Rathbone Core Investment Fund for Charities

SRI Style:

Ethical Style

SDR Labelling:

Working towards adopting label

Product:

Charities

Fund Region:

Global

Fund Asset Type:

Mixed Asset

Launch Date:

03/10/2016

Last Amended:

Jul 2024

Dialshifter ():

Fund Size:

£181.14m

(as at: 31/03/2024)

Total Screened Themed SRI Assets:

£2738.66m

Total Assets Under Management:

£15000.00m

ISIN:

GB00BZ02MC60, GB00BZ02MF91

Objectives:

We aim to deliver an annual income of 2.5% averaged over any rolling five-year period. We also aim to deliver a greater total return than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation + 3%, after fees, over any rolling five-year period. Total return means the return we receive from the value of our investments increasing (capital growth) plus the income we receive from our investments (interest and dividend payments). We use the CPI + 3% as a target for our fund’s return because we aim to grow your investment above inflation.

We aim to deliver this return with no more than two-thirds of the volatility of the FTSE Developed stock market Index. As an indication, if global stock markets fall our fund value should be expected to fall by around two-thirds of that amount. Because we measure volatility over a five-year period, some falls may be larger or smaller over shorter periods of time. We aim to limit the amount of volatility risk our fund can take because we want our investors to understand the risk they are taking in terms of the global stock market.

Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:

The fund is managed in accordance with Rathbones Responsible Investment policy and investment process.

Primary fund last amended:

Jul 2024

Information directly from fund manager.

Fund Filters

Sustainability - General
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

Climate Change & Energy
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.

Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Ethical policies

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

Tobacco and related product manufacturers excluded

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

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.

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

Banking & Financials
Predatory lending exclusion

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

Governance & Management
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)

Asset Size
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.

How The Fund Works
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.

SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website

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

Intended Clients & Product Options
Bespoke SRI / ESG portfolios available (DFMs)

Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Find service providers who offer bespoke ('personalised') SRI / ESG portfolio options

Fund Management Company Information

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

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

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).

Vulnerable client policy on website (AFM company wide)

Asset manager has information on their website that explains how they treat 'vulnerable clients' (as set out in FCA regulation)

Invests in new sustainability linked bond issuances (AFM company wide)

Asset management company has investments in bonds designed to meet sustainability requirements - however these assets may not be 'ringfenced' for this purpose. See fund manager website for details.

Offer unstructured intermediary sustainable investment training

Fund management entity offers unstructured intermediary training on sustainable investment (ie for financial advisers and wealth managers)

Collaborations & Affiliations
PRI signatory

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

UKSIF member

Find fund management companies that are members of UKSIF - the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance association

Fund EcoMarket partner

Find fund management companies that have partnered with Fund EcoMarket - meaning that they are helping to improve access to information on sustainable and responsible investment by paying an annual fee to us which enables us to publish information for free. Partner funds are listed ahead of other funds and have their logos displayed.

TNFD forum member (AFM company wide)

A member of the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures group which aims to aid risk management and shift money towards nature-positive outcomes.

Investment Association (IA) member

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

Resources
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.

Accreditations
PRI A+ rated (AFM company wide)

Finds organisations / fund managers that have an A+ PRI rating - meaning they are highly rated according to the 'Principles of Responsible Investment'

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.

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

Company Wide Exclusions
Coal divestment policy (AFM company wide)

This asset manager has a strategy in place that will lead them to exit direct investments in the coal mining industry. Managers ability to do this may depend on the geographic regions in which they invest.

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

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

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

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

Encourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide)

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

‘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.

Carbon offsetting – do NOT offset carbon as part of net zero plan (AFM company wide)

This asset management company plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions by reducing their emissions. Calculations and scope vary.

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.

Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:

We don’t invest directly in any company that derives more than 10% of its sales from gambling, high interest-rate lending, pornography or from the manufacture of tobacco or tobacco products, alcohol, thermal coal/tar sands or armaments.

 

Process:

Through an holistic appraisal of ESG opportunities and risk, we take a well-informed approach to responsible investment. To that end, we have developed a core set of guiding principles that apply to our responsible investment activities:

  • ESG integration: We consider ESG factors when evaluating investments to help us identify ESG opportunities and risks.
  • Voting with purpose: We actively vote over 95% of the value of our clients’ holdings. We will vote against management to help drive positive change when necessary.
  • Engagement with consequences: We prioritise engagement where we believe we can make a real difference to the world’s systemic environmental and social challenges. We will reduce our holdings in companies that present an ongoing ESG risk when other avenues such as engagement have failed to produce the change we seek.
  • Transparency: We report regularly on the progress of our responsible investment activities.

Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:

Greenbank Investments’ ESI research team

Greenbank investments’ specialist ethical, sustainable and impact (ESI) team conduct ethical research and apply the fund’s ethical screening criteria. The team at Greenbank have been at the forefront of developments in the ethical investment industry since 1992, launching one of the first bespoke ethical portfolio services in 1997. The fund’s ethical and sustainability framework and methodology have been developed with Greenbank, utilising their many years’ experience of managing private client portfolios as well as providing screening services for the other Rathbones’ sustainable funds (including Rathbone Greenbank Multi-Asset Portfolio funds, the Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability Fund and the Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainable Bond Fund).

Greenbank Investments work with over 1,200 clients across the UK and manage over £2.3bn in assets (as at 31 March 2024).

Kate Elliot is Head of Greenbank’s ESI research team, which comprises:

  • Perry Rudd - Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Research Adviser
  • Sophie Lawrence - Stewardship and Engagement Lead
  • Emma Williams - Senior Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher
  • Kai Johns - Senior Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher
  • Charlie Young - Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher
  • Lauren O’Leary - Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher
  • Caitlin Westlake - Assistant Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher

For biographies for the team please visit the Our People page on the Rathbones website.

 

Rathbones Stewardship team

The Rathbones Group Stewardship team is led by Matt Crossman and comprises:

  • Archie Pearson: ESG & Stewardship Analyst, Voting Lead
  • Kazuki Shaw: ESG & Stewardship Analyst
  • Philippa Bliss – ESG & Stewardship Analyst
  • Tilia Astell: Junior ESG & Stewardship Analyst


In addition to this, Jenny Foster is an Engagement Analyst for Rathbones Asset Management, working with all of the fund managers to deliver Rathbone Asset Management's engagement strategy and lead direct engagements with companies.
 


ESG affiliations and memberships

Rathbones Group is a member of PIMFA and UK Finance. They are also members of or signatories to:

  • UK Stewardship Code
  • PRI
  • CDP
  • IIGCC
  • Climate Action 100+
  • Living Wage employer
  • The Workplace Wellbeing Charter
  • The FTSE Women Leaders Review
  • Signatories to UN Global Compact
  • Signatories to Women in Finance Charter
  • Listed on FTSE4Good
  • Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative
  • Business Ambition 1.5ºC
  • Inclusive Companies
  • UKSIF

Please see the Rathbones website for further details at: About Us | Partnership and memberships


Greenbank (Rathbones’ specialist sustainable investment division) partners with many different members of the responsible investment community. These are shown below:

  •  Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR)
  • Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDi)
  • The Food Foundation
  • Access to Medicine Index
  • Access to Nutrition Initiative
  • Finance for Biodiversity
  • Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW)
  • Long-term Investors in People’s Health – ShareAction
  • FAIRR
  • Financing a Just Transition Alliance
  • New Plastics Economy Global Commitment
  • Paris Aligned Investment Initiative
  • Investor Alliance on Human Rights
  • Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty


Please see the Greenbank Investments website for further details at: Partnerships | Greenbank

SDR Labelling: Working towards adopting label

Disclaimer

Note re Filters:

PRI A+ rated

In 2022, PRI updated their scoring mechanism. This in turn has altered how Rathbones Group Plc reports its scores.


Rathbone Group Scores:

  • Investment and stewardship policy: our score was 72% in 2020. For this category, now expanded to cover stewardship activities too, and renamed policy, governance and strategy, we earned a score of 77%.
  • Direct – listed equity active fundamental: up from 37% in 2020 to 42% now.
  • Fixed income – SSA and corporate: up from 28% and 29% in 2020 to 67% in both cases. 'SSA' stands for sovereign, supranational and agency debt (mainly government bonds).
  • Confidence-building measures: 80%. This is a new category, which assesses how we review and verify the data reported to the PRI. Issues considered include our overall approach to review and verification, whether a third party has checked the data, whether our internal audit team has done the same, and the seniority of the Rathbones executive who reviewed the report before submission.

The Rathbones Group scores published in 2023 can be found on page 41 of our responsible investment report for our 2023 activity.

.

Disclaimer

Important Information

The information contained in this document is for use by investment advisers and is not intended for circulation to private clients or the general public.

Past performance should not be seen as an indication of future performance. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and you may not get back your original investment.

Rathbones Asset Management is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Rathbones Asset Management is a member of the Investment Association.

Rathbones Asset Management Limited: Registered address 8 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7AZ.

Registered No. 02376568 - A Member of the Rathbone Group.

