UBS (Lux) Equity Fund - Global Sustainable Fund
SRI Style:
ESG Plus
SDR Labelling:
Not eligible to use label
Product:
SICAV/Offshore
Fund Region:
Global
Fund Asset Type:
Equity
Launch Date:
13/06/1997
Last Amended:
Oct 2024
Dialshifter (
):
Fund Size:
£868.00m
(as at: 31/03/2024)
Total Screened Themed SRI Assets:
£168400.00m
Total Responsible Ownership Assets:
£326400.00m
Total Assets Under Management:
£1011000.00m
ISIN:
LU1043178554, LU2562654272, LU2000521885, LU2562654199, LU0401299366, LU0401296933, LU1902337663, LU2562654355, LU1807254583, LU2562653977, LU0401295539, LU2035667513, LU2059871348, LU2212341031, LU1363474898, LU0076532638, LU1240780160, LU2038037458
Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:
UBS Asset Management categorizes this sub-fund as a Sustainability Focus Fund. This sub-fund promotes environmental and/or social characteristics and complies with Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (“SFDR”).
The Global Sustainable Equity strategy seeks to outperform the MSCI World Index by 200 – 300 basis points per annum, gross of fees, over a full market cycle (typically 3 – 5 years).
The Global Sustainable Equity strategy maintains a better sustainability profile than the benchmark (MSCI World Index), measured using the weighted average UBS Blended ESG Score. We look for companies that we believe are attractively valued and that integrate financially material sustainability practices in the business model to build a competitive advantage. We believe that the ability to reduce material costs, ensure environmental integrity, attract talented employees, supervise the supply chain and good governance can help companies succeed strategically and financially over the long-term.
Primary fund last amended:
Oct 2024
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
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/
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.
Funds that aim to invest in companies with strong or market leading environmental policies and practices. Strategies vary - in particular the balance between 'financial' aspects and environmental benefits. Some may invest substantially in solutions or 'positive impact' companies - others may invest in more conventional companies providing certain environmental criteria are met. See fund information for further detail.
Climate Change & Energy
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.
A core element of these funds will aim to encourage the transition to lower carbon activities through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity
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.
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.
Ethical Values Led Exclusions
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 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 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.
Banking & Financials
Find funds that include banks as part of their holdings / portfolio.
Funds that do or may invest in insurance companies.
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.
Exclude companies that are subject to United Nations sanctions. See eg https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/un-sc-consolidated-list
Find funds that have policies explaining how managers will respond to assets / companies that do not comply with relevant anti-bribery and anti-corruption standards or laws. Strategies vary; options include stewardship/ engagement and divestment - or a combination. See fund literature for further information.
Fund managers encourage the companies they invest in to have more diverse board structures (e.g. more women on boards)
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 a fund that invests in a combination of small, medium and larger (potentially multinational)companies.
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.
Aims to avoid companies that do significant harm. This originates from the EU’s sustainable finance ‘DNSH’ (do no significant harm) work, which is not necessarily used by UK investors.
Find funds that make significant use of internationally agreed 'norms' (e.g. United Nations Global Compact - UNGC - or the UN Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs) as part of their investment selection process alongside additional SRI criteria such as positive or negative stock selection policies and/or stewardship strategies.
Find funds that 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.
Find funds that consider both the 'positive' and 'negative' aspects of company behaviour and make balanced, considered decisions as part of their investment approach. May apply to a range of different issues and policy areas.
Find funds that use internationally agreed standards, conventions and 'norms' to help direct where the fund can and cannot invest (e.g. the UN Global Compact, UN Sustainable Development Goals). Read fund literature for further information.
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).
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
Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in sustainability issues.
Labels & Accreditations
Finds funds classified under Article 8 of the EU’s SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Requirements). Article 8 of the SFDR is a set of requirements that apply to financial products that 'promote' environmental or social characteristics with high governance also. These rules do not currently apply to UK funds so many managers may leave this field blank.
Transparency
Find fund management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information.
Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:
ESG Integration:
ESG Integration is driven by taking into account material ESG risks as part of the research process. ESG integration enables the Portfolio Manager to identify financially relevant sustainability factors that impact investment decisions and to incorporate ESG considerations when implementing investment decisions, and allows ESG risks to be systematically monitored and compared to risk appetite and constraints. It also assists in portfolio construction through securities selection, investment conviction and portfolio weightings.
