Prudential Positive Impact Pn
SRI Style:
Sustainable Style
SDR Labelling:
-
Product:
Pension
Fund Region:
Global
Fund Asset Type:
Equity
Launch Date:
20/02/2020
Last Amended:
Jul 2023
Dialshifter (
):
Fund/Portfolio Size:
£m
ISIN:
GB00BKTPJ319
Contact Us:
Objectives:
The Fund has two aims:
- To provide a higher total return (the combination of capital growth and income), net of the Ongoing Charges Figure, than the MSCI ACWI Index over any five-year period; and
- To invest in companies that aim to have a positive societal impact through addressing the world’s major social and environmental challenges.
Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:
Awaiting update from fund manager - fund last updated July 2023
The M&G Positive Impact Fund is a Global Equity Impact fund aimed at addressing the world's most pressing issues. The fund targets three under-addressed challenges on the environmental side and three on social side: climate action, environmental solutions, circular economy, better health saving lives, better work and education, social inclusion. Eligibility for the fund is assessed at company level using the III impact assessment methodology (Investment, Intention and Impact). ESG considerations are analysed within the ‘Investment’ and ‘Intention’ pillars of this framework.
Primary fund last amended:
Jul 2023
Information directly from fund manager.
Fund Filters
Sustainability - General
Has 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 individual entry information.
Use the UN Global Compact to inform or help direct where they can or cannot invest. Will typically not invest in companies with significant breaches (low standards) - strategies vary. (The UNGC covers a wide range of issues - search 'UNGC'). See https://unglobalcompact.org/
Aim to invest (and manage assets) in ways that help to address all or some of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). See https://sdgs.un.org/goals).
Publicly report performance against named sustainability objectives
Has a theme or investment strand focused on the shift to a circular economy - where products are reused and recycled not incinerated or dumped. See eg https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview
Environmental - General
Has policies which relate to environmental issues. These will typically set out their stance on issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, plastics and/or additional environmental impacts. Strategies vary.
Has a written policy or theme focused on waste management - typically to support or encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste. Strategies vary.
Nature & Biodiversity
Has a written biodiversity policy or theme typically aimed at supporting, encouraging and improving environmental protection and safeguarding the natural world (sometimes referred to as 'natural capital'). See eg https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/biodiversity
Has a policy which sets out their expectations for how investee assets should manage their use of water - likely to focus on high users.
Climate Change & Energy
Avoid investment in major coal, oil and/or gas (extraction) companies. Strategies vary.
Avoid companies involved in fracking and tar sands - which are widely regarded as controversial methods of oil and gas extraction. Strategies vary.
Has an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that the manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Has a policy which describes the avoidance or limited investment in the nuclear industry. Strategies vary.
Will only invest in companies that report greenhouse gas emissions in line with this international reporting framework. See https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/ https ://www.ifrs.org/sustainability/tcfd/
Social / Employment
Has policies which set out their approach to social issues (e.g. human rights, labour standards, equal opportunities, child labour and/or adherence to internationally recognised codes such as the UN Global Compact). Strategies with social policies typically avoid companies with low standards and/or work to encourage higher standards. See fund information for detail.
Has a labour standards policy - likely to mean they will invest in / favour companies that have higher employment related standards and avoid those with low standards. Strategies vary. See eg https://www.ilo.org/international-labour-standards
Has policies or themes that set out their approach to health and wellbeing issues, typically aims to invest in companies with high standards - or encourage high standards.
Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Has policies that set out their position on ethical or 'personal values' based issues. Strategies vary.
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.
Avoids companies that manufacture weapons intended specifically for military use. Strategies vary - may or may not include non-strategic military products.
Avoids companies that produce alcohol. Strategies vary; some may allow a small proportion of revenue to come from this area.
Avoids companies with significant involvement in the gambling industry. Some may allow a small proportion of revenues to come from this area.
Avoids companies that derive significant income from pornography and related areas. Strategies vary.
Human Rights
Has policies relating to human rights issues. Typically require companies to demonstrate higher standards, although some managers work to encourage improvements. Investee companies are often judged against internationally agreed norms or standards. Strategies vary.
Has policies that exclude companies or other assets which operate in, or are owned by regimes which are not democratic, or where people may be oppressed. May use eg. Freedom House research. Strategies vary.
Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Have policies or themes that set out the position on investment in the water sector and/or sanitation. Strategies vary.
Has a responsible food production or agriculture theme or strand of investment. May have a single or many themes.
Governance & Management
Has 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.
Product / Service Governance
Find fund / asset managers 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.
Impact Methodologies
Has policies that aim to help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary.
Aims to measure the positive real world environmental and / or social benefits that are associated with their investment strategy. Investments that aim to deliver positive impacts and measure those impacts may be referred to as 'Impact' - although impact measurement is not restricted to Impact investments. Strategies vary.
