.png)
PIMCO GIS Global Investment Grade Credit ESG Fund
SRI Style:
ESG Plus
SDR Labelling:
Not eligible to use label
Product:
SICAV/Offshore
Fund Region:
Global
Fund Asset Type:
Fixed Interest
Launch Date:
28/09/2018
Last Amended:
Apr 2022
Dialshifter (
):
Fund Size:
£1970.00m
(as at: 31/01/2025)
Total Screened Themed SRI Assets:
£410000.00m
(as at: 30/06/2022)
Total Assets Under Management:
£1500000.00m
(as at: 30/06/2022)
ISIN:
IE00BK8XVN07, IE00BDTMDT74
Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:
Awaiting update from fund manager - fund last updated April 2022
FUND DESCRIPTION
The Global Investment Grade Credit ESG Fund is an actively managed portfolio that invests primarily in investment grade global corporate instruments, while focusing on environmental-, social-, and governance oriented (ESG) principles. The fund is diversified broadly across industries, issuers, and regions on the basis of PIMCO’s top-down, bottom-up and internal ESG screening process which includes ESG exclusions, evaluation and engagement decisions.
FUND ADVANTAGE
The fund looks to benefit from the PIMCO investment process, which combines our global top-down views on the macroeconomic environment with independent bottom-up analysis. The PIMCO investment team has the experience and depth to actively manage a broad and diversified opportunity set. The fund will also favor issuers believed to have best-in-class ESG practices and those who are working to enhance them.
Primary fund last amended:
Apr 2022
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/
Find funds that publicly report their performance against specifically named sustainability objectives (in addition to reporting their financial performance)
Environmental - General
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.
Find funds that have a written policy or theme on waste management - typically a view to encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste.
Climate Change & Energy
Funds that avoid investing in major coal, oil and/or gas (extraction) companies. Funds vary: some may exclude all companies that extract oil. Others may have exposure to oil extraction via more diversified energy companies. See fund literature to confirm details.
Funds that avoid companies involved in fracking and tar sands - which are widely regarded as controversial methods of oil and gas extraction. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.
Funds that avoid companies that are involved in extracting oil from the Arctic regions. See fund literature for further details.
Funds that avoid investing in companies with coal, oil and gas reserves. See fund information for further details.
Find funds where investment in clean / renewable energy companies an other assets is central to their investment selection strategy. The proportion of the fund that is directly or indirectly invested in renewable energy varies between funds and over time. See fund information for further details.
A core element of these funds will aim to encourage the transition to lower carbon activities through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity
Fund funds that have an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that a fund manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Funds that hold companies in the clean energy and renewable energy sectors (at the time research was supplied). Fund strategies vary, in particular the proportion of investment in these areas may vary significantly. Check fund literature for details.
Social / Employment
Find funds that have a labour standards policy - which can be expected to mean that the fund will invest in / favour companies that have higher standards in this area - although fund strategies can vary significantly (as with all policy areas). See eg https://www.ilo.org/international-labour-standards
Find funds that invest in line with positive strategies that relate to 'people' issues - such as having strong human rights, labour standards and equal opportunities practices. Such funds are likely to invest in companies that have market leading standards with regard to employee and supplier practices. Read fund literature for further information.
Find funds with policies or themes that set out their approach to health and wellbeing issues. Funds of this kind typically aim to invest in companies with high standards - or encourage high standards. Themed funds are likely to have more of an emphasis on this area. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Companies are excluded if they are involved in any aspect of the production chain for tobacco products, including cigarettes, vaping, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars.
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.
Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Find funds with a thematic investment approach focusing on the ‘silver economy’ - in particular (typically) the issues and opportunities presented by changing demographics. This could include finance, healthcare and medicines and/ or longevity science to extend lifespans. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.
Find funds that have significant investment in social housing or similar assets.
Find funds that invest in ‘social bonds’ which raise funds for the purpose of financing projects with positive social (people related) outcomes.
Gilts & Sovereigns
Find funds that avoid investing in 'some' gilts or government bonds. Strategies vary, but this may relate to avoiding specific countries or particular reasons for bond issuance. 'Green gilts' for example would be likely to be acceptable. See fund literature for further information.
Governance & Management
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
Fund managers encourage the companies they invest in to have more diverse board structures (e.g. more women on boards)
Find fund managers that encourage the banks and insurance companies they invest in to publish climate change related financial information - as set out by the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (with the aim of helping investors measure and respond to climate risk).
A core element of these funds will aim to encourage higher ESG standards through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement /voting activity
Fund Governance
Find funds that factor in 'environmental, social and governance' issues as part of their investment decision making process. A focus on 'ESG' typically means a fund is carrying out additional research to help reduce ESG related risks. It does not necessarily mean a focus on sustainability. Strategies vary. See fund literature.
Targeted Positive Investments
Invests in loan stock that is exclusively used to finance environmental and social projects. See ICMA Sustainable Bond Guidelines.
Invests in loan stock that is supporting or enabling the shift towards a cleaner, more sustainable future. Strategies vary significantly and may or may not be linked to specific outcomes.
Find funds that invest in green bonds (also known as climate bonds) which encourage sustainability and support climate related or special environmental projects. Please check fund literature for specific % of assets invested in this area.
Find funds that invest >25% of their capital towards companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.
Find funds that invest >50% of their capital in companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.
Impact Methodologies
Funds that aim to help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.
Funds that aim to measure the positive real world environmental and / or social benefits that are associated with their investment strategy. Funds that aim to deliver positive impacts and measure those impacts may be referred to as 'impact funds' - although impact measurement is not restricted to impact funds. Strategies vary. See fund information.
Find funds that specifically set out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.
Find funds that direct investment towards companies where a major part of their business is about solving environmental challenges. e.g. companies helping to address climate change.
Find funds that 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.
Find funds that specifically set out to invest in companies that are regarded as 'disrupting' existing business practices - typically through the development of innovative (sustainability aware) products and/or practices.
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 approach is to apply positive or negative ethical, social and / or environmental screens. Strictly screened funds are likely to exclude more companies than other related fund options. See fund literature for further information.
Find funds that invest more heavily in those that have higher ESG ratings/standards or scores and less heavily in companies with lower ESG ratings. Where this is central to a fund's strategy you should expect it to invest in most sectors. Strategies vary.
Find funds that have 'mapped' (reviewed) their investment selection and management strategies to identify which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the fund is helping to address.
Find funds that 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.
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.
Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in ‘Impact investment funds’ which help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.
Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Find service providers who offer bespoke ('personalised') SRI / ESG portfolio options
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.
Fund Management Company Information
About The Business
Finds fund management companies that have a published company wide stewardship, engagement and / or responsible ownership policy or strategy that covers all investments. Stewardship typically involves encouraging higher ESG standards through voting and dialogue.
Find fund management companies that actively encourage higher 'environmental, social and governance' and/or 'sustainable and responsible investment' practices across investee companies - typically where the aim is to encourage positive change that is aligned with the best interests of investors. Strategies vary. See additional information and options.
Find fund management companies that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues when deciding whether or not to invest in a company for all / almost all of their funds and other assets. This is increasingly seen as part of sound risk management.
Finds organisations / fund managers that have an in-house (company wide) diversity improvement programme - meaning that they are working to ensure that within their own businesses they employ people from diverse backgrounds - often typically focused on ethnicity and/or sex.
Find fund management companies that encourage the companies they invest in to have strong diversity, race, gender and other equality policies across all assets held, not simply screened or themed SRI/ESG funds. (ie Asset Management company wide).
Collaborations & Affiliations
Find fund management companies that have signed up to the UN backed 'Principles of Responsible Investment'.
