the stock-level opportunities available at a particular point in time, which includes an assessment of the macroeconomic backdrop. In theory, this allocation will evolve with the economic regime, with our approach capturing the tailwind of change. This is not a top-down approach. Except during exceptional circumstances (such as Covid), we tend to lean into prevailing macroeconomic cycle, believing companies themselves can be a lead indicator of change in economic activity.

Position sizing

To support our aim of creating a balanced, well-diversified portfolio, we cap individual holdings at 5%. We typically do not add to a holding once it has reached a 3% threshold and typically will look for opportunities to take profits above that point. When it comes to position sizing, we consider the following factors:

• Overall conviction in investment thesis (blending bottom up and top-down analysis).
• Existing sector, industry and geographic exposures in the portfolio.
• Size of the company.
• Volatility and market liquidity.

These factors rarely act independently and as value-orientated investors we actually assess the risk-reward potential of a stock and how individual stocks blend with the prevailing risk profile of the Fund to ensure factor risks in the portfolio are adequately balanced. We are particularly aware of the performance path of stocks within the portfolio and are likely to adjust position sizes where we believe the market has become too optimistic or pessimistic over the short term, even if little has changed in the underlying fundamental of a business. Valuation therefore informs position sizing and conviction in a stock’s prospects.

The Fund’s market cap allocation tends to be focused on large and mid-cap stocks. However, we do pursue smaller cap opportunities with stock specific potential and at the right time of the cycle, while maintaining defensive larger cap base.

Sell Discipline

In terms of our sell discipline, we review valuation levels given the outlook for the company rather than adhere to price targets. The review process is normally triggered by a) the price path of a stock (i.e. where it significantly out or underperforms the market) and b) reviews based on recent news flow impacting the company either in terms of the business itself, the industry in operates in or the wider macroeconomic environment.

There are several reasons why we would consider selling a position:

• The investment thesis has effectively played out and risk-reward on offer no longer favours investment, e.g. future expected cash flows do not justify the valuation.
• The operating performance or prospects of a business have deteriorated, and we therefore no longer want exposure to the company.
• Changes in the industry or macroeconomic backdrop which impacts long-term demand for products and cashflows.
• The valuation is no longer attractive in comparison to other opportunities available in our investment universe.
• The company no longer meets our The EdenTree Standard.

Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:

As a dedicated sustainable investment manager, all of EdenTree’s investment expertise and resources are directed towards sustainable investing. At the heart of EdenTree’s investment process is the close collaboration of its Sustainable Investment Team.

EdenTree’s Sustainable Investment Team comprises both its fund managers and its sustainability specialists. The individuals within these teams work side by side on stock selection, stewardship and thematic research. EdenTree thus employs a dual due diligence process, endeavoring to ensure robust risk management and positive sustainability outcomes. 

EdenTree’s activities are overseen by its Sustainable Investment Advisory Panel, which comprises industry and business experts appointed for their specialist knowledge. For investors, it’s an added layer of assurance that their money is being invested in companies that are operating in a sustainable way. 

Our Sustainability Specialists  

The dedicated sustainability component of our Sustainable Investment Team is made up of five sustainability specialists who oversee EdenTree’s sustainability research and stewardship activity. The team has oversight of how EdenTree assesses and integrates sustainability across all funds.