Investments which are specifically marketed as ‘Impact investments' and work to deliver both financial performance and specific, measurable positive, real world social and/or environmental benefits. Strategies vary.
Specifically sets out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.
Invest in companies where a major part of their business is specifically aimed at helping to address social challenges. e.g. companies helping to address poverty.
Aims to deliver positive environmental and or social impacts (real world benefits) through its engagement with investee assets
How The Fund/Portfolio Works
Focuses on finding and investing in companies with positive / beneficial attributes. This strategy can be applied in addition to exclusion criteria and engagement/stewardship activity.
Has principle approach to apply positive or negative ethical, social and / or environmental screens. Strictly screened investments are likely to exclude more companies than other related options. Strategies vary.
Invests in assets which can be 'mapped' (reviewed) their investment selection and management strategies to identify which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the fund is helping to address.
Investment selection process uses internationally agreed 'norms' (e.g. United Nations Global Compact - UNGC - or the UN Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs) alongside additional SRI criteria such as positive or negative stock selection policies and/or stewardship strategies.
Publish explanations of their ethical, social and/or environmental policies online (i.e. investment decision making strategies/ buy/sell &/or asset management strategies).
Intended Clients & Product Options
Designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in sustainability issues.
Available via a tax efficient ISA product wrapper.
Fund Management Company Information
About The Business
Finds fund / asset management companies that have a published company wide stewardship, engagement and / or responsible ownership policy or strategy that covers all investments. Stewardship typically involves encouraging higher ESG standards through voting and dialogue.
Find fund / asset management companies that actively encourage higher 'environmental, social and governance' and / or 'sustainable and responsible investment' practices across investee companies - typically where the aim is to encourage positive change that is aligned with the best interests of investors. Strategies vary. See additional information and options.
Find fund / asset managers that vote all* the shares they own at Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. A commitment to voting shares is a key indicator of 'responsible share ownership' demonstrating their support for or disagreement with management policy. (*situations can legitimately, occasionally occur where voting proves impossible, but in principle all shares should be voted.)
Find fund / asset managers that consider responsible ownership and ESG to be a key differentiator for their business.
Find fund / asset management companies that take sustainability criteria into account when selecting and/or managing all of their property / real estate investments.
Find fund / asset management companies that aim to align all their investments (across all funds) to help meet the aims of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Find options run by managers that apply Responsible ownership or 'Stewardship' policies to all or most of their investment assets. This means active involvement (e.g. voting, dialogue) with the companies across all or most funds, products and services.
Find fund / asset management companies that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues when deciding whether or not to invest in a company for all / almost all of their funds and other assets. This is increasingly seen as part of sound risk management.
Finds organisations / fund managers that have an in-house (company wide) diversity improvement programme - meaning that they are working to ensure that within their own businesses they employ people from diverse backgrounds - often typically focused on ethnicity and/or sex.
Find fund / asset management companies that encourage the companies they invest in to have strong diversity, race, gender and other equality policies across all assets held, not simply screened or themed SRI/ESG funds. (ie Asset Management company wide).
Collaborations & Affiliations
Find fund / asset management companies that have signed up to the UN backed 'Principles of Responsible Investment'.
Find fund / asset management companies that are members of UKSIF - the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance association
Fund management entity is a member of the Investment Association https://www.theia.org/
Resources
Find fund / asset management companies that employ people to steer and support fund managers in voting shares at company AGM's and EGMs in ways that are consistent with encouraging higher ESG/sustainability standards.
Find a fund / asset management company that directly employs specialist ESG/SRI/sustainability researchers or analysts. This allows asset managers to discuss environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities directly with companies.
Find fund / asset management companies that makes use of expert external research companies. This can help deliver specialist expertise and means resources are pooled with other investors.
Finds organisations / fund managers that have one or more ESG/sustainability experts on all investment teams or 'desks' (all asset types)
Accreditations
Finds organisations / fund managers that have an A+ PRI rating - meaning they are highly rated according to the 'Principles of Responsible Investment'
Find fund / asset managers that are signatories to the FRC UK Stewardship Code, which sets out a framework for constructive investor / investee relations where managers are encouraged to behave like responsible, typically longer term 'company owners'.
Engagement Approach
Find fund / asset management companies that regularly initiate or run industry wide (collaborative) investor projects aimed at raising environmental, social and governance standards amongst investee companies.
Fund / asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that is focused on addressing climate change with investee assets.
Fund / 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.
Fund / asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy with involves encouraging investee asset to reduce plastic waste and pollution.
The fund / 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
Fund / 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/
Fund / 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
Fund / 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)
Fund / asset management company has a stewardship strategy in place which involves working to raise diversity, equality and inclusion standards across investee assets
Fund / asset managers have stewardship strategies in place that focus on improving governance standards across investee assets
Has a stewardship / responsible ownership strategy that encourages responsible supply chain - ie the managers will discuss environmental, social and governance issues with investee companies with the aim of raising standards
Company Wide Exclusions
Find fund / asset management companies (not funds) that avoid investment in 'controversial weapons' across all of their funds and other investment vehicles.