- For corporate issuers, this process utilizes an internal UBS ESG material issues framework which identifies the financially relevant factors per sector that can impact investment decisions. This orientation toward financial materiality ensures that analysts focus on sustainability factors that can impact the financial performance of the company and therefore investment returns. ESG integration can also identify opportunities for engagement to improve the company’s ESG risk profile and thereby mitigate the potential negative impact of ESG issues on the company’s financial performance. The Portfolio Manager employs an internal UBS ESG risk dashboard that combines multiple internal and external ESG data sources in order to identify companies with material ESG risks. An actionable risk signal highlights ESG risks to the Portfolio Manager for incorporation in their investment decision making process.
- For non-corporate issuers, the Portfolio Manager applies a qualitative or quantitative ESG risk assessment that integrates data on material ESG factors.
The analysis of material sustainability/ESG considerations can include many different aspects, including the following: the carbon footprint, health and well-being, human rights, supply chain management, fair customer treatment and governance.
Fund specific exclusions:
The sub-fund excludes companies with a sustainability profile that indicates a high or severe ESG risk.
Sustainability Exclusion Policy:
The Sustainability Exclusion Policy of the Portfolio Manager outlines the exclusions applied to the investment universe of the financial product. The link to the Sustainability Exclusion Policy can be found in the section headed “Sustainability Exclusion Policy” in the main body of the Sales Prospectus.
Process:
This sub-fund is an equity fund that invests at least two-thirds of its assets, according to the principle of risk diversification, in shares or equity-type instruments of leading companies (normally large caps, but also smaller caps).
The sub-fund uses the benchmark MSCI World (net dividend reinvested) in order to monitor performance and the ESG profile of the portfolio, as well as for ESG and investment risk management and portfolio construction purposes. The benchmark is not designed to promote ESG characteristics. The Portfolio Manager may use discretion when constructing the portfolio and is not tied to the benchmark in terms of investment selection or weight. This means that the investment performance of the sub-fund may differ from the benchmark. As the sub-fund invests in multiple currencies due to its global orientation, the investment portfolio or parts of it may be subject to currency fluctuation risks.
Investment Universe
The Global Sustainable Equity strategy seeks to access the full range of sustainable investment opportunities across large, mid and small capitalization stocks. While the strategy is benchmark-aware, sizing of positions is dependent on relative opportunity, which means that the largest positions in the portfolio are the highest conviction ideas regardless of market capitalization. The full market cap universe allows investors to potentially benefit from broad diversification, strong fundamental analysis and valuation, with an unconstrained approach to best ideas portfolio construction.
Investment Process
Our investment process combines our valuation discipline and bottom-up fundamental research with rigorous sustainability analysis. We look for companies that we think are attractively valued and that integrate sustainability factors into their business model to build a competitive advantage. Through this process, we aim to identify our best investment ideas across sectors and geographies from a stock-specific standpoint. This component of the process provides strong traditional valuation support to our stock selection strategy, which we combine with our own forward-looking sustainability assessment, using our proprietary ESG methodology and risk dashboard. The investment process for the Global Sustainable Equity strategy is driven by a combination of fundamental, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and thematic factors.
We integrate these inputs into a "best ideas" portfolio of securities (65-90 stocks) selected because we believe they are attractively valued and typically have a strong sustainability profile. Also, we actively look for companies that can benefit from secular themes, such as energy and water conservation, health care, demographics and other long-term trends. The team draws upon its members' extensive years of experience and the firm's proprietary risk management and portfolio construction tools.
Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:
The UBS Asset Management (“UBS AM”) Sustainable Investing and Impact team (“SI team”) is an integrated function within our Investments area. The Head of Sustainable Investing and Impact role sits on the Investment Management team. The SI team is led by Lucy Thomas, who reports directly to the Head of Investments, Barry Gill, who is a member of UBS AM’s Management Team, reporting to Aleksandar Ivanovic, President of UBS AM. The goal of this governance structure is to provide clear oversight from the President of UBS AM through to our specialist SI team and alignment across investment areas.