• Carlota Esguevillas, Head of Sustainable Investment - Carlota leads the sustainability team and has oversight of EdenTree’s sustainability and stewardship activities. She joined the firm in 2021, having previously worked for a leading sustainability consultancy advising global companies on their ESG strategies and disclosures. She holds a First-Class Honours BA in Geography from Oxford University, a master’s certificate with distinction in Business & Human Rights from Bergen University, and the Investment Management Certificate (IMC). She is also a member of the PA Future (formerly ESG Clarity) Committee, the IA’s Sustainability & Responsible Investment Committee, winner of Investment Week’s Rising Star Sustainable Investment Champion of the Year 2024 and highly commended Sustainable & ESG Woman of the Year at Investment Week’s Women in Investment Awards 2025.
• Hayley Grafton, Senior Sustainable Investment Analyst - Hayley Leads on the firm's approach to corporate governance and proxy voting. Hayley joined EdenTree in 2024 and leads the firm’s corporate governance approach and proxy voting activity. She is also responsible for EdenTree’s long-term engagement on financial inclusion in the UK. Hayley holds the Investment Management Certificate and is a student member of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland (CGIUKI), through which she is completing the Chartered Governance Qualifying Programme. Before joining EdenTree, she worked at Mercer as a Sustainable Investment Specialist, where she focused on the firm’s stewardship approach and activity across portfolio funds.
• Cordelia Dower-Tylee, Senior Sustainable Investment Analyst- Cordelia joined EdenTree in 2022 and leads the firm’s engagement strategy, overseeing activity across the team’s priority themes. She also leads EdenTree’s environmental work, with an emphasis on water, and supports the company’s work on governance. She holds the Investment Management Certificate, an MA in History from the University of Edinburgh, and a Certificate in Sustainable Finance from the University of Cambridge. She is also a member of the UKSIF Future Leaders Cohort and the PRI Nature Reference Group. Prior to joining EdenTree, Cordelia worked with the International Water Management Institute and in a green-focused corporate advisory firm.
• Aaron Cox, Impact Strategist - Aaron Leads the firm’s public market impact strategy across equities, listed infrastructure, and fixed income. He joined EdenTree in June 2022 and is an Impact Strategist within the Sustainability Team. Prior to joining EdenTree, Aaron had roles at First State Investments (now First Sentier), Jupiter and Majedie as a writer and researcher with a focus on ESG and sustainable investing. He started his career as a derivatives broker in Sydney. Aaron has a BA in English from the University of New South Wales, Post Grad Certificate in Environmental Economics from SOAS and Certificate in Sustainable Investing from Harvard Business School. He is currently undertaking a post graduate research project at Birmingham University on computational linguistic methods to identify sustainability stretch goal tensions and the risk of greenwashing and corporate misbehaviour.
• Ross Albany-Ward, Sustainable Investment Analyst - Ross joined EdenTree in 2025, and is a Sustainable Investment Analyst on the Sustainability Team and leads EdenTree’s work on climate strategy. Working across the firm’s sustainability research and stewardship activities, he leads EdenTree’s work on climate, including carbon footprinting the funds. Prior to joining EdenTree, Ross worked in the Sustainable Investment team at CCLA, assessing companies and supporting stewardship activities. Ross has a First-Class Honours degree in Geography from Nottingham University, completing his dissertation on sustainable finance and corporate sustainability.

The team leverages both proprietary and third-party research applies value orientated screens, attends conferences and often meets with company management. The investment research undertaken provides the foundations for the lead fund manager to decide whether it is appropriate to include the stock in the overall portfolio.

Proprietary analysis sits at the core of our investment process at EdenTree. For our sustainability analysis we believe a qualitative approach is needed to capture the nuances and hence we choose to rely on in-depth analyst research, rather than third-party ratings, to form an opinion on suitability. To complete the assessment, the analyst utilises a variety of sources, including: Newsflow, annual and sustainability reports, policies, industry publications and websites, NGO research, investor databases, benchmark initiatives, and government and academic research. As mentioned above, EdenTree also has access to several third-party research providers, including Bloomberg, Sustainalytics, ISS ESG, and Glass Lewis, which are used to support the analyst assessment.

Partnerships

We are members or signatories to several industry partnerships involving the sustainable investment community. Ultimately, membership of organisations such as the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) affords specific opportunity to work with like-minded global investors on material issues. The SI Team oversee periodic review of our involvement in these industry partnerships and collaborative initiatives, particularly assessing effectiveness, progress made and alignment with our engagement priorities. Over the period, our partnerships included:

Collaborative engagement memberships

Most engagement is conducted by EdenTree directly. However, we seek to collaborate positively with like minded investors wherever possible or as part of collaborative industry initiatives. Detailed below is a list of the initiatives we were involved in, and in what capacity, over the period. Further detail and updates on our involvement in these collaborations are shared in our quarterly reports.

EdenTree believes these partnerships signals their commitment to having an active and positive role in the investment community. Collaborations are critical to driving change, whilst learning from expert sources allows them to provide more for their clients.

EdenTree also sits on UKSIF’s Analyst Committee, which advises on the development of UKSIF’s knowledge sharing programme on evolving sustainability issues. They also sit on the PRI’s Circular Economy Reference Group, which explores how investors can better integrate the principles of a circular economy into investment processes. EdenTree’s CIO, Charlie Thomas, sits on the IA’s Sustainability and Responsible Investment Committee.

EdenTree Sustainable Investment Advisory Panel

The EdenTree Sustainable Investment Advisory Panel is an external advisory panel of seven senior industry practitioners with expertise in the field of sustainable investment. The Sustainable Investment Advisory Panel (“the Panel”) has independent oversight over the Sustainability Team, led by Carlota Esguevillas, Head of Sustainable Investment. The Panel meets three times each year to provide oversight to EdenTree’s proprietary sustainable investment process (the “EdenTree Standard” edentree-identifying-sustainable-companies.pdf) and to discuss the latest trends and developments in sustainable investment and research. The purpose of the Panel is to: 

• Ensure that EdenTree’s range of funds meet the stated sustainable aims and objectives. 
• Provide advice in the formulation of policy in the light of changing social and sustainability issues.
• Advise on emerging issues or topics relevant to EdenTree’s sustainable investment criteria. 
• Provide advice and guidance on individual companies or sectors, and engagement work with regards to sustainable and social topics.