Find fund / asset management companies that avoid investment in fossil fuel companies (e.g. coal, oil and gas) across all of their funds. (and/ or other assets.)
Climate & Net Zero Transition
Fund / asset management organisations that have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’. Strategies vary - this area is changing rapidly.
Find fund / asset management companies that have published a Climate Risk policy or statement that is signed / owned by their Chief Executive.
Find fund / asset management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
Finds organisations / fund managers that have a company wide carbon transition plan - meaning that they have plotted a path to how they will move away from activities that produce or use carbon based energy sources (that emit greenhouse gases) towards clean, alternative, renewable energy sources.
Find fund / asset management companies that are working to reduce their own (fund management company) carbon/greenhouse gas emissions.
See https://sciencebasedtargets.org/
Transparency
Find fund / asset management companies that publish a report detailing their responsible investment ownership - also known as 'Stewardship' - activity.
Find fund / asset management companies that publish information about their sustainable and responsible investment strategies on their company website.
Fund / asset management companies that publish a full record of how they vote their shares at AGMs (annual general meetings) and EGMs (extraordinary general meetings). Voting strategies have an important role to play encouraging higher environmental, social and governance standards.
This fund / asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are going to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.
Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:
At least 80% of the Fund is invested in the equity securities of companies across any sector and market capitalisation that are domiciled in any country, including Emerging Markets. The Fund has a concentrated portfolio and usually holds fewer than 40 stocks.
Assessment and measurement of the ability to deliver positive social and/or environmental impact and generate financial returns will be conducted at a company level using M&G’s impact assessment methodology. This focuses on three criteria:
- Investment credentials: the quality and durability of the company’s business model and its ability to produce sustainable economic returns;
- Intention: the company’s purpose as evidenced by the alignment of its mission statement with its corporate actions and strategy; and
- Impact: the scale of the net positive societal impact and the company’s progress towards addressing specified social and environmental challenges.
Certain investments which are considered by M&G to conflict with the Fund’s aim to invest in companies with a positive societal impact are excluded from the investment universe. The following are excluded:
- Companies that are assessed to be in breach of the United Nations Global Compact principles on human rights, labour rights, the environment and anti-corruption; and
- Companies involved in the production of tobacco, alcohol, adult entertainment, controversial weapons, oil sands, nuclear power or coal-fired power, or the provision of gambling services.
The fund manager has discretion to invest in companies with limited exposure to fossil fuels but which are driving or significantly participating in the transition to a more sustainable economy.
Process:
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are integrated throughout the investment process to identify companies with strong ESG credentials. Sustainability considerations are fully integrated in the investment process and ESG credentials are measured through a range of sustainability indicators.
From an initial global investment universe of over 4,000 companies, the Investment Manager uses negative screening to remove any companies deemed to be in breach of the UN Global Compact Principles, as well as those involved in a number of excluded/restricted sectors and activities. These screens are monitored internally on an ongoing basis through a number of external data providers which flag companies involved in breaches.
From this remaining pool of stocks, the Investment Manager ‘screens in’ a watch-list of some 150 impactful companies that can be purchased if the Investment Manager believes the timing and price are right. These are analysed applying the Investment Manager’s proprietary III approach, examining the Investment case, Intentionality and Impact of a company to assess its suitability for the Fund.
The III framework applies set criteria and standards for rating the inclusion and investment case of each company. Each ‘I’ score is derived from the assessment and rating of its key drivers.
- The Investment pillar helps determine the strength of the business model under review by examining a company’s competitive attributes as well as its track record of capital allocation and its corresponding business risks.
- The Intention pillar aims to protect from the risk of greenwashing by ensuring that a company has an authentic purpose that filters through the entire organisation.
- When assessing the ‘Impact’ score of a company, the Investment Manager adopts a net impact approach where any activity that might be causing harm is deducted from the positive as well as consider the measurability, ‘materiality’, and the ‘additionality’ of the impact delivered.
As part of this analysis, it scores companies on these III credentials, and requires above-average results for consideration within the watch-list. Once a company has been analysed through the III process and been deemed potentially appropriate for the watch-list, the wider Positive Impact team will debate it merits. Only when the team is unanimously convinced of the appropriateness of the company will it enter the watch-list. At that point, extended due diligence is carried out on the company through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to further analyse all elements of the business.
Data sources:
We use third party research to aid in our internal ESG methodologies. The third party research forms part of our overall approach to internal ESG research. All our investment teams have access to this range of external ESG data providers, which ensures that the teams have sufficient ESG data and research that can be used by portfolio managers and analysts when engaging with companies on issues material to them.