Find fund management companies that have partnered with Fund EcoMarket - meaning that they are helping to improve access to information on sustainable and responsible investment by paying an annual fee to us which enables us to publish information for free. Partner funds are listed ahead of other funds and have their logos displayed.
A member of the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures group which aims to aid risk management and shift money towards nature-positive outcomes.
Resources
Find fund management companies that employ people to steer and support fund managers in voting shares at company AGM's and EGMs in ways that are consistent with encouraging higher ESG/sustainability standards.
Find a fund management company that directly employs specialist ESG/SRI/sustainability researchers or analysts. This allows asset managers to discuss environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities directly with companies.
Find fund management companies that makes use of expert external research companies. This can help deliver specialist expertise and means resources are pooled with other investors.
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 managers that are signatories to the FRC UK Stewardship Code, which sets out a framework for constructive investor / investee relations where fund managers are encouraged to behave like responsible, typically longer term 'company owners'.
Engagement Approach
Find fund management companies that regularly initiate or run industry wide (collaborative) investor projects aimed at raising environmental, social and governance standards amongst investee companies.
Climate & Net Zero Transition
Find fund management companies that have published a Climate Risk policy or statement that is signed / owned by their Chief Executive.
Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
Transparency
Find fund management companies that publish a report detailing their responsible investment ownership - also known as 'Stewardship' - activity.
Find companies that publish information about their sustainable and responsible investment strategies on their company website.
Find fund management companies that will supply information about their sustainable and responsible investment activity on request.
Find fund management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information.
Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:
The Fund is an actively managed portfolio that invests primarily in investment grade global corporate instruments, while focusing on ESG principles. The Fund is diversified broadly across industries, issuers, and regions on the basis of PIMCO’s top-down, bottom-up and internal ESG screening process which includes ESG exclusions, evaluation and engagement decisions.
Investment Philosophy
PIMCO’s Investment Grade Credit philosophy is built on principles that have aimed to preserve and enhance client assets since 1971.
More specifically, our combination of top-down and bottom up analysis has three key principles:
- Secular or longer-term outlook drives major shifts in portfolio strategy
- Independent bottom-up global credit research is essential to adding value
- Risk management is critical, focusing on capital preservation and diversification
In addition to the above, the Fund also incorporates the three building blocks of PIMCO’s ESG process − exclusions, evaluation, and engagement.
Our global investment-grade credit ESG portfolios are managed in the context of PIMCO’s outlook for the global economy and markets; however, investment decisions and value-added come primarily from traditional bottom-up credit analysis and our ESG optimisation process.
Below we describe each of the key aspects of our philosophy in more detail:
- Secular Outlook – PIMCO’s corporate bond investment philosophy focuses both on top-down factors and bottom-up fundamental credit analysis. Deep credit analysis requires an assessment of long run economic and political conditions and PIMCO’s Secular Forum plays a meaningful role in identifying the key forces driving the global economy and financial markets over the next three to five years. The goal is to develop a baseline view on where the global economy and economic policies are heading. At the Forum, PIMCO examines new ideas and gains a fresh perspective, through welcoming speakers, hearing from our newest MBA class, and engaging in active debate among our investment professionals gathered from around the world. PIMCO believes that analysing secular economic and political influences is fundamental to sound industry and company analysis, and portfolio construction.
- The next step in PIMCO’s process is our analysis of cyclical or business cycle trends. PIMCO’s team of over 910 investment professionals and over 260 portfolio managers meet three times a year in “Cyclical Forums” to evaluate growth and inflation at the business cycle horizon. At these sessions, we evaluate drivers of potential GDP growth and inflation, which helps in identifying credit sectors and regions with attractive growth trends as well as areas of weakness that may not be fully reflected in market pricing.
For Investment Grade Credit portfolios, secular and cyclical top-down conclusions on growth guide industry analysis and high-level risk such as average quality and duration.
- Independent bottom-up global credit research - We place a great deal of importance on independent analysis. As one of the largest bondholders in the world, we believe PIMCO has strong access to senior management across all credit industries. With over 80 analysts (as of July 2021) located in seven countries around the world, our research is focused on identifying issuers which exhibit improving credit profiles and the potential for upgrades by the rating agencies and, therefore, greater capital appreciation potential. All companies considered for purchase are researched by one of our analysts and are assigned an internal ESG score, with separate scores for Environmental, Social and Governance factors. More information on bottom-up research is provided in the Research section of this proposal.
- Risk management - Risk management is an ongoing process at PIMCO which is based on decades old principles of the firm. The Risk Management team seeks to ensure that all portfolio risks are managed based on Investment Committee guidance and sound risk management principles, which include issuer and industry diversification. With a dedicated global team and with support from legal, analytics, technology, credit research and other investment professionals, the insights from multiple approaches are combined into a unified Risk Management framework. PIMCO’s forward looking risk analysis focus includes; market, idiosyncratic, liquidity, counterparty and regulatory risks impacting client portfolios.
Process:
PIMCO ESG Investment Process: The “Three Es”
At the firm level, PIMCO incorporates material ESG factors into the investment research process to better assess issuer risks, as we believe ESG integration is essential to optimizing risk-adjusted returns over the long-term. We apply ESG integration across all of PIMCO’s strategies.
Taking a step beyond this: while material environmental, social, and governance considerations are incorporated into PIMCO’s broad investment processes, for those clients that want greater ESG orientation in their portfolio, our ESG mandates build on our top-down and bottom-up processes and further utilize the three building blocks of PIMCO’s ESG process – exclusions, evaluations, and engagement:
- Exclude: In the case of PIMCO sponsored funds with ESG objectives, we exclude issuers determined by PIMCO to be fundamentally misaligned with sustainability principles, including issuers focused on tobacco manufacturing, the production of controversial weapons, pornographic material and the production or distribution of coal. These core exclusions are supplemented by sovereign exclusions and a dynamic list of issuers excluded, for example, due to business practices determined in PIMCO’s judgment to be misaligned with relevant ESG investment guidelines and restrictions and/or a failure to demonstrate a willingness to improve practices or unresponsiveness to PIMCO’s active engagement efforts. Issuers that do not meet relevant investment guidelines and restrictions are coded into our in-house compliance system, and portfolio managers, account managers, and our compliance teams closely monitor accounts to ensure compliance with applicable requirements.
- Evaluate: As well as seeking to exclude issuers lagging on ESG/sustainability progress, PIMCO portfolios with ESG objectives emphasize issuers with leading ESG practices in portfolio construction. These are identified through a proprietary ESG scoring system, which considers how an issuer currently fares relative to its peers in the industry, and the issuer’s ESG momentum. The result of this is that issuers already incorporating sound ESG practices are more likely to be candidates for our portfolios with ESG objectives.
- Engage: Our final building block is constructive and collaborative engagement with issuers to influence ESG practices over time. We believe that allocating capital toward issuers willing to improve the sustainability of their business practices can generate a greater impact than simply excluding issuers with poor ESG metrics and favoring those with strong metrics. As such, PIMCO portfolios with ESG objectives seek to overweight issuers that demonstrate a clear willingness to move toward better ESG-related practices, consistent with meeting the SDGs.
ESG Exclusions
Please refer to the below for an overview of our exclusions criteria.
PIMCO Exclusions for GIS Funds with Sustainability Objectives:
- Global norms and sovereigns - Excludes sovereigns that rank poorly in transparency and corruption indices including Transparency International and World Bank. Also excludes issuers in violation of UN Global Compact Principles and UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights.
- Weapons - Excludes issuers principally engaged in the manufacture of ‘military equipment’ as defined below:
- Controversial weapons: The fund excludes companies involved in the production or manufacturing of controversial weapons such as biological weapons, cluster munitions, and landmines.
- Conventional weapons: The fund excludes companies that manufacture conventional weapons. The exclusion restricts companies that produce weapons systems, components, and support systems and services.
