abrdn SICAV II - Euro Corporate Sustainable Bond Fund
SRI Style:
ESG Plus
SDR Labelling:
Not eligible to use label
Product:
SICAV/Offshore
Fund Region:
Europe
Fund Asset Type:
Fixed Interest
Launch Date:
17/10/2012
Last Amended:
Oct 2022
Dialshifter (
):
Fund Size:
£1560.00m
(as at: 30/11/2024)
Total Screened Themed SRI Assets:
£29131.00m
(as at: 30/06/2022)
Total Responsible Ownership Assets:
£29131.00m
(as at: 30/06/2022)
Total Assets Under Management:
£508407.00m
(as at: 30/06/2022)
ISIN:
LU0767911984, LU2199628350
Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:
No response when requested update from manager (August 2024)
Fund manager happy with infomation displayed (as at July 2023)
The fund aims to provide long term growth from capital gains and the reinvestment of income generated by investing predominantly in European investment grade corporate bonds which meet our sustainable and responsible investment criteria. The fund is actively managed by our investment teams who may invest in a wide range of bonds (e.g. government bonds, corporate bonds including high yield bonds, government backed securities, overseas bonds, index-linked bonds, floating rate notes (FRNs) and asset backed securities (ABSs)) and/or money market instruments in order to take advantage of opportunities they have identified and which meet our sustainable and responsible investment criteria.
Primary fund last amended:
Oct 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 where there is a significant emphasis on (environmental and social) sustainability. Funds with a 'sustainability theme' typically place more emphasis on the area than funds with a 'sustainability policy' - meaning that it is more likely to drive investment selection. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Environmental - General
Funds that have policies which relate to environmental issues. These will typically set out the fund's stance on issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, plastics and/or additional environmental impacts. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.
Funds that have written policies explaining the approach they take when companies damage the environment or are significant polluters. Funds of this kind may work with companies to encourage higher standards, or exclude companies - sometimes dependent on the situation. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Climate Change & Energy
Find funds that have policies which say they avoid or limit their investment in the nuclear industry. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
This fund has a strategy that aims ensure its holdings will gradually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with targets set at COP21 in Paris. The ultimate aim is to achieve ‘net zero emissions by 2050’ and a ‘maximum global temperature increase of +1.5 to +2 degrees above preindustrial levels’. Strategies and opinions vary. Read fund information.
Social / Employment
Find funds that have policies which set out their approach to social issues (e.g. human rights, labour standards, equal opportunities, child labour and adherence to internationally recognised codes such as the UN Global Compact). Funds with social policies typically avoid companies with low standards or work to encourage higher standards. See fund information for detail.
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.
Human Rights
Find funds that have policies relating to human rights issues. Funds of this kind typically require companies to demonstrate higher standards, although some fund managers work to encourage improvements. Investee companies are often judged against internationally agreed norms or standards. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Find funds that have policies in place to ensure they do not invest in companies that employ children.
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
Find funds that have policies explaining how managers will respond to assets / companies that do not comply with relevant anti-bribery and anti-corruption standards or laws. Strategies vary; options include stewardship/ engagement and divestment - or a combination. See fund literature for further information.
Fund 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.
How The Fund Works
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 use internationally agreed standards, conventions and 'norms' to help direct where the fund can and cannot invest (e.g. the UN Global Compact, UN Sustainable Development Goals). Read fund literature for further information.
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
Find funds that are available via a tax efficient ISA product wrapper.
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 managers that vote all* the shares they own at Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. A commitment to voting shares is a key indicator of 'responsible share ownership' demonstrating their support for or disagreement with management policy. (*situations can legitimately, occasionally occur where voting proves impossible, but in principle all shares should be voted.)
Find fund managers that consider responsible ownership and ESG to be a key differentiator for their business.
The leadership team of this asset manager have performance targets linked to environmental goals.
Find fund management companies that aim to align all their investments (across all funds) to help meet the aims of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Find funds run by fund managers that apply Responsible ownership or 'Stewardship' policies to all or most of their investment assets. This means active involvement (e.g. voting, dialogue) with the companies they invest in across funds (not normally limited to ethical or SRI options.) Read fund literature for further information.
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.
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 are members of UKSIF - the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance association
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
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.
Company Wide Exclusions
Find fund management companies (not funds) that avoid investment in 'controversial weapons' across all of their funds and other investment vehicles.
Find funds / fund managers that are reviewing, or have reviewed, their exposure to carbon intensive industries including (but not only) mining, oil and gas companies. (Typically with reference to climate change.)
Climate & Net Zero Transition
Fund manager AGM / EGM voting strategy has processes in place that mean they will normally be expected to vote in a way that will encourage the transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
This asset management company has set a date by which they plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.
Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
This asset management company plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions with the help of a scheme that will lock away an amount of carbon that is equivalent to the company’s own emissions – so that the end result is ‘net zero’. Calculations and scope vary.
Find fund management companies that are working to reduce their own (fund management company) carbon/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.