The SI team comprises 45 professionals as of end March 2024. The team’s background is very diverse and includes professionals who have worked in the asset management, finance, services industries and for asset owners. Team members are located in Zurich, London, Amsterdam, Krakow, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and Chicago.
The SI team is currently structured in the following pillars: Active Ownership, SI Governance, SI Specialists, SI Quant Analytics and SI Portfolio Integration.
In addition, we have a dedicated governance structure in place through the SI Methodology Forum, SI Prioritization Forum and Stewardship Committee to oversee our activities in sustainable investing:
- The SI Prioritization Forum provides oversight of the SI strategic program, setting key priorities and strategic direction; makes key decisions of commercial relevance and ensures regulatory compliance and a successful delivery of the SI Program.
- The SI Methodology Forum provides oversight of SI policies and guidelines, data and methodologies as well as investment process criteria applied in the Sustainable Investing framework (including exclusions, ESG integration, sustainable focused and impact offering) across investment areas.
- The Stewardship Committee oversees the proxy voting standards, process, and corporate governance practices as well as engagement program activities (including exclusion decisions). It also oversees the research process on UNGC Global Compact credible corrective action and Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) Watchlist cases. The Stewardship Committee is the representative body for approving membership of industry organizations related to stewardship.
For a list of our memberships and involvement, please refer to the UBS Sustainability Report 2023 – Supplementary Information available via https://www.ubs.com/global/en/sustainability-impact/sustainability-reporting.html.
Dialshifter
This fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by…
The objective of Global Sustainable Equity is for the majority of value add to come from security selection and the ability to successfully identify sustainable, attractively valued companies. As a result, the portfolio strives to maintain a better sustainability profile than the benchmark, as measured by the weighted average UBS Blended ESG score. The portfolio also aims to have a lower weighted average carbon intensity (WACI) than the MSCI World index. These characteristics are monitored and assessed at the portfolio level to ensure that ESG factors are considered throughout the investment process.
Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by…
UBS AM is committed to helping our clients achieve their decarbonization goals and to supporting the work of governments around the world in their transition to a low-carbon economy in alignment with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
We are a founding signatory of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and have a group-wide ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across scope 1 and 2, and specified scope 3 activities by 2050. In 2023, we made progress toward delivering our 2030 target of aligning 20% of our total AuM with net zero, using science-based portfolio alignment approaches.
SDR Labelling:
Not eligible to use label
| Fund Name | SRI Style | SDR Labelling | Product | Region | Asset Type | Launch Date | Last Amended |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UBS (Lux) Equity Fund - Global Sustainable Fund |
ESG Plus | Not eligible to use label | SICAV/Offshore | Global | Equity | 13/06/1997 | Oct 2024 | |
|
Fund Size: £868.00m (as at: 31/03/2024) Total Screened Themed SRI Assets: £168400.00m (as at: 31/03/2024) Total Responsible Ownership Assets: £326400.00m (as at: 31/03/2024) Total Assets Under Management: £1011000.00m (as at: 31/03/2024) ISIN: LU1043178554, LU2562654272, LU2000521885, LU2562654199, LU0401299366, LU0401296933, LU1902337663, LU2562654355, LU1807254583, LU2562653977, LU0401295539, LU2035667513, LU2059871348, LU2212341031, LU1363474898, LU0076532638, LU1240780160, LU2038037458 |
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Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG OverviewUBS Asset Management categorizes this sub-fund as a Sustainability Focus Fund. This sub-fund promotes environmental and/or social characteristics and complies with Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (“SFDR”). The Global Sustainable Equity strategy seeks to outperform the MSCI World Index by 200 – 300 basis points per annum, gross of fees, over a full market cycle (typically 3 – 5 years). The Global Sustainable Equity strategy maintains a better sustainability profile than the benchmark (MSCI World Index), measured using the weighted average UBS Blended ESG Score. We look for companies that we believe are attractively valued and that integrate financially material sustainability practices in the business model to build a competitive advantage. We believe that the ability to reduce material costs, ensure environmental integrity, attract talented employees, supervise the supply chain and good governance can help companies succeed strategically and financially over the long-term. |
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Primary fund last amended: Oct 2024 |
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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
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/ 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.