EdenTree Sustainable Investment Advisory Panel Members: 

• Will Oulton, Panel Chair - Will Oulton is the Chair of the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif), a Non-Exec Director and Board Champion for Ocean Recovery at the UK based Marine Conservation Society, and Chair of King Charles III’s Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) Expert Panel. Prior to these positions he was for over a decade the Global Head of Responsible Investment at global asset manager First Sentier Investors, where he led the delivery of an award winning RI strategy for the business. He was also the Head of Responsible Investment for EMEA at Mercer Investments and the Director of Responsible Investment at FTSE, leading the ongoing management and development of FTSE’s responsible investment services.
• Paul Simpson OBE, Strategic Advisor - Paul is an advisor to organisations focussed on accelerating the transition to a net zero economy. He pioneered climate and environmental disclosure globally having co-founded CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) in 2001 and spent 12 years as the CEO until 2022. Paul received an OBE for services to tackling climate change in the 2022 Honours List. He initiated the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) in 2014 and has held board positions with SBTi, We Mean Business, EIRIS, The Investor Agenda and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (now part of the International Sustainability Standards Board).
• Verity Mitchell, Independent Consultant - Verity Mitchell is UK Analyst and editor of What's Next for UK Water for Global Water Intelligence magazine. Previously she was Director, Utilities for HSBC Global Research. Her equity coverage included Pennon, Severn Trent and United Utilities in the UK; Veolia in France; and American Water and Essential Utilities in the US, together with Centrica, Drax, National Grid, SSE and Biffa. She covered most of the larger UK water companies before they were taken private. She has been involved in bringing a number of global water and waste management companies to the listed equity markets in the UK, US and Middle East. Previously she worked in project finance for HSBC on a number of infrastructure mandates including water projects. She began her career at what is now the Department of Business and Trade.
• Annette Fergusson, Independent Consultant - Annette is an independent consultant with over 25 years of experience working on sustainability and business and human rights, with a particular focus on the telecoms and technology sectors. She advises companies, industry associations and non-governmental organisations on a wide range of human rights issues including digital rights, children’s rights and labour standards. Annette was previously Vodafone Group’s Head of Sustainable Business and for over 10 years led the company’s human rights programme. From 2016 to 2018, she was a member of the Board of the multi-stakeholder Global Network Initiative.
• Julian Parrott, Client Member, Ethical Futures - Julian Parrott is an independent financial planner specialising in ethical and sustainable investment advice. Julian has over 25 years’ experience in financial services, encompassing building society management, life assurance sales and financial planning & advice. He is the founding partner of the Ethical Futures LLP and holds the ISO 22222 standard in financial planning. Julian is active in promoting ethical investment to the public and adviser community. He has served on the board of UKSIF & Ethical Investment Association. He is a Director of the Ethical Finance Hub project as well as other consultancy roles. Julian is a fellow of the RSA.
• Mike Barry, Former Director of Sustainable Business - Until recently, Mike was Director of Sustainable Business at Marks & Spencer, spearheading its ground-breaking Plan A sustainability programme. He also co-chaired the Consumer Goods Forum’s sustainability work, bringing together the world’s largest retailers and fast moving consumer goods brands to work on issues such as deforestation, plastics and forced labour. He is a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
• Sue Round, Chair, EdenTree Investment Management - Following more than 40 years in investment management, Sue retired in 2022. Prior to retirement she had developed and led EdenTree and is currently Chair of EdenTree Investment Management.

Sue joined what was then Ecclesiastical Investment Management in 1984 and as a senior fund manager, launched one of the first responsible (ethical) retail funds in 1988. She went to develop and reposition a range of funds to integrate environmental, social and governance into the investment process. Prior to retirement, Sue was a member of FCA Smaller Business Practitioners Panel and an advocate for improvements across the broader investment industry to promote greater clarity of approach to avoid “greenwash “ to clients. Prior to joining Ecclesiastical, Sue spent five years at Philip Hill, the Investment Trust specialist management house.

Dialshifter

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

Progressing towards our goals is driven by our Climate Change Strategy. It is based on four pillars where we believe there is both a need for action and where we can make a difference. The four pillars – Decarbonise, Accelerate, Collaborate and Embody – each address a different part of the low carbon transition, targeting the areas where investors have the biggest role to play.

Please refer to the Climate Stewardship Report 2024/25 for more details.

SDR Labelling:

Sustainability Focus label

SDR Literature:

• Consumer Facing Disclosure