Our analysts and investment teams also make use of external ESG content for a range of purposes. We have portal and data access with a number of ESG vendors, including MSCI, ISS, Sustainalytics and other specialist advisers.
In addition, we obtain ESG data through authorised aggregators or channels, including Bloomberg, Factset, Refinitiv Eikon and Aladdin. Our ESG Data Strategy records preferred vendors for particular coverage and subject matter requirements. The use of these vendors for different applications should balance the following requirements:
- Data quality and accuracy – whether the vendor’s products deliver accurate, actionable information in the context of the envisaged use case
- Breadth of coverage for particular asset classes
Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:
The central ESG team at M&G Investments is the Stewardship & Sustainability (S&S) team, which currently comprises of 32 M&G employees. Additionally, there are numerous ESG specialists across the floor, embedded in investment teams. At M&G we believe that ESG integration should occur in all parts of our investment business and to reflect this everyone has an objective to this end.
We look to continuously monitor S&S team resourcing levels to ensure the best quality of service is provided to clients. M&G will also ensure and make it the responsibility of all team members to keep up to date with the rapidly changing landscape of ESG to leverage resources effectively.
The S&S team works collaboratively, both directly and via the analysts, to equip managers to make better-informed decisions, knowing the full spectrum of ESG risks that could impact their portfolios, as well as where these risks may be concentrated within certain issuers or holdings. By working in conjunction with the credit and equity analysts on ESG, the S&S team is able to ensure that ESG risks and opportunities are considered throughout the full investment process, as well as in the monitoring of companies.
Rob Marshall, Head of Sustainable Investments at M&G Investments heads up the S&S team and research
Rob Marshall – Head of Sustainable Investments
Rob was appointed Head of Sustainable Investments in July 2022. Prior to that, Rob served as the Global Head of Research since 2019, responsible for leading M&G’s highly regarded Credit and Equity Research teams. During his time with M&G, Rob has worked as an analyst and credit practitioner across Public and Private asset classes.
Rob joined M&G in 2000. He previously worked as a senior analyst in European structured finance for the credit rating agency DCR, and later for Fitch Ratings. Rob holds a degree in Classics from Christ's College, Cambridge.
Rupert Krefting, Head of Corporate Finance and Stewardship
Rupert Krefting joined M&G in March 2016 and was appointed Head of Corporate Finance and Stewardship, Equities. Rupert has worked in investment banking for more than two decades. Most recently, he was at Numis, where he was a director in its corporate broking and advisory business for 8 years. Prior to his move to Numis, Rupert held senior roles at Investec and Panmure Gordon on the advisory side. He is a chartered accountant.
Ben Constable-Maxwell, Head of Sustainable & Impact Investment
Ben joined M&G in 2003 as a senior investment writer covering global and European equities, before joining the investment specialist team supporting the global equity desk. He is now Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, responsible for sustainable investing at M&G and for developing M&G’s impact investment activities within our Equities business.
Ben has been central to the development of ESG integration within M&G’s investment processes and has supported the development of ESG client solutions across asset classes. He sits on M&G’s Responsible Investment Advisory Forum, which oversees ESG related activities at M&G, and is a member of the UK Investment Association’s Sustainability & Responsible Investment Committee, chairing the Working Group on non-financial disclosures.
Previous to M&G, Ben spent four years with the Equities team at Invesco Perpetual. Ben graduated from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with an Honours Degree in Classics and has been on M&G’s Staff Charity Fund Committee since 2004. With the launch of the M&G Positive Impact Fund, Ben will be taking the Impact lead alongside fund manager John William Olsen.
John Vercoe
John joined as a Manager in the Policy and Disclosure team in January 2021 from 8 Miles, where he was the Head of ESG and Impact for Bob Geldof’s African Mid Cap Private Equity Firm. With 22 years of environmental and social risk experience, John currently Heads up Sustainability for Public Assets at M&G. John is a chartered environmentalist (C.Env), Member of the Institution of Environmental Sciences (M.IES) and Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (F.RSA).