Favours cleaner, greener companies
Funds that aim to invest in companies with strong or market leading environmental policies and practices. Strategies vary - in particular the balance between 'financial' aspects and environmental benefits. Some may invest substantially in solutions or 'positive impact' companies - others may invest in more conventional companies providing certain environmental criteria are met. See fund information for further detail. Climate Change & Energy
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.
Encourage transition to low carbon through stewardship activity
A core element of these funds will aim to encourage the transition to lower carbon activities through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity
Invests in clean energy / renewables
Funds that hold companies in the clean energy and renewable energy sectors (at the time research was supplied). Fund strategies vary, in particular the proportion of investment in these areas may vary significantly. Check fund literature for details.
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. 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. Ethical Values Led Exclusions
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.
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. Banking & Financials
Invests in banks
Find funds that include banks as part of their holdings / portfolio.
Invests in insurers
Funds that do or may invest in insurance companies. 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.
UN sanctions exclusion
Exclude companies that are subject to United Nations sanctions. See eg https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/un-sc-consolidated-list
Anti-bribery and corruption policy
Find funds that have policies explaining how managers will respond to assets / companies that do not comply with relevant anti-bribery and anti-corruption standards or laws. Strategies vary; options include stewardship/ engagement and divestment - or a combination. See fund literature for further information.
Encourage 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 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
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
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.
Significant harm exclusion
Aims to avoid companies that do significant harm. This originates from the EU’s sustainable finance ‘DNSH’ (do no significant harm) work, which is not necessarily used by UK investors.
Combines norms based exclusions with other SRI criteria
Find funds that make significant use of internationally agreed 'norms' (e.g. United Nations Global Compact - UNGC - or the UN Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs) as part of their investment selection process alongside additional SRI criteria such as positive or negative stock selection policies and/or stewardship strategies.
Combines ESG strategy with other SRI criteria
Find funds that have an ESG strategy (which is typically focused on avoiding companies that pose environmental, social or governance related risks) with additional criteria such as positive and/or negative screens, themes and stewardship strategies.
Balances company 'pros and cons' / best in sector
Find funds that consider both the 'positive' and 'negative' aspects of company behaviour and make balanced, considered decisions as part of their investment approach. May apply to a range of different issues and policy areas.
Norms focus
Find funds that use internationally agreed standards, conventions and 'norms' to help direct where the fund can and cannot invest (e.g. the UN Global Compact, UN Sustainable Development Goals). Read fund literature for further information.
Focus on ESG risk mitigation
A major focus of these funds is the careful management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) related risks - typically by avoiding or being underweight in companies seen as posing major risks in these areas (i.e. not necessarily by using themes, exclusions etc).
SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website
Find funds that have published explanations of their ethical, social and/or environmental policies online (i.e. fund decision making strategies/ buy/sell &/or asset management strategies). Intended Clients & Product Options
Intended for investors interested in sustainability
Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in sustainability issues. Labels & Accreditations
SFDR Article 8 fund / product (EU)
Finds funds classified under Article 8 of the EU’s SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Requirements). Article 8 of the SFDR is a set of requirements that apply to financial products that 'promote' environmental or social characteristics with high governance also. These rules do not currently apply to UK funds so many managers may leave this field blank. Transparency
Dialshifter statement
Find fund management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information. Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:ESG Integration: ESG Integration is driven by taking into account material ESG risks as part of the research process. ESG integration enables the Portfolio Manager to identify financially relevant sustainability factors that impact investment decisions and to incorporate ESG considerations when implementing investment decisions, and allows ESG risks to be systematically monitored and compared to risk appetite and constraints. It also assists in portfolio construction through securities selection, investment conviction and portfolio weightings.
The analysis of material sustainability/ESG considerations can include many different aspects, including the following: the carbon footprint, health and well-being, human rights, supply chain management, fair customer treatment and governance.
Fund specific exclusions: The sub-fund excludes companies with a sustainability profile that indicates a high or severe ESG risk.
Sustainability Exclusion Policy: The Sustainability Exclusion Policy of the Portfolio Manager outlines the exclusions applied to the investment universe of the financial product. The link to the Sustainability Exclusion Policy can be found in the section headed “Sustainability Exclusion Policy” in the main body of the Sales Prospectus. Process:This sub-fund is an equity fund that invests at least two-thirds of its assets, according to the principle of risk diversification, in shares or equity-type instruments of leading companies (normally large caps, but also smaller caps).