- Nuclear weapons: Lastly, the fund excludes companies that produce or manufacture delivery platforms, support systems, and other components for nuclear weapons.
- Adult entertainment - Excludes any issuer principally engaged in the production or trade of pornographic materials.
- Alcohol - Excludes any issuer principally engaged in the production of alcoholic beverages.
- Gambling - Excludes any issuer principally engaged in the operation of gambling casinos.
- Fossil fuels - Excludes businesses that are principally engaged in the generation of energy from thermal coal as well as thermal coal mining. We also exclude businesses involved in oil extraction and production and oil sands. We further exclude other businesses involved in oil-related activities. However, ESG Fixed Income Securities (as further described in the section of the Prospectus entitled “ESG Fixed Income Securities”) from issuers involved in fossil fuel related sectors as described above, may be permitted.
- Tobacco - Excludes issuers principally engaged in the manufacture of tobacco.
Please consider the above information as confidential. The above list should not be considered as exhaustive and might be subject to change.
ESG Evaluation
PIMCO has developed proprietary scoring frameworks across assets classes over the past decade. Our enhanced research process incorporates a robust ESG asset assessment that complements the traditional ratings assigned by analysts. We have proprietary ESG scores for corporate issuers, sovereigns, securitized issuers and municipal issuers, in addition to PIMCO’s proprietary green bond scoring framework to evaluate green bond issuances.
Provided below are details on how PIMCO incorporates ESG into different asset types.
- ESG Investing in Corporates
PIMCO’s team of credit research analysts generally assess the ESG profile of the issuers that they cover relative to peers with a goal of separating leading issuers from issuers who are not as advanced on their sustainability journey. Using industry-specific frameworks, analysts review their companies’ ESG performance based on information available in public filings, recent news and controversies, as well as through regular engagement with company management teams to assign separate scores for “E”, “S”, and “G.” In determining the efficacy of an issuer’s ESG practices, PIMCO will use its own proprietary assessments of material ESG issues. In the end, PIMCO’s resulting assessments are proprietary and distinct from those provided by ESG rating providers. To facilitate the integration of ESG risk factors in our analysis and help to monitor ESG related risks, we are continually enhancing our proprietary research with specific ESG related attributes and dedicated scoring. In addition, we have hosted training sessions for our analysts on available scoring methodologies, ESG systems, data and tools.
Scores seek to distinguish between “Leading Practice” issuers and those that raise “Significant Concerns.” They also include a forward-looking ESG trend assessment, which recognizes companies whose ESG performance is significantly improving or deteriorating.
These factors are combined to create a proprietary ESG score in which the relative weighting of the E, S, and G pillars, and the trend assessment, is based on the company’s business profile and differences in industry dynamics. For example, the environmental pillar has the highest weight for issuers in extractive industries (e.g. oil, gas and mining), the social pillar has the highest weight for pharmaceutical issuers, and the governance pillar has the highest weight for financial issuers. As the ESG landscape has evolved over time, the investment team continues to evolve and refine this approach accordingly.
Since 2016, PIMCO credit analysts have scored over 3,500 parent issuers on ESG performance. ESG issues are highlighted in their credit research notes, alongside PIMCO’s internal credit ratings and recommendations for portfolio managers to consider when they are evaluating investments for all PIMCO portfolios, including accounts that do not have ESG objectives or investment guidelines and restrictions related to ESG. ESG scores are updated regularly whenever relevant new information becomes available.
ESG data and analysis, both internal and external, are available to all portfolio managers, traders and research analysts across the firm.
- ESG Investing in Sovereign Debt Markets
PIMCO’s in-depth, bottom-up sovereign risk analysis assesses financial, macroeconomic and ESG variables. ESG criteria have been an integral part of PIMCO’s sovereign ratings analysis since 2011 when we explicitly included variables that measure ESG factors into the PIMCO sovereign ratings model.
More recently, we have developed a standalone ESG scoring framework that both provides valuable input into our sovereign risk scenario assessments and serves as an input for relative value decisions in portfolios with ESG objectives. In addition to the traditional financial metrics used in sovereign credit analysis, we explicitly score the sovereign on each ESG component and compile a combined sovereign ESG score.
- ESG Investing in Structured Products
Agency and Non-Agency MBS
With PIMCO’s access to vast loan-level mortgage data, we developed a proprietary responsible investing scoring model for mortgages, based on a scale from 1 (weakest) to 5 (best), consistent with other PIMCO ESG scoring frameworks used for corporate credits, sovereigns and others.
PIMCO’s philosophy of responsible mortgage investing focuses on four objectives:
- Support homeownership. Homeownership is a key path to savings and wealth building for many across the world. Connecting borrowers with capital markets is an established and efficient way to ease the path to homeownership. Not all mortgages are used for homeownership; some mortgages are used for vacation home purchases or investment properties.
- Increase access for underserved communities. PIMCO believes a focus on underserved communities and lower income borrowers is a way to magnify the social benefit of home lending without sacrificing on loan quality.
- Promote responsible lending. It is critical to focus on ensuring borrowers are not put at added risk of financial distress due to burdensome debt loads.
- Discourage predatory lending. A governance-focused way to encourage good lending practices is to penalize or exclude lenders and servicers who engage in practices that are detrimental to homeowners (and in many cases detrimental to bondholders as well).
The mortgage market is not homogenous; there are agency mortgages and non-agency residential mortgages. We have built analytical frameworks for each part of the market.
For agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), our ESG research model is based on pool-level characteristics and data we have collected over decades of studying mortgages. For non-government-guaranteed mortgages (non-agency MBS), our quantitative analysis is loan-level-based and again draws on a huge set of data PIMCO’s mortgage team has gathered since before the financial crisis.
Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities
In order to analyze Agency and Non-Agency CMBS, PIMCO developed a framework with a focus on Environmental criteria, specifically on industry standard Silver / Gold / Platinum LEED and Green certifications on properties to differentiate sustainably built structures. From a Social standpoint, analysts have been evaluating the health and safety measures taken post-COVID for the tenants, and from the Governance side, we are looking at the underlying ESG scores of the owners of the building.
Similar to the residential side, green securitizations remain a small part of the market issue by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, in their annual outlooks, there is an explicit shift to target more green loans, and so we expect Green labeled Agency CMBS to be a growing marketing going forward. We also look to promote underserved communities and affordable lending, such as through low-income multifamily loans issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Asset Backed Securities
Given the heterogeneous nature of ABS, we have developed a framework to make sure we are approaching analysis in the same manner across various ABS subsectors. PIMCO’s proprietary framework focuses on each pillar of E/S/G, leveraging the Social framework constructed for Non-Agency MBS and expanding upon it with the addition of Environmental and Governance criteria.
For the Environmental criteria, our framework emphasizes ABS that are promoting investment in renewable energy production, storage, and utilization. We look to capture the positive impact of electric vehicles, solar panels, power storage, and other green energy focused endeavors. On the Social side, our goal is to improve affordability and home ownership through responsible lending. We look to encourage responsible lending to consumers and small businesses, and identify and limit investment in predatory lending practices. Lastly, for Governance, we aim to avoid those with high risk servicer behavior such as recent servicer headline risk.
Collateralized Loan Obligations
For PIMCO’s CLO analysis, our analysts map existing loan-level ESG scoring to CLO collateral to produce CLO trust-level scoring. We supplement loan scoring with sector scoring for unscored CLO holdings. Here, we look to leverage the bottom-up ESG research of PIMCO credit analysts and the bank loan team to evaluate each loan collateralizing the transaction on all three metrics (E/S/G). With this loan-level analysis, PIMCO discourages overly-aggressive management and non-transparent structures when selecting what will be included in a portfolio with ESG objectives. Further, as CLOs are not a static pool of loans, we continue to monitor the underlying loans over time and are working to create pools that have positive ESG scores and stay that way.