The following is a list of Initiatives and signatories of M&G plc and M&G Investments:
M&G plc
- UN Global Compact
- TCFD
- TNFD Forum
- CDP
- ClimateWise
- ShareAction's Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI)
- National Equality Index
- Stonewall's Top 100 Employers
- Department of Work and Pensions - Level 3 Disability Confident Leader
- Say on Climate
- Powering Past Coal Alliance
M&G Investments
- 30% Club Investor Group
- Access to Medicine Foundation
- All Party Parliamentary Corporate Governance Group (APPCGG)
- CDP
- Climate Action 100+ (CA 100+)
- Climate Bonds Initiative
- Climate Bonds Initiative - Climate Bonds Industry Working Group for Hydropower Investments
- Climate Bonds Initiative - Climate Bonds Industry Working Group for Bioenergy European Green Securities Steering Committee
- Climate Bonds Initiative - Climate Bonds Industry Working Group for Marine Renewable Energy Investments
- European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)
- FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return)
- Find it, Fix it, Prevent it
- Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
- Green Bond Principles
- IA (Investment Association )
- IA Corporate Reporting and Auditing Group (CRAG)
- IA Remuneration and Shares committee
- IA Responsible Investment committee
- IA Stewardship & Governance Committee
- IA Stewardship Reporting Working Group
- Impact Management Project (IMP) [Now Impact Management Platform]
- Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
- International Corporate Governance Network
- Investor Forum
- Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative
- Pre-emption Group
- Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI)
- UK Stewardship Code 2020
- UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF)
- UN PRI
Voting Record
| Fund Name | SRI Style | SDR Labelling | Product | Region | Asset Type | Launch Date | Last Amended |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prudential Positive Impact Pn |
Sustainable Style | - | Pension | Global | Equity | 20/02/2020 | Jul 2023 | |
ObjectivesThe Fund has two aims:
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ISIN: GB00BKTPJ319 Contact Us: info@mandg.co.uk |
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Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG OverviewThis product is linked to the "M&G Positive Impact" fund. The following information refers to the primary fund. Awaiting update from fund manager - fund last updated July 2023
The M&G Positive Impact Fund is a Global Equity Impact fund aimed at addressing the world's most pressing issues. The fund targets three under-addressed challenges on the environmental side and three on social side: climate action, environmental solutions, circular economy, better health saving lives, better work and education, social inclusion. Eligibility for the fund is assessed at company level using the III impact assessment methodology (Investment, Intention and Impact). ESG considerations are analysed within the ‘Investment’ and ‘Intention’ pillars of this framework. |
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Primary fund last amended: Jul 2023 |
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Information received directly from Fund Manager |
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Fund FiltersSustainability - General
Sustainability policy
Has 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 individual entry information.
UN Global Compact linked exclusion policy
Use the UN Global Compact to inform or help direct where they can or cannot invest. Will typically not invest in companies with significant breaches (low standards) - strategies vary. (The UNGC covers a wide range of issues - search 'UNGC'). See https://unglobalcompact.org/
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) focus
Aim to invest (and manage assets) in ways that help to address all or some of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). See https://sdgs.un.org/goals).
Report against sustainability objectives
Publicly report performance against named sustainability objectives
Circular economy theme
Has a theme or investment strand focused on the shift to a circular economy - where products are reused and recycled not incinerated or dumped. See eg https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview Environmental - General
Environmental policy
Has policies which relate to environmental issues. These will typically set out their stance on issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, plastics and/or additional environmental impacts. Strategies vary.
Waste management policy or theme
Has a written policy or theme focused on waste management - typically to support or encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste. Strategies vary. Nature & Biodiversity
Biodiversity / nature policy
Has a written biodiversity policy or theme typically aimed at supporting, encouraging and improving environmental protection and safeguarding the natural world (sometimes referred to as 'natural capital'). See eg https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/biodiversity
Water stewardship policy
Has a policy which sets out their expectations for how investee assets should manage their use of water - likely to focus on high users. Climate Change & Energy
Coal, oil & / or gas majors excluded
Avoid investment in major coal, oil and/or gas (extraction) companies. Strategies vary.
Fracking & tar sands excluded
Avoid companies involved in fracking and tar sands - which are widely regarded as controversial methods of oil and gas extraction. Strategies vary.
Energy efficiency theme
Has an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that the manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Nuclear exclusion policy
Has a policy which describes the avoidance or limited investment in the nuclear industry. Strategies vary.
TCFD / IFRS reporting requirement
Will only invest in companies that report greenhouse gas emissions in line with this international reporting framework. See https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/ https ://www.ifrs.org/sustainability/tcfd/ Social / Employment
Social policy
Has policies which set out their approach to social issues (e.g. human rights, labour standards, equal opportunities, child labour and/or adherence to internationally recognised codes such as the UN Global Compact). Strategies with social policies typically avoid companies with low standards and/or work to encourage higher standards. See fund information for detail.
Labour standards policy
Has a labour standards policy - likely to mean they will invest in / favour companies that have higher employment related standards and avoid those with low standards. Strategies vary. See eg https://www.ilo.org/international-labour-standards
Health & wellbeing policies or theme
Has policies or themes that set out their approach to health and wellbeing issues, typically aims to invest in companies with high standards - or encourage high standards. Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Ethical policies
Has policies that set out their position on ethical or 'personal values' based issues. Strategies vary.
Tobacco & 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
Avoids companies that manufacture weapons intended specifically for military use. Strategies vary - may or may not include non-strategic military products.
Alcohol production excluded
Avoids companies that produce alcohol. Strategies vary; some may allow a small proportion of revenue to come from this area.