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

Rathbone Core Investment Fund for Charities

Ethical Style Working towards adopting label Charities Global Mixed Asset 03/10/2016 Jul 2024

Objectives

We aim to deliver an annual income of 2.5% averaged over any rolling five-year period. We also aim to deliver a greater total return than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation + 3%, after fees, over any rolling five-year period. Total return means the return we receive from the value of our investments increasing (capital growth) plus the income we receive from our investments (interest and dividend payments). We use the CPI + 3% as a target for our fund’s return because we aim to grow your investment above inflation.

We aim to deliver this return with no more than two-thirds of the volatility of the FTSE Developed stock market Index. As an indication, if global stock markets fall our fund value should be expected to fall by around two-thirds of that amount. Because we measure volatility over a five-year period, some falls may be larger or smaller over shorter periods of time. We aim to limit the amount of volatility risk our fund can take because we want our investors to understand the risk they are taking in terms of the global stock market.

Fund Size: £181.14m

(as at: 31/03/2024)

Total Screened Themed SRI Assets: £2738.66m

(as at: 31/03/2024)

Total Assets Under Management: £15000.00m

(as at: 31/03/2024)

ISIN: GB00BZ02MC60, GB00BZ02MF91

Contact Us: natalie.yapp@rathbones.com

Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Overview

The fund is managed in accordance with Rathbones Responsible Investment policy and investment process.

Primary fund last amended: Jul 2024

Information received directly from Fund Manager

Please select what you would like to read:

Fund Filters

Sustainability - General
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

Climate Change & Energy
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.

Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Ethical policies

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

Tobacco and related product manufacturers excluded

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

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.

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

Banking & Financials
Predatory lending exclusion

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

Governance & Management
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)

Asset Size
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.

How The Fund Works
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.

SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website

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

Intended Clients & Product Options
Bespoke SRI / ESG portfolios available (DFMs)

Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Find service providers who offer bespoke ('personalised') SRI / ESG portfolio options

Fund Management Company Information

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

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

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).

Vulnerable client policy on website (AFM company wide)

Asset manager has information on their website that explains how they treat 'vulnerable clients' (as set out in FCA regulation)

Invests in new sustainability linked bond issuances (AFM company wide)

Asset management company has investments in bonds designed to meet sustainability requirements - however these assets may not be 'ringfenced' for this purpose. See fund manager website for details.

Offer unstructured intermediary sustainable investment training

Fund management entity offers unstructured intermediary training on sustainable investment (ie for financial advisers and wealth managers)

Collaborations & Affiliations
PRI signatory

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

UKSIF member

Find fund management companies that are members of UKSIF - the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance association

Fund EcoMarket partner

Find fund management companies that have partnered with Fund EcoMarket - meaning that they are helping to improve access to information on sustainable and responsible investment by paying an annual fee to us which enables us to publish information for free. Partner funds are listed ahead of other funds and have their logos displayed.

TNFD forum member (AFM company wide)

A member of the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures group which aims to aid risk management and shift money towards nature-positive outcomes.

Investment Association (IA) member

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

Resources
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.

Accreditations
PRI A+ rated (AFM company wide)

Finds organisations / fund managers that have an A+ PRI rating - meaning they are highly rated according to the 'Principles of Responsible Investment'

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.

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

Company Wide Exclusions
Coal divestment policy (AFM company wide)

This asset manager has a strategy in place that will lead them to exit direct investments in the coal mining industry. Managers ability to do this may depend on the geographic regions in which they invest.

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

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

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

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

Encourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide)

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

‘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.

Carbon offsetting – do NOT offset carbon as part of net zero plan (AFM company wide)

This asset management company plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions by reducing their emissions. Calculations and scope vary.

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.

Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:

We don’t invest directly in any company that derives more than 10% of its sales from gambling, high interest-rate lending, pornography or from the manufacture of tobacco or tobacco products, alcohol, thermal coal/tar sands or armaments.

 

Process:

Through an holistic appraisal of ESG opportunities and risk, we take a well-informed approach to responsible investment. To that end, we have developed a core set of guiding principles that apply to our responsible investment activities:

  • ESG integration: We consider ESG factors when evaluating investments to help us identify ESG opportunities and risks.
  • Voting with purpose: We actively vote over 95% of the value of our clients’ holdings. We will vote against management to help drive positive change when necessary.
  • Engagement with consequences: We prioritise engagement where we believe we can make a real difference to the world’s systemic environmental and social challenges. We will reduce our holdings in companies that present an ongoing ESG risk when other avenues such as engagement have failed to produce the change we seek.
  • Transparency: We report regularly on the progress of our responsible investment activities.

Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:

Greenbank Investments’ ESI research team

Greenbank investments’ specialist ethical, sustainable and impact (ESI) team conduct ethical research and apply the fund’s ethical screening criteria. The team at Greenbank have been at the forefront of developments in the ethical investment industry since 1992, launching one of the first bespoke ethical portfolio services in 1997. The fund’s ethical and sustainability framework and methodology have been developed with Greenbank, utilising their many years’ experience of managing private client portfolios as well as providing screening services for the other Rathbones’ sustainable funds (including Rathbone Greenbank Multi-Asset Portfolio funds, the Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability Fund and the Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainable Bond Fund).

Greenbank Investments work with over 1,200 clients across the UK and manage over £2.3bn in assets (as at 31 March 2024).

Kate Elliot is Head of Greenbank’s ESI research team, which comprises:

  • Perry Rudd - Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Research Adviser
  • Sophie Lawrence - Stewardship and Engagement Lead
  • Emma Williams - Senior Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher
  • Kai Johns - Senior Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher
  • Charlie Young - Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher
  • Lauren O’Leary - Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher
  • Caitlin Westlake - Assistant Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher

For biographies for the team please visit the Our People page on the Rathbones website.

 

Rathbones Stewardship team

The Rathbones Group Stewardship team is led by Matt Crossman and comprises:

  • Archie Pearson: ESG & Stewardship Analyst, Voting Lead
  • Kazuki Shaw: ESG & Stewardship Analyst
  • Philippa Bliss – ESG & Stewardship Analyst
  • Tilia Astell: Junior ESG & Stewardship Analyst


In addition to this, Jenny Foster is an Engagement Analyst for Rathbones Asset Management, working with all of the fund managers to deliver Rathbone Asset Management's engagement strategy and lead direct engagements with companies.
 


ESG affiliations and memberships

Rathbones Group is a member of PIMFA and UK Finance. They are also members of or signatories to:

  • UK Stewardship Code
  • PRI
  • CDP
  • IIGCC
  • Climate Action 100+
  • Living Wage employer
  • The Workplace Wellbeing Charter
  • The FTSE Women Leaders Review
  • Signatories to UN Global Compact
  • Signatories to Women in Finance Charter
  • Listed on FTSE4Good
  • Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative
  • Business Ambition 1.5ºC
  • Inclusive Companies
  • UKSIF

Please see the Rathbones website for further details at: About Us | Partnership and memberships


Greenbank (Rathbones’ specialist sustainable investment division) partners with many different members of the responsible investment community. These are shown below:

  •  Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR)
  • Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDi)
  • The Food Foundation
  • Access to Medicine Index
  • Access to Nutrition Initiative
  • Finance for Biodiversity
  • Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW)
  • Long-term Investors in People’s Health – ShareAction
  • FAIRR
  • Financing a Just Transition Alliance
  • New Plastics Economy Global Commitment
  • Paris Aligned Investment Initiative
  • Investor Alliance on Human Rights
  • Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty


Please see the Greenbank Investments website for further details at: Partnerships | Greenbank

SDR Labelling: Working towards adopting label

Disclaimer

Note re Filters:

PRI A+ rated

In 2022, PRI updated their scoring mechanism. This in turn has altered how Rathbones Group Plc reports its scores.


Rathbone Group Scores:

  • Investment and stewardship policy: our score was 72% in 2020. For this category, now expanded to cover stewardship activities too, and renamed policy, governance and strategy, we earned a score of 77%.
  • Direct – listed equity active fundamental: up from 37% in 2020 to 42% now.
  • Fixed income – SSA and corporate: up from 28% and 29% in 2020 to 67% in both cases. 'SSA' stands for sovereign, supranational and agency debt (mainly government bonds).
  • Confidence-building measures: 80%. This is a new category, which assesses how we review and verify the data reported to the PRI. Issues considered include our overall approach to review and verification, whether a third party has checked the data, whether our internal audit team has done the same, and the seniority of the Rathbones executive who reviewed the report before submission.

The Rathbones Group scores published in 2023 can be found on page 41 of our responsible investment report for our 2023 activity.

.

Disclaimer

Important Information

The information contained in this document is for use by investment advisers and is not intended for circulation to private clients or the general public.

Past performance should not be seen as an indication of future performance. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and you may not get back your original investment.

Rathbones Asset Management is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Rathbones Asset Management is a member of the Investment Association.

Rathbones Asset Management Limited: Registered address 8 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7AZ.

Registered No. 02376568 - A Member of the Rathbone Group.