- ESG Investing in the U.S. Municipal Bond Market
We consider issuer-level ESG factors across municipal bond issuers to better understand the risks and opportunities inherent in our bond selections. The municipal market is vast and diverse, with issuers ranging from states and cities to enterprises such as higher education institutions, airports, and continuing care facilities. Analysts use proprietary frameworks to evaluate material ESG risks specific to each municipal sector, as well as identify ESG leaders within each sector.
Analysts review municipal issuers’ exposure to ESG factors through information available in public filings, recent news, and third-party data sources. These factors are then combined to create a proprietary ESG score utilizing the relative weighting of the E, S, and G pillars, and the expected trend going forward for that issuer. Issuers who have significant exposure to material ESG risks and lack mitigating factors to combat those risks would typically have lower ESG scores, while issuers who are exposed to fewer risks and are leaders in making progress on ESG issues, such as through greenhouse gas reduction measures, would typically have higher ESG scores.
Environmental risk includes exposure to physical climate risks as well as risks associated with the transition off fossil fuels, such as significant tax base reliance on the fossil fuel industry. Additional environmental risks could include exposure to water stress or environmental compliance concerns for sewer utilities. Typical social risks involve vulnerability of the tax base, which could be due to factors like a declining population or high poverty levels for cities and counties, or low graduation rates for higher education sectors. Governance risks generally include an assessment of how the issuer has managed its long-term liabilities such as debt and pensions, as well as overall management practices.
- ESG Labeled Bond Scoring Framework
ESG labeled bonds, including green, social, and sustainability bonds, need to fit PIMCO’s credit selection and portfolio construction process of top-down drivers (sector and regional selection, expectations on global growth and technical factors), bottom-up drivers (credit strength, business model, covenants etc.) and valuation to qualify for investment. We look to invest in ESG labeled bonds that have attractive valuations that are in line to comparable (by coupon, maturity, seniority etc.) non-ESG bonds issued by the same company, given the strong focus on environmental sustainability objectives. We assess sustainable bond instruments both prior to and after issuance, mapping them across a spectrum based on strategic fit, potential impact, red flags, and reporting, resulting in PIMCO’s impact score for ESG bonds. PIMCO’s ESG labeled bond scores aid the investment process and security selection, allowing for stronger differentiation among sustainable bond issuers and frameworks.
Our proprietary framework assesses Green / Social / Sustainability instruments both prior to and after issuance, mapping them across a spectrum based on strategic fit, potential impact, red flags and reporting, resulting in PIMCO’s proprietary impact score for green, social or SDG bonds.
Engagement
At PIMCO, we believe that collaborating with and allocating capital toward issuers willing to improve the sustainability of their practices can generate a greater impact than simply excluding issuers with poor ESG metrics. Our approach seeks to be more inclusive and active, and we are conscious that change does not always come easily or smoothly. That is why, for us, an active hands-on engagement program is key to driving change.
The objective of engagement at PIMCO is to influence change, improve outcomes and reduce risks for our clients. We believe that bondholder engagement in the research phase is critical to understanding the risk and reward profile of the issuance and ultimately making buy/sell decisions.
Our analysts and portfolio managers spend a significant amount of time meeting with senior management at the companies we invest in on behalf of our clients. In addition to discussing financial matters, we also focus on strategic issues that often relate to ESG risks and responsible business management practices. ESG engagement efforts include asking detailed questions to find out how the risk management framework and business strategy address the operational risks from climate change. Our engagement process is driven by three guiding principles:
- Think like a treasurer: We seek to identify issuers which can benefit from engagement, then develop a set of core engagement objectives tailored to each issuer.
- Engage like a partner: We do not take an activist investor approach, believing that successful bondholder engagement is based on collaboration, productive dialogue and mutual agreement on objectives.
- Hold to account as a lender: Our engagement process measures progress against a pre-defined benchmark, which is customized by issuer. At the outset of the process, we determine appropriate remedies if underperformance is material and are willing to divest if necessary.
We aim to have a premier engagement program within fixed income. By investing in corporates and sovereigns willing to improve their ESG practices, we believe we can drive greater change than through exclusions alone. Our goal is not just to find the best opportunities in the market, but to create them for investors by engaging with issuers. Of course, PIMCO does not represent that our engagement was the sole factor driving the positive changes made by these companies, but we do believe that our engagement and our sizable active holdings may have influence on the scope or timing of the commitments made by issuers as well as the disclosures that those issuers will report to investors.
In practice, issuers can have a variety of topics to address, as outlined below:
- Driving positive impacts by improving ESG performance: We look to improve issuers’ overall sustainability, engaging on areas such as COVID-19 resilience and responsibility and supply chain management, as well as climate strategy and target setting.
- Expanding ESG bond universe: We seek to engage with issuers to encourage new ESG bonds, recently such as Social COVID-19 bond issuance and Sustainability-linked bond issuance, utilizing our best practice guidance for sustainable bond issuance.
- Improving data quality and disclosure: We work closely with issuers to improve the ESG-related data and increase their ESG disclosures.
PIMCO’s ESG analyst team leads our engagement efforts, in coordination with the broader credit research team. Members of the ESG analyst team include Grover Burthey, Head of ESG Portfolio Management and the ESG analyst team, Samuel Mary, ESG integration analyst and climate specialist, Kaboo Leung, ESG engagement analyst, and Meredith Block, ESG research analyst. Our goal is to holistically integrate engagement activity into the ongoing discussions led by our credit research and portfolio management teams while broadening the scope of questions beyond credit-specific considerations to include ESG concerns as well.
In this fashion, engagement at PIMCO is designed to leverage the full scale of our global team of credit analysts and build upon our firm’s decades of experience working collaboratively with issuers to encourage business practices which are favorable to our investment objectives.
Portfolio Construction
Portfolio managers at PIMCO use the ESG assessments of our credit analysts and multiple proprietary ESG tools as additional inputs into their portfolio investment decisions. The combination of ESG considerations with financial valuations and credit fundamentals results in our decision to invest, add/reduce or even divest from a company.
External Research
At PIMCO we regularly evaluate ESG data providers which may add additional input into our in-house analysis conducted by our credit, sovereign and mortgage analyst teams. The firm relies primarily on internal research for decision-making; however, PIMCO also screens substantial amounts of external data sets. PIMCO currently utilizes MSCI as the primary external data provider but we also use Reprisk, TruCost, Bloomberg, CDP, SBTi, TPI, risQ, Maplecroft, Haver, and Freedom House, among other sources. All of the ESG data flows directly into our proprietary IT systems, enabling credit analysts to use this information efficiently.
Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:
PIMCO’s ESG team is not a separate business unit, but integrated across all functions of the firm from portfolio management to client-facing, executive office to product strategy, compliance to marketing. This ensures that ESG is integrated into PIMCO’s broad research process and includes staff at every point along the value chain. We believe it is important to have all of our expert analysts monitor the ESG risks that are relevant to their particular sector and universe of securities. This ensures that ESG risk factors and opportunities are integrated into our investment decision-making, as opposed to being an “add-on” separate from our financial analysis.
To help set the priorities for the firm’s ESG Platform, PIMCO has a focused ESG Leadership Team in place that is responsible for leading firm-wide ESG integration, enhancing our ESG capabilities and supporting the development of portfolios with ESG objectives. The group sets objectives and evaluates strategic initiatives on a continuous basis throughout the year. The ESG Leadership team is comprised of: Ryan Korinke, Managing Director; Tina Adatia, Executive Vice President; Kwame Anochie, Executive Vice President; Grover Burthey, Executive Vice President; Gavin Power, Executive Vice President; Lupin Rahman, Executive Vice President, and Del Anderson, Senior Vice President. The team meets bi-weekly with presentations and regular updates among the team leaders. In addition, the group regularly invites external speakers to present their expertise in this field.