Gambling avoidance policy
Avoids companies with significant involvement in the gambling industry. Some may allow a small proportion of revenues to come from this area.
Pornography avoidance policy
Avoids companies that derive significant income from pornography and related areas. Strategies vary. Human Rights
Human rights policy
Has policies relating to human rights issues. Typically require companies to demonstrate higher standards, although some managers work to encourage improvements. Investee companies are often judged against internationally agreed norms or standards. Strategies vary.
Oppressive regimes (not free or democratic) exclusion policy
Has policies that exclude companies or other assets which operate in, or are owned by regimes which are not democratic, or where people may be oppressed. May use eg. Freedom House research. Strategies vary. Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Water / sanitation policy or theme
Have policies or themes that set out the position on investment in the water sector and/or sanitation. Strategies vary.
Responsible food production or agriculture theme
Has a responsible food production or agriculture theme or strand of investment. May have a single or many themes. Governance & Management
Governance policy
Has 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. Product / Service Governance
ESG integration strategy
Find fund / asset managers 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. Impact Methodologies
Aims to generate positive impacts (or 'outcomes')
Has policies that aim to help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary.
Measures positive impacts
Aims to measure the positive real world environmental and / or social benefits that are associated with their investment strategy. Investments that aim to deliver positive impacts and measure those impacts may be referred to as 'Impact' - although impact measurement is not restricted to Impact investments. Strategies vary.
Described as an ‘impact investment’
Investments which are specifically marketed as ‘Impact investments' and work to deliver both financial performance and specific, measurable positive, real world social and/or environmental benefits. Strategies vary.
Positive environmental impact theme
Specifically sets out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.
Invests in social solutions companies
Invest in companies where a major part of their business is specifically aimed at helping to address social challenges. e.g. companies helping to address poverty.
Aim to deliver positive impacts through engagement
Aims to deliver positive environmental and or social impacts (real world benefits) through its engagement with investee assets How The Fund/Portfolio Works
Positive selection bias
Focuses on finding and investing in companies with positive / beneficial attributes. This strategy can be applied in addition to exclusion criteria and engagement/stewardship activity.
Strictly screened ethical investment
Has principle approach to apply positive or negative ethical, social and / or environmental screens. Strictly screened investments are likely to exclude more companies than other related options. Strategies vary.
Assets mapped to SDGs
Invests in assets which can be 'mapped' (reviewed) their investment selection and management strategies to identify which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the fund is helping to address.
Combines norms based exclusions with other SRI criteria
Investment selection process uses internationally agreed 'norms' (e.g. United Nations Global Compact - UNGC - or the UN Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs) alongside additional SRI criteria such as positive or negative stock selection policies and/or stewardship strategies.
SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website
Publish explanations of their ethical, social and/or environmental policies online (i.e. investment decision making strategies/ buy/sell &/or asset management strategies). Intended Clients & Product Options
Intended for clients interested in sustainability
Designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in sustainability issues.
Available via an ISA (OEIC only)
Available via a tax efficient ISA product wrapper. Fund Management Company InformationAbout The Business
Responsible ownership / stewardship policy or strategy (AFM companywide)
Finds fund / asset management companies that have a published company wide stewardship, engagement and / or responsible ownership policy or strategy that covers all investments. Stewardship typically involves encouraging higher ESG standards through voting and dialogue.
ESG / SRI engagement (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that actively encourage higher 'environmental, social and governance' and / or 'sustainable and responsible investment' practices across investee companies - typically where the aim is to encourage positive change that is aligned with the best interests of investors. Strategies vary. See additional information and options.
Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset managers that vote all* the shares they own at Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. A commitment to voting shares is a key indicator of 'responsible share ownership' demonstrating their support for or disagreement with management policy. (*situations can legitimately, occasionally occur where voting proves impossible, but in principle all shares should be voted.)
Responsible ownership / ESG a key differentiator (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset managers that consider responsible ownership and ESG to be a key differentiator for their business.
Sustainable property strategy (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that take sustainability criteria into account when selecting and/or managing all of their property / real estate investments.
SDG aligned aims / objectives (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that aim to align all their investments (across all funds) to help meet the aims of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Responsible ownership policy for non SRI / sustainable options (AFM companywide)
Find options run by managers that apply Responsible ownership or 'Stewardship' policies to all or most of their investment assets. This means active involvement (e.g. voting, dialogue) with the companies across all or most funds, products and services.
Integrates ESG factors into all / most research (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues when deciding whether or not to invest in a company for all / almost all of their funds and other assets. This is increasingly seen as part of sound risk management.
In-house diversity improvement programme (AFM companywide)
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 companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that encourage the companies they invest in to have strong diversity, race, gender and other equality policies across all assets held, not simply screened or themed SRI/ESG funds. (ie Asset Management company wide). Collaborations & Affiliations
PRI signatory
Find fund / asset management companies that have signed up to the UN backed 'Principles of Responsible Investment'.