The sub-fund uses the benchmark MSCI World (net dividend reinvested) in order to monitor performance and the ESG profile of the portfolio, as well as for ESG and investment risk management and portfolio construction purposes. The benchmark is not designed to promote ESG characteristics. The Portfolio Manager may use discretion when constructing the portfolio and is not tied to the benchmark in terms of investment selection or weight. This means that the investment performance of the sub-fund may differ from the benchmark. As the sub-fund invests in multiple currencies due to its global orientation, the investment portfolio or parts of it may be subject to currency fluctuation risks.
Investment Universe The Global Sustainable Equity strategy seeks to access the full range of sustainable investment opportunities across large, mid and small capitalization stocks. While the strategy is benchmark-aware, sizing of positions is dependent on relative opportunity, which means that the largest positions in the portfolio are the highest conviction ideas regardless of market capitalization. The full market cap universe allows investors to potentially benefit from broad diversification, strong fundamental analysis and valuation, with an unconstrained approach to best ideas portfolio construction.
Investment Process Our investment process combines our valuation discipline and bottom-up fundamental research with rigorous sustainability analysis. We look for companies that we think are attractively valued and that integrate sustainability factors into their business model to build a competitive advantage. Through this process, we aim to identify our best investment ideas across sectors and geographies from a stock-specific standpoint. This component of the process provides strong traditional valuation support to our stock selection strategy, which we combine with our own forward-looking sustainability assessment, using our proprietary ESG methodology and risk dashboard. The investment process for the Global Sustainable Equity strategy is driven by a combination of fundamental, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and thematic factors. We integrate these inputs into a "best ideas" portfolio of securities (65-90 stocks) selected because we believe they are attractively valued and typically have a strong sustainability profile. Also, we actively look for companies that can benefit from secular themes, such as energy and water conservation, health care, demographics and other long-term trends. The team draws upon its members' extensive years of experience and the firm's proprietary risk management and portfolio construction tools. Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:The UBS Asset Management (“UBS AM”) Sustainable Investing and Impact team (“SI team”) is an integrated function within our Investments area. The Head of Sustainable Investing and Impact role sits on the Investment Management team. The SI team is led by Lucy Thomas, who reports directly to the Head of Investments, Barry Gill, who is a member of UBS AM’s Management Team, reporting to Aleksandar Ivanovic, President of UBS AM. The goal of this governance structure is to provide clear oversight from the President of UBS AM through to our specialist SI team and alignment across investment areas.
The SI team comprises 45 professionals as of end March 2024. The team’s background is very diverse and includes professionals who have worked in the asset management, finance, services industries and for asset owners. Team members are located in Zurich, London, Amsterdam, Krakow, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and Chicago.
The SI team is currently structured in the following pillars: Active Ownership, SI Governance, SI Specialists, SI Quant Analytics and SI Portfolio Integration. In addition, we have a dedicated governance structure in place through the SI Methodology Forum, SI Prioritization Forum and Stewardship Committee to oversee our activities in sustainable investing:
For a list of our memberships and involvement, please refer to the UBS Sustainability Report 2023 – Supplementary Information available via https://www.ubs.com/global/en/sustainability-impact/sustainability-reporting.html. Dialshifter (Fund)This fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by… The objective of Global Sustainable Equity is for the majority of value add to come from security selection and the ability to successfully identify sustainable, attractively valued companies. As a result, the portfolio strives to maintain a better sustainability profile than the benchmark, as measured by the weighted average UBS Blended ESG score. The portfolio also aims to have a lower weighted average carbon intensity (WACI) than the MSCI World index. These characteristics are monitored and assessed at the portfolio level to ensure that ESG factors are considered throughout the investment process.
Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by… UBS AM is committed to helping our clients achieve their decarbonization goals and to supporting the work of governments around the world in their transition to a low-carbon economy in alignment with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. We are a founding signatory of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and have a group-wide ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across scope 1 and 2, and specified scope 3 activities by 2050. In 2023, we made progress toward delivering our 2030 target of aligning 20% of our total AuM with net zero, using science-based portfolio alignment approaches. SDR Labelling:Not eligible to use label |
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