PIMCO’s ESG analyst team, which consists of more than 10 dedicated analysts, leads our engagement efforts, in coordination with the broader credit research team, which consists of more than 80 analysts. Members of the ESG analyst team include Grover Burthey, Head of ESG Portfolio Management and the ESG analyst team, Samuel Mary, ESG integration analyst and climate specialist, Kaboo Leung, ESG engagement analyst, and Meredith Block, ESG research analyst. Our goal is to holistically integrate engagement activity into the ongoing discussions led by our credit research and portfolio management teams while broadening the scope of questions beyond credit-specific considerations to include ESG concerns as well.
ESG Affiliations
As a leading global asset manager, PIMCO frequently receives requests to sign up to different initiatives that support various causes and guidelines including ESG efforts. Our ESG team vets and reviews each potential opportunity to ensure it aligns with our ESG philosophy and approach. We are highly involved with ESG and other sustainability efforts globally, helping to define global sustainability standards, and encourage greater disclosure from issuers. Below is a list of our industry leadership with global affiliations and initiatives:
- PRI Sovereign Working Group (SWG)
- PRI SDG Advisory Committee
- PRI Fixed Income Advisory Committee
- PRI Sub-Sovereign Debt Advisory Committee
- UN Global Compact
- UN Global Compact SDG Finance Lab
- UNGC CFO Taskforce
- Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
- Sustainability Accounting Standards Board – Investor Advisory Group (IAG)
- Climate Action 100+
- FSB’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
- Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
- Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance (GISD)
- International Capital Market Association (ICMA)
- Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI)
- Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI)
- FAIRR
- One Planet Asset Management Initiative
- Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC)
- Bank of England Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF)
- Access to Nutrition Initiative
- The Investor Agenda - Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis
- Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI)
- Sustainable Bond Network (NASDAQ)
- Milken Public Finance Advisory Council
Dialshifter
This fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by…
… excluding industries and issuers misaligned with sustainability principles; emphasizing issuers with “best-in-class” environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices through a proprietary ESG scoring system; allocating meaningfully to green, social, and sustainability bonds; actively managing the portfolio’s carbon emissions and carbon intensity profile; and engaging proactively and collaboratively with corporate issuers to influence environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.
Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by…
… being deeply committed to sustainable investing and playing a leading role in the development of industry frameworks such as the IIGCC’s Net Zero Investment Framework. Many of our clients are supporters of or signatories to the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance. PIMCO will partner together with these clients to help deliver on their ambitions. In fact, PIMCO manages significant assets on behalf of 34 of the 71 asset owners who have committed to transition their portfolios to net zero GHG emissions by 2050. Through our partnership with these forward thinking investors, we have developed capabilities to help clients decarbonize their portfolios and remain committed to providing the best advice and solutions for clients on a range of sustainability and ESG issues, including climate change.
SDR Labelling: Not eligible to use label
Fund Name | SRI Style | SDR Labelling | Product | Region | Asset Type | Launch Date | Last Amended |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() PIMCO GIS Global Investment Grade Credit ESG Fund |
ESG Plus | Not eligible to use label | SICAV/Offshore | Global | Fixed Interest | 28/09/2018 | Apr 2022 | |
Fund Size: £1970.00m (as at: 31/01/2025) Total Screened Themed SRI Assets: £410000.00m (as at: 30/06/2022) Total Assets Under Management: £1500000.00m (as at: 30/06/2022) ISIN: IE00BK8XVN07, IE00BDTMDT74 |
||||||||
Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG OverviewAwaiting update from fund manager - fund last updated April 2022
FUND DESCRIPTION The Global Investment Grade Credit ESG Fund is an actively managed portfolio that invests primarily in investment grade global corporate instruments, while focusing on environmental-, social-, and governance oriented (ESG) principles. The fund is diversified broadly across industries, issuers, and regions on the basis of PIMCO’s top-down, bottom-up and internal ESG screening process which includes ESG exclusions, evaluation and engagement decisions.
FUND ADVANTAGE The fund looks to benefit from the PIMCO investment process, which combines our global top-down views on the macroeconomic environment with independent bottom-up analysis. The PIMCO investment team has the experience and depth to actively manage a broad and diversified opportunity set. The fund will also favor issuers believed to have best-in-class ESG practices and those who are working to enhance them. |
||||||||
Primary fund last amended: Apr 2022 |
||||||||
Information received directly from Fund Manager |
||||||||
Please select what you would like to read:
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/
Report against sustainability objectives
Find funds that publicly report their performance against specifically named sustainability objectives (in addition to reporting their financial performance) Environmental - General
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.
Waste management policy or theme
Find funds that have a written policy or theme on waste management - typically a view to encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste. Climate Change & Energy
Coal, oil & / or gas majors excluded
Funds that avoid investing in major coal, oil and/or gas (extraction) companies. Funds vary: some may exclude all companies that extract oil. Others may have exposure to oil extraction via more diversified energy companies. See fund literature to confirm details.
Fracking and tar sands excluded
Funds that avoid companies involved in fracking and tar sands - which are widely regarded as controversial methods of oil and gas extraction. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.
Arctic drilling exclusion
Funds that avoid companies that are involved in extracting oil from the Arctic regions. See fund literature for further details.
Fossil fuel reserves exclusion
Funds that avoid investing in companies with coal, oil and gas reserves. See fund information for further details.
Clean / renewable energy theme or focus
Find funds where investment in clean / renewable energy companies an other assets is central to their investment selection strategy. The proportion of the fund that is directly or indirectly invested in renewable energy varies between funds and over time. See fund information for further details.
Encourage transition to low carbon through stewardship activity
A core element of these funds will aim to encourage the transition to lower carbon activities through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity
Energy efficiency theme
Fund funds that have an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that a fund manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Invests in clean energy / renewables
Funds that hold companies in the clean energy and renewable energy sectors (at the time research was supplied). Fund strategies vary, in particular the proportion of investment in these areas may vary significantly. Check fund literature for details. Social / Employment
Labour standards policy
Find funds that have a labour standards policy - which can be expected to mean that the fund will invest in / favour companies that have higher standards in this area - although fund strategies can vary significantly (as with all policy areas). See eg https://www.ilo.org/international-labour-standards
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.
Health & wellbeing policies or theme
Find funds with policies or themes that set out their approach to health and wellbeing issues. Funds of this kind typically aim to invest in companies with high standards - or encourage high standards. Themed funds are likely to have more of an emphasis on this area. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail. Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Tobacco and related product manufacturers excluded
Companies are excluded if they are involved in any aspect of the production chain for tobacco products, including cigarettes, vaping, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars.
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. Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Demographic / ageing population theme
Find funds with a thematic investment approach focusing on the ‘silver economy’ - in particular (typically) the issues and opportunities presented by changing demographics. This could include finance, healthcare and medicines and/ or longevity science to extend lifespans. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.
Invests > 5% in social housing
Find funds that have significant investment in social housing or similar assets.
Invests > 5% in social bonds
Find funds that invest in ‘social bonds’ which raise funds for the purpose of financing projects with positive social (people related) outcomes. Gilts & Sovereigns
Gilts / government bonds - exclude some
Find funds that avoid investing in 'some' gilts or government bonds. Strategies vary, but this may relate to avoiding specific countries or particular reasons for bond issuance. 'Green gilts' for example would be likely to be acceptable. See fund literature for further information. Governance & Management
Avoids companies with poor governance
Find funds that aim to avoid investing in companies with poor governance practices.(e.g. board structure, management practices etc.) Views may however vary on what counts as 'poor' practices - and funds may not immediately divest as they may prefer to work to encourage higher standards. See fund literature for further information.