UKSIF member
Find fund / asset management companies that are members of UKSIF - the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance association
Investment Association (IA) member
Fund management entity is a member of the Investment Association https://www.theia.org/ Resources
In-house responsible ownership / voting expertise
Find fund / asset management companies that employ people to steer and support fund managers in voting shares at company AGM's and EGMs in ways that are consistent with encouraging higher ESG/sustainability standards.
Employ specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability researchers
Find a fund / asset management company that directly employs specialist ESG/SRI/sustainability researchers or analysts. This allows asset managers to discuss environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities directly with companies.
Use specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability research companies
Find fund / asset management companies that makes use of expert external research companies. This can help deliver specialist expertise and means resources are pooled with other investors.
ESG specialists on all investment desks (AFM companywide)
Finds organisations / fund managers that have one or more ESG/sustainability experts on all investment teams or 'desks' (all asset types) Accreditations
PRI A+ rated (AFM companywide)
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 companywide)
Find fund / asset managers that are signatories to the FRC UK Stewardship Code, which sets out a framework for constructive investor / investee relations where managers are encouraged to behave like responsible, typically longer term 'company owners'. Engagement Approach
Regularly lead collaborative ESG initiatives (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset 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 / asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that is focused on addressing climate change with investee assets.
Engaging with fossil fuel companies on climate change
Fund / 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
Fund / asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy with involves encouraging investee asset to reduce plastic waste and pollution.
Engaging on biodiversity / nature issues
The fund / 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
Fund / 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
Fund / 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
Fund / 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 & / or inclusion issues
Fund / asset management company has a stewardship strategy in place which involves working to raise diversity, equality and inclusion standards across investee assets
Engaging on governance issues
Fund / asset 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
Controversial weapons avoidance policy (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies (not funds) that avoid investment in 'controversial weapons' across all of their funds and other investment vehicles.
Fossil fuel exclusion policy (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that avoid investment in fossil fuel companies (e.g. coal, oil and gas) across all of their funds. (and/ or other assets.) Climate & Net Zero Transition
Net Zero commitment (AFM companywide)
Fund / asset management organisations that have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’. Strategies vary - this area is changing rapidly.
Publish 'CEO owned' Climate Risk policy (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that have published a Climate Risk policy or statement that is signed / owned by their Chief Executive.
Encourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon transition plan published (AFM companywide)
Finds organisations / fund managers that have a company wide carbon transition plan - meaning that they have plotted a path to how they will move away from activities that produce or use carbon based energy sources (that emit greenhouse gases) towards clean, alternative, renewable energy sources.
In-house carbon / GHG reduction policy (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that are working to reduce their own (fund management company) carbon/greenhouse gas emissions.
Committed to SBTi / Science Based Targets Initiative
See https://sciencebasedtargets.org/ Transparency
Publish responsible ownership / stewardship report (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that publish a report detailing their responsible investment ownership - also known as 'Stewardship' - activity.
Full stewardship / responsible ownership policy information on company website
Find fund / asset management companies that publish information about their sustainable and responsible investment strategies on their company website.
Publish full voting record (AFM companywide)
Fund / asset management companies that publish a full record of how they vote their shares at AGMs (annual general meetings) and EGMs (extraordinary general meetings). Voting strategies have an important role to play encouraging higher environmental, social and governance standards.
Net Zero transition plan publicly available (AFM companywide)
This fund / asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are going to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions. Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:At least 80% of the Fund is invested in the equity securities of companies across any sector and market capitalisation that are domiciled in any country, including Emerging Markets. The Fund has a concentrated portfolio and usually holds fewer than 40 stocks. Assessment and measurement of the ability to deliver positive social and/or environmental impact and generate financial returns will be conducted at a company level using M&G’s impact assessment methodology. This focuses on three criteria:
Certain investments which are considered by M&G to conflict with the Fund’s aim to invest in companies with a positive societal impact are excluded from the investment universe. The following are excluded:
The fund manager has discretion to invest in companies with limited exposure to fossil fuels but which are driving or significantly participating in the transition to a more sustainable economy. Process:Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are integrated throughout the investment process to identify companies with strong ESG credentials. Sustainability considerations are fully integrated in the investment process and ESG credentials are measured through a range of sustainability indicators. From an initial global investment universe of over 4,000 companies, the Investment Manager uses negative screening to remove any companies deemed to be in breach of the UN Global Compact Principles, as well as those involved in a number of excluded/restricted sectors and activities. These screens are monitored internally on an ongoing basis through a number of external data providers which flag companies involved in breaches. From this remaining pool of stocks, the Investment Manager ‘screens in’ a watch-list of some 150 impactful companies that can be purchased if the Investment Manager believes the timing and price are right. These are analysed applying the Investment Manager’s proprietary III approach, examining the Investment case, Intentionality and Impact of a company to assess its suitability for the Fund. The III framework applies set criteria and standards for rating the inclusion and investment case of each company. Each ‘I’ score is derived from the assessment and rating of its key drivers.