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
Encourage board diversity e.g. gender
Fund managers encourage the companies they invest in to have more diverse board structures (e.g. more women on boards)
Encourage TCFD alignment for banks & insurance companies
Find fund managers that encourage the banks and insurance companies they invest in to publish climate change related financial information - as set out by the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (with the aim of helping investors measure and respond to climate risk).
Encourage higher ESG standards through stewardship activity
A core element of these funds will aim to encourage higher ESG standards through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement /voting activity Fund Governance
ESG integration strategy
Find funds that factor in 'environmental, social and governance' issues as part of their investment decision making process. A focus on 'ESG' typically means a fund is carrying out additional research to help reduce ESG related risks. It does not necessarily mean a focus on sustainability. Strategies vary. See fund literature. Targeted Positive Investments
Invests > 5% in sustainable bonds
Invests in loan stock that is exclusively used to finance environmental and social projects. See ICMA Sustainable Bond Guidelines.
Invest > 5% in transition bonds
Invests in loan stock that is supporting or enabling the shift towards a cleaner, more sustainable future. Strategies vary significantly and may or may not be linked to specific outcomes.
Invests > 5% in green bonds
Find funds that invest in green bonds (also known as climate bonds) which encourage sustainability and support climate related or special environmental projects. Please check fund literature for specific % of assets invested in this area.
Invests >25% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies
Find funds that invest >25% of their capital towards companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.
Invests >50% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies
Find funds that invest >50% of their capital in companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges. Impact Methodologies
Aims to generate positive impacts (or 'outcomes')
Funds that aim to help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.
Measures positive impacts
Funds that aim to measure the positive real world environmental and / or social benefits that are associated with their investment strategy. Funds that aim to deliver positive impacts and measure those impacts may be referred to as 'impact funds' - although impact measurement is not restricted to impact funds. Strategies vary. See fund information.
Positive environmental impact theme
Find funds that specifically set out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.
Invests in environmental solutions companies
Find funds that direct investment towards companies where a major part of their business is about solving environmental challenges. e.g. companies helping to address climate change.
Invests in social solutions companies
Find funds that 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.
Invests in sustainability / ESG disruptors
Find funds that specifically set out to invest in companies that are regarded as 'disrupting' existing business practices - typically through the development of innovative (sustainability aware) products and/or practices. 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.
Strictly screened ethical fund
Find funds where their main approach is to apply positive or negative ethical, social and / or environmental screens. Strictly screened funds are likely to exclude more companies than other related fund options. See fund literature for further information.
ESG weighted / tilt
Find funds that invest more heavily in those that have higher ESG ratings/standards or scores and less heavily in companies with lower ESG ratings. Where this is central to a fund's strategy you should expect it to invest in most sectors. Strategies vary.
Assets mapped to SDGs
Find funds that have 'mapped' (reviewed) their investment selection and management strategies to identify which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the fund is helping to address.
Combines 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.
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.
Intended for clients who want to have a positive impact
Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in ‘Impact investment funds’ which help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.
Bespoke SRI / ESG portfolios available (DFMs)
Only applicable for DFM’s & portfolio providers. Find service providers who offer bespoke ('personalised') SRI / ESG portfolio options Labels & Accreditations
SFDR Article 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. Fund Management Company InformationAbout The Business
Responsible ownership / stewardship policy or strategy (AFM company wide)
Finds fund management companies that have a published company wide stewardship, engagement and / or responsible ownership policy or strategy that covers all investments. Stewardship typically involves encouraging higher ESG standards through voting and dialogue.
ESG / SRI engagement (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies that actively encourage higher 'environmental, social and governance' and/or 'sustainable and responsible investment' practices across investee companies - typically where the aim is to encourage positive change that is aligned with the best interests of investors. Strategies vary. See additional information and options.
Integrates ESG factors into all / most (AFM) fund research
Find fund management companies that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues when deciding whether or not to invest in a company for all / almost all of their funds and other assets. This is increasingly seen as part of sound risk management.
In-house diversity improvement programme (AFM company wide)
Finds organisations / fund managers that have an in-house (company wide) diversity improvement programme - meaning that they are working to ensure that within their own businesses they employ people from diverse backgrounds - often typically focused on ethnicity and/or sex.
Diversity, equality & inclusion engagement policy (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies that encourage the companies they invest in to have strong diversity, race, gender and other equality policies across all assets held, not simply screened or themed SRI/ESG funds. (ie Asset Management company wide). Collaborations & Affiliations
PRI signatory
Find fund management companies that have signed up to the UN backed 'Principles of Responsible Investment'.
Fund EcoMarket partner
Find fund management companies that have partnered with Fund EcoMarket - meaning that they are helping to improve access to information on sustainable and responsible investment by paying an annual fee to us which enables us to publish information for free. Partner funds are listed ahead of other funds and have their logos displayed.
TNFD forum member (AFM company wide)
A member of the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures group which aims to aid risk management and shift money towards nature-positive outcomes. Resources
In-house responsible ownership / voting expertise
Find fund management companies that employ people to steer and support fund managers in voting shares at company AGM's and EGMs in ways that are consistent with encouraging higher ESG/sustainability standards.
Employ specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability researchers
Find a fund management company that directly employs specialist ESG/SRI/sustainability researchers or analysts. This allows asset managers to discuss environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities directly with companies.
Use specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability research companies
Find fund management companies that makes use of expert external research companies. This can help deliver specialist expertise and means resources are pooled with other investors. Accreditations
PRI A+ rated (AFM company wide)
Finds organisations / fund managers that have an A+ PRI rating - meaning they are highly rated according to the 'Principles of Responsible Investment'
UK Stewardship Code signatory (AFM company wide)
Find fund managers that are signatories to the FRC UK Stewardship Code, which sets out a framework for constructive investor / investee relations where fund managers are encouraged to behave like responsible, typically longer term 'company owners'. Engagement Approach
Regularly lead collaborative ESG initiatives (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies that regularly initiate or run industry wide (collaborative) investor projects aimed at raising environmental, social and governance standards amongst investee companies. Climate & Net Zero Transition
Publish 'CEO owned' Climate Risk policy (AFM company wide)
Find fund 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 company wide)
Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Transparency
Publish responsible ownership / stewardship report (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies that publish a report detailing their responsible investment ownership - also known as 'Stewardship' - activity.
Full SRI / responsible ownership policy information on company website
Find companies that publish information about their sustainable and responsible investment strategies on their company website.
Full SRI / responsible ownership policy information available on request
Find fund management companies that will supply information about their sustainable and responsible investment activity on request.
Dialshifter statement
Find fund management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information. Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:The Fund is an actively managed portfolio that invests primarily in investment grade global corporate instruments, while focusing on ESG principles. The Fund is diversified broadly across industries, issuers, and regions on the basis of PIMCO’s top-down, bottom-up and internal ESG screening process which includes ESG exclusions, evaluation and engagement decisions.
Investment Philosophy PIMCO’s Investment Grade Credit philosophy is built on principles that have aimed to preserve and enhance client assets since 1971.
More specifically, our combination of top-down and bottom up analysis has three key principles:
In addition to the above, the Fund also incorporates the three building blocks of PIMCO’s ESG process − exclusions, evaluation, and engagement.
Our global investment-grade credit ESG portfolios are managed in the context of PIMCO’s outlook for the global economy and markets; however, investment decisions and value-added come primarily from traditional bottom-up credit analysis and our ESG optimisation process.
Below we describe each of the key aspects of our philosophy in more detail:
For Investment Grade Credit portfolios, secular and cyclical top-down conclusions on growth guide industry analysis and high-level risk such as average quality and duration.
Process:PIMCO ESG Investment Process: The “Three Es”
At the firm level, PIMCO incorporates material ESG factors into the investment research process to better assess issuer risks, as we believe ESG integration is essential to optimizing risk-adjusted returns over the long-term. We apply ESG integration across all of PIMCO’s strategies.
Taking a step beyond this: while material environmental, social, and governance considerations are incorporated into PIMCO’s broad investment processes, for those clients that want greater ESG orientation in their portfolio, our ESG mandates build on our top-down and bottom-up processes and further utilize the three building blocks of PIMCO’s ESG process – exclusions, evaluations, and engagement:
ESG Exclusions Please refer to the below for an overview of our exclusions criteria.
PIMCO Exclusions for GIS Funds with Sustainability Objectives:
Please consider the above information as confidential. The above list should not be considered as exhaustive and might be subject to change.
ESG Evaluation PIMCO has developed proprietary scoring frameworks across assets classes over the past decade. Our enhanced research process incorporates a robust ESG asset assessment that complements the traditional ratings assigned by analysts. We have proprietary ESG scores for corporate issuers, sovereigns, securitized issuers and municipal issuers, in addition to PIMCO’s proprietary green bond scoring framework to evaluate green bond issuances.
Provided below are details on how PIMCO incorporates ESG into different asset types.
PIMCO’s team of credit research analysts generally assess the ESG profile of the issuers that they cover relative to peers with a goal of separating leading issuers from issuers who are not as advanced on their sustainability journey. Using industry-specific frameworks, analysts review their companies’ ESG performance based on information available in public filings, recent news and controversies, as well as through regular engagement with company management teams to assign separate scores for “E”, “S”, and “G.” In determining the efficacy of an issuer’s ESG practices, PIMCO will use its own proprietary assessments of material ESG issues. In the end, PIMCO’s resulting assessments are proprietary and distinct from those provided by ESG rating providers. To facilitate the integration of ESG risk factors in our analysis and help to monitor ESG related risks, we are continually enhancing our proprietary research with specific ESG related attributes and dedicated scoring. In addition, we have hosted training sessions for our analysts on available scoring methodologies, ESG systems, data and tools.
Scores seek to distinguish between “Leading Practice” issuers and those that raise “Significant Concerns.” They also include a forward-looking ESG trend assessment, which recognizes companies whose ESG performance is significantly improving or deteriorating.
These factors are combined to create a proprietary ESG score in which the relative weighting of the E, S, and G pillars, and the trend assessment, is based on the company’s business profile and differences in industry dynamics. For example, the environmental pillar has the highest weight for issuers in extractive industries (e.g. oil, gas and mining), the social pillar has the highest weight for pharmaceutical issuers, and the governance pillar has the highest weight for financial issuers. As the ESG landscape has evolved over time, the investment team continues to evolve and refine this approach accordingly.
Since 2016, PIMCO credit analysts have scored over 3,500 parent issuers on ESG performance. ESG issues are highlighted in their credit research notes, alongside PIMCO’s internal credit ratings and recommendations for portfolio managers to consider when they are evaluating investments for all PIMCO portfolios, including accounts that do not have ESG objectives or investment guidelines and restrictions related to ESG. ESG scores are updated regularly whenever relevant new information becomes available.
ESG data and analysis, both internal and external, are available to all portfolio managers, traders and research analysts across the firm.
PIMCO’s in-depth, bottom-up sovereign risk analysis assesses financial, macroeconomic and ESG variables. ESG criteria have been an integral part of PIMCO’s sovereign ratings analysis since 2011 when we explicitly included variables that measure ESG factors into the PIMCO sovereign ratings model.
More recently, we have developed a standalone ESG scoring framework that both provides valuable input into our sovereign risk scenario assessments and serves as an input for relative value decisions in portfolios with ESG objectives. In addition to the traditional financial metrics used in sovereign credit analysis, we explicitly score the sovereign on each ESG component and compile a combined sovereign ESG score.
Agency and Non-Agency MBS With PIMCO’s access to vast loan-level mortgage data, we developed a proprietary responsible investing scoring model for mortgages, based on a scale from 1 (weakest) to 5 (best), consistent with other PIMCO ESG scoring frameworks used for corporate credits, sovereigns and others.
PIMCO’s philosophy of responsible mortgage investing focuses on four objectives:
The mortgage market is not homogenous; there are agency mortgages and non-agency residential mortgages. We have built analytical frameworks for each part of the market.
For agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), our ESG research model is based on pool-level characteristics and data we have collected over decades of studying mortgages. For non-government-guaranteed mortgages (non-agency MBS), our quantitative analysis is loan-level-based and again draws on a huge set of data PIMCO’s mortgage team has gathered since before the financial crisis.
Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities In order to analyze Agency and Non-Agency CMBS, PIMCO developed a framework with a focus on Environmental criteria, specifically on industry standard Silver / Gold / Platinum LEED and Green certifications on properties to differentiate sustainably built structures. From a Social standpoint, analysts have been evaluating the health and safety measures taken post-COVID for the tenants, and from the Governance side, we are looking at the underlying ESG scores of the owners of the building.
Similar to the residential side, green securitizations remain a small part of the market issue by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, in their annual outlooks, there is an explicit shift to target more green loans, and so we expect Green labeled Agency CMBS to be a growing marketing going forward. We also look to promote underserved communities and affordable lending, such as through low-income multifamily loans issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Asset Backed Securities Given the heterogeneous nature of ABS, we have developed a framework to make sure we are approaching analysis in the same manner across various ABS subsectors. PIMCO’s proprietary framework focuses on each pillar of E/S/G, leveraging the Social framework constructed for Non-Agency MBS and expanding upon it with the addition of Environmental and Governance criteria.
For the Environmental criteria, our framework emphasizes ABS that are promoting investment in renewable energy production, storage, and utilization. We look to capture the positive impact of electric vehicles, solar panels, power storage, and other green energy focused endeavors. On the Social side, our goal is to improve affordability and home ownership through responsible lending. We look to encourage responsible lending to consumers and small businesses, and identify and limit investment in predatory lending practices. Lastly, for Governance, we aim to avoid those with high risk servicer behavior such as recent servicer headline risk.
Collateralized Loan Obligations For PIMCO’s CLO analysis, our analysts map existing loan-level ESG scoring to CLO collateral to produce CLO trust-level scoring. We supplement loan scoring with sector scoring for unscored CLO holdings. Here, we look to leverage the bottom-up ESG research of PIMCO credit analysts and the bank loan team to evaluate each loan collateralizing the transaction on all three metrics (E/S/G). With this loan-level analysis, PIMCO discourages overly-aggressive management and non-transparent structures when selecting what will be included in a portfolio with ESG objectives. Further, as CLOs are not a static pool of loans, we continue to monitor the underlying loans over time and are working to create pools that have positive ESG scores and stay that way.
We consider issuer-level ESG factors across municipal bond issuers to better understand the risks and opportunities inherent in our bond selections. The municipal market is vast and diverse, with issuers ranging from states and cities to enterprises such as higher education institutions, airports, and continuing care facilities. Analysts use proprietary frameworks to evaluate material ESG risks specific to each municipal sector, as well as identify ESG leaders within each sector.
Analysts review municipal issuers’ exposure to ESG factors through information available in public filings, recent news, and third-party data sources. These factors are then combined to create a proprietary ESG score utilizing the relative weighting of the E, S, and G pillars, and the expected trend going forward for that issuer. Issuers who have significant exposure to material ESG risks and lack mitigating factors to combat those risks would typically have lower ESG scores, while issuers who are exposed to fewer risks and are leaders in making progress on ESG issues, such as through greenhouse gas reduction measures, would typically have higher ESG scores.