As part of this analysis, it scores companies on these III credentials, and requires above-average results for consideration within the watch-list. Once a company has been analysed through the III process and been deemed potentially appropriate for the watch-list, the wider Positive Impact team will debate it merits. Only when the team is unanimously convinced of the appropriateness of the company will it enter the watch-list. At that point, extended due diligence is carried out on the company through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to further analyse all elements of the business.
Data sources: We use third party research to aid in our internal ESG methodologies. The third party research forms part of our overall approach to internal ESG research. All our investment teams have access to this range of external ESG data providers, which ensures that the teams have sufficient ESG data and research that can be used by portfolio managers and analysts when engaging with companies on issues material to them. Our analysts and investment teams also make use of external ESG content for a range of purposes. We have portal and data access with a number of ESG vendors, including MSCI, ISS, Sustainalytics and other specialist advisers. In addition, we obtain ESG data through authorised aggregators or channels, including Bloomberg, Factset, Refinitiv Eikon and Aladdin. Our ESG Data Strategy records preferred vendors for particular coverage and subject matter requirements. The use of these vendors for different applications should balance the following requirements:
Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:The central ESG team at M&G Investments is the Stewardship & Sustainability (S&S) team, which currently comprises of 32 M&G employees. Additionally, there are numerous ESG specialists across the floor, embedded in investment teams. At M&G we believe that ESG integration should occur in all parts of our investment business and to reflect this everyone has an objective to this end. We look to continuously monitor S&S team resourcing levels to ensure the best quality of service is provided to clients. M&G will also ensure and make it the responsibility of all team members to keep up to date with the rapidly changing landscape of ESG to leverage resources effectively. The S&S team works collaboratively, both directly and via the analysts, to equip managers to make better-informed decisions, knowing the full spectrum of ESG risks that could impact their portfolios, as well as where these risks may be concentrated within certain issuers or holdings. By working in conjunction with the credit and equity analysts on ESG, the S&S team is able to ensure that ESG risks and opportunities are considered throughout the full investment process, as well as in the monitoring of companies. Rob Marshall, Head of Sustainable Investments at M&G Investments heads up the S&S team and research
Rob Marshall – Head of Sustainable Investments Rob was appointed Head of Sustainable Investments in July 2022. Prior to that, Rob served as the Global Head of Research since 2019, responsible for leading M&G’s highly regarded Credit and Equity Research teams. During his time with M&G, Rob has worked as an analyst and credit practitioner across Public and Private asset classes. Rob joined M&G in 2000. He previously worked as a senior analyst in European structured finance for the credit rating agency DCR, and later for Fitch Ratings. Rob holds a degree in Classics from Christ's College, Cambridge.
Rupert Krefting, Head of Corporate Finance and Stewardship Rupert Krefting joined M&G in March 2016 and was appointed Head of Corporate Finance and Stewardship, Equities. Rupert has worked in investment banking for more than two decades. Most recently, he was at Numis, where he was a director in its corporate broking and advisory business for 8 years. Prior to his move to Numis, Rupert held senior roles at Investec and Panmure Gordon on the advisory side. He is a chartered accountant.
Ben Constable-Maxwell, Head of Sustainable & Impact Investment Ben joined M&G in 2003 as a senior investment writer covering global and European equities, before joining the investment specialist team supporting the global equity desk. He is now Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, responsible for sustainable investing at M&G and for developing M&G’s impact investment activities within our Equities business. Ben has been central to the development of ESG integration within M&G’s investment processes and has supported the development of ESG client solutions across asset classes. He sits on M&G’s Responsible Investment Advisory Forum, which oversees ESG related activities at M&G, and is a member of the UK Investment Association’s Sustainability & Responsible Investment Committee, chairing the Working Group on non-financial disclosures. Previous to M&G, Ben spent four years with the Equities team at Invesco Perpetual. Ben graduated from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with an Honours Degree in Classics and has been on M&G’s Staff Charity Fund Committee since 2004. With the launch of the M&G Positive Impact Fund, Ben will be taking the Impact lead alongside fund manager John William Olsen.
John Vercoe John joined as a Manager in the Policy and Disclosure team in January 2021 from 8 Miles, where he was the Head of ESG and Impact for Bob Geldof’s African Mid Cap Private Equity Firm. With 22 years of environmental and social risk experience, John currently Heads up Sustainability for Public Assets at M&G. John is a chartered environmentalist (C.Env), Member of the Institution of Environmental Sciences (M.IES) and Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (F.RSA).
The following is a list of Initiatives and signatories of M&G plc and M&G Investments: M&G plc
M&G Investments
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