Environmental risk includes exposure to physical climate risks as well as risks associated with the transition off fossil fuels, such as significant tax base reliance on the fossil fuel industry. Additional environmental risks could include exposure to water stress or environmental compliance concerns for sewer utilities. Typical social risks involve vulnerability of the tax base, which could be due to factors like a declining population or high poverty levels for cities and counties, or low graduation rates for higher education sectors. Governance risks generally include an assessment of how the issuer has managed its long-term liabilities such as debt and pensions, as well as overall management practices.
ESG labeled bonds, including green, social, and sustainability bonds, need to fit PIMCO’s credit selection and portfolio construction process of top-down drivers (sector and regional selection, expectations on global growth and technical factors), bottom-up drivers (credit strength, business model, covenants etc.) and valuation to qualify for investment. We look to invest in ESG labeled bonds that have attractive valuations that are in line to comparable (by coupon, maturity, seniority etc.) non-ESG bonds issued by the same company, given the strong focus on environmental sustainability objectives. We assess sustainable bond instruments both prior to and after issuance, mapping them across a spectrum based on strategic fit, potential impact, red flags, and reporting, resulting in PIMCO’s impact score for ESG bonds. PIMCO’s ESG labeled bond scores aid the investment process and security selection, allowing for stronger differentiation among sustainable bond issuers and frameworks.
Our proprietary framework assesses Green / Social / Sustainability instruments both prior to and after issuance, mapping them across a spectrum based on strategic fit, potential impact, red flags and reporting, resulting in PIMCO’s proprietary impact score for green, social or SDG bonds.
Engagement At PIMCO, we believe that collaborating with and allocating capital toward issuers willing to improve the sustainability of their practices can generate a greater impact than simply excluding issuers with poor ESG metrics. Our approach seeks to be more inclusive and active, and we are conscious that change does not always come easily or smoothly. That is why, for us, an active hands-on engagement program is key to driving change.
The objective of engagement at PIMCO is to influence change, improve outcomes and reduce risks for our clients. We believe that bondholder engagement in the research phase is critical to understanding the risk and reward profile of the issuance and ultimately making buy/sell decisions.
Our analysts and portfolio managers spend a significant amount of time meeting with senior management at the companies we invest in on behalf of our clients. In addition to discussing financial matters, we also focus on strategic issues that often relate to ESG risks and responsible business management practices. ESG engagement efforts include asking detailed questions to find out how the risk management framework and business strategy address the operational risks from climate change. Our engagement process is driven by three guiding principles:
We aim to have a premier engagement program within fixed income. By investing in corporates and sovereigns willing to improve their ESG practices, we believe we can drive greater change than through exclusions alone. Our goal is not just to find the best opportunities in the market, but to create them for investors by engaging with issuers. Of course, PIMCO does not represent that our engagement was the sole factor driving the positive changes made by these companies, but we do believe that our engagement and our sizable active holdings may have influence on the scope or timing of the commitments made by issuers as well as the disclosures that those issuers will report to investors.
In practice, issuers can have a variety of topics to address, as outlined below:
PIMCO’s ESG analyst team leads our engagement efforts, in coordination with the broader credit research team. Members of the ESG analyst team include Grover Burthey, Head of ESG Portfolio Management and the ESG analyst team, Samuel Mary, ESG integration analyst and climate specialist, Kaboo Leung, ESG engagement analyst, and Meredith Block, ESG research analyst. Our goal is to holistically integrate engagement activity into the ongoing discussions led by our credit research and portfolio management teams while broadening the scope of questions beyond credit-specific considerations to include ESG concerns as well.
In this fashion, engagement at PIMCO is designed to leverage the full scale of our global team of credit analysts and build upon our firm’s decades of experience working collaboratively with issuers to encourage business practices which are favorable to our investment objectives.
Portfolio Construction Portfolio managers at PIMCO use the ESG assessments of our credit analysts and multiple proprietary ESG tools as additional inputs into their portfolio investment decisions. The combination of ESG considerations with financial valuations and credit fundamentals results in our decision to invest, add/reduce or even divest from a company.
External Research At PIMCO we regularly evaluate ESG data providers which may add additional input into our in-house analysis conducted by our credit, sovereign and mortgage analyst teams. The firm relies primarily on internal research for decision-making; however, PIMCO also screens substantial amounts of external data sets. PIMCO currently utilizes MSCI as the primary external data provider but we also use Reprisk, TruCost, Bloomberg, CDP, SBTi, TPI, risQ, Maplecroft, Haver, and Freedom House, among other sources. All of the ESG data flows directly into our proprietary IT systems, enabling credit analysts to use this information efficiently. Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:
PIMCO’s ESG team is not a separate business unit, but integrated across all functions of the firm from portfolio management to client-facing, executive office to product strategy, compliance to marketing. This ensures that ESG is integrated into PIMCO’s broad research process and includes staff at every point along the value chain. We believe it is important to have all of our expert analysts monitor the ESG risks that are relevant to their particular sector and universe of securities. This ensures that ESG risk factors and opportunities are integrated into our investment decision-making, as opposed to being an “add-on” separate from our financial analysis.
To help set the priorities for the firm’s ESG Platform, PIMCO has a focused ESG Leadership Team in place that is responsible for leading firm-wide ESG integration, enhancing our ESG capabilities and supporting the development of portfolios with ESG objectives. The group sets objectives and evaluates strategic initiatives on a continuous basis throughout the year. The ESG Leadership team is comprised of: Ryan Korinke, Managing Director; Tina Adatia, Executive Vice President; Kwame Anochie, Executive Vice President; Grover Burthey, Executive Vice President; Gavin Power, Executive Vice President; Lupin Rahman, Executive Vice President, and Del Anderson, Senior Vice President. The team meets bi-weekly with presentations and regular updates among the team leaders. In addition, the group regularly invites external speakers to present their expertise in this field.
PIMCO’s ESG analyst team, which consists of more than 10 dedicated analysts, leads our engagement efforts, in coordination with the broader credit research team, which consists of more than 80 analysts. Members of the ESG analyst team include Grover Burthey, Head of ESG Portfolio Management and the ESG analyst team, Samuel Mary, ESG integration analyst and climate specialist, Kaboo Leung, ESG engagement analyst, and Meredith Block, ESG research analyst. Our goal is to holistically integrate engagement activity into the ongoing discussions led by our credit research and portfolio management teams while broadening the scope of questions beyond credit-specific considerations to include ESG concerns as well.
ESG Affiliations As a leading global asset manager, PIMCO frequently receives requests to sign up to different initiatives that support various causes and guidelines including ESG efforts. Our ESG team vets and reviews each potential opportunity to ensure it aligns with our ESG philosophy and approach. We are highly involved with ESG and other sustainability efforts globally, helping to define global sustainability standards, and encourage greater disclosure from issuers. Below is a list of our industry leadership with global affiliations and initiatives:
DialshifterThis fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by… … excluding industries and issuers misaligned with sustainability principles; emphasizing issuers with “best-in-class” environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices through a proprietary ESG scoring system; allocating meaningfully to green, social, and sustainability bonds; actively managing the portfolio’s carbon emissions and carbon intensity profile; and engaging proactively and collaboratively with corporate issuers to influence environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.
Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by… … being deeply committed to sustainable investing and playing a leading role in the development of industry frameworks such as the IIGCC’s Net Zero Investment Framework. Many of our clients are supporters of or signatories to the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance. PIMCO will partner together with these clients to help deliver on their ambitions. In fact, PIMCO manages significant assets on behalf of 34 of the 71 asset owners who have committed to transition their portfolios to net zero GHG emissions by 2050. Through our partnership with these forward thinking investors, we have developed capabilities to help clients decarbonize their portfolios and remain committed to providing the best advice and solutions for clients on a range of sustainability and ESG issues, including climate change.
SDR Labelling: Not eligible to use label |