Fund management companies that publish a full record of how they vote their shares at AGMs (annual general meetings) and EGMs (extraordinary general meetings). Voting strategies have an important role to play encouraging higher environmental, social and governance standards.
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are to become a sustainable business - without significant negative environmental or social impacts.
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they will align to the climate change commitments made at the Paris Climate Talks, COP21.
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are going to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.
Find fund management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information.
Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:
Assessment criteria
Company rating model
We use our Sustainable and Responsible Investment screen which is a proprietary rating tool. It is based on the UN Global Compact, a set of internationally recognised legal, social, ethical and environmental standards that encompass human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. Using external data providers and our internal measurement systems driven by independent research and company engagement, our Stewardship and ESG Investment team rate companies on their approach to these standards. Their assessment of a company reflects both its level of risk - influenced by the sector in which it operates - and the company’s mitigation of these risks.
Inputs: We compile raw ESG data from various sources. This raw data captures information on how companies manage their ESG risks. We use it to measure key issues related to the specific ESG risks linked to an individual business’s operations.
Proprietary rating model
We use the raw data to form the basis of our company rating model. A company’s score is largely influenced by the specific ESG risks linked to its operations. For example, energy companies will typically have a larger tilt towards environmental issues where as software companies will be more affected by social and governance issues.
Companies are assessed relative to their peers on the management of these ESG risks and this provides an initial company score. However, we do not rely on this data to provide the definitive source of a company SRI score. Our Stewardship & ESG Investment team is able to adjust the score based on its own research and company engagement.
Engagement
Meeting with companies provides the opportunity to assess their strategy for managing ESG risks on a forward-looking basis. This gives us the insight to ascertain how a company is mitigating these risks and allows us to assign the appropriate company rating. Furthermore, through engagement, we can promote management of ESG risks in line with best practice. Our aim is to encourage positive company behaviour and activities that support long-term value.
Our general approach is to rate all companies in which we invest. A key element that influences the rating of a company is engagement. We prioritise this based on the following.
- Materiality: driven by significant exposure to a company’s assets. This ensures that we are comfortable with this exposure from an ESG perspective. Also, we are able to use our position as significant asset owners to actively influence a firm’s management of ESG issues in line with best practice.
- Where the score is a material driver for a company, detailed assessment of a company’s ESG management is required to consider investment an option. Within our SRI fund range, we also monitor a ‘Watch List’ of names. This consists of:
- companies rated just above the exclusion threshold
- companies with negative score movements over a given month
- ‘hot’ topics – typically headline-grabbing company events.
Risk sector classification
Sectors are classified using industry data and internal analysis on quantitative risks relating to climate change, human rights, environment, labour issues and business ethics. The overall rating is determined by the Stewardship and ESG Investment team and in consultation with the relevant sector analyst in our credit and equity teams. The objective is to assign a risk classification for each sector: high, medium or low.
RISK SECTOR
Examples:
- Construction materials
- Mining
- Oil and gas
- Gas and electricity utilities
MEDIUM-RISK SECTOR
Examples:
- Real estate
- Food distributors
- Healthcare services
- Industrial machinery
LOW-RISK SECTOR
Examples:
- IT consulting
- Advertising
- Leisure products
- Renewable electricity
The investment universe is then screened based on the following criteria.
Binary exclusion
- Companies that fail the UN Global Compact principles.
- Companies involved in controversial weapons covering; cluster munitions, anti-personnel landmines, nuclear weapons, chemical and biological weapons, depleted uranium ammunition and white phosphorus.
- Companies involved in tobacco manufacture.
Active exclusion
- Companies with a lower than average company rating and operating in what we classify as high and medium-risk sectors from an ESG perspective.
Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:
Investments Vector Sustainability Group:
- Amanda Young - Chief Sustainability Officer (8 years at Firm, 25 years in Industry)
- Eva Cairns - Head of Sustainability Insights & Climate Strategy (11 years at Firm, 16 years in Industry)
- Anna Moss - Senior Sustainability Analyst (12 years at Firm, 12 years in Industry)
- Ann Meoni - Senior Sustainability Analyst (8 years at Firm, 8 years in Industry)
- Elizabeth (Meyer) Chiweshenga - Senior Sustainability Analyst (9 years at Firm, 9 years in Industry)
- Nick Gaskell - Sustainability Analyst (Less than a year at firm, 7 years in Industry)
- Ziggy You - Sustainability Analyst (3 years at Firm, 3 years in Industry)
- Aidan Maloney - Graduate Business Analyst (Less than a year at Firm, less than a year in Industry)
- Dan Grandage - Head of Sustainable Investments (8 years at firm, 8 years in Industry)
- Eilidh Duncan - Senior Sustainability Manager (2 years at firm, 4 years in Industry)
- Katy Grant - Senior Sustainability Manager (10 years at Firm, 10 years in Industry)
- Rachel Rotheram - Sustainability Analyst (4 years at firm, 4 years in Industry)
- Yolanda Yang - ESG BI Analyst (Less than a year at firm, 1 year in Industry)
- Maka Indorbaeva - Graduate Business Analyst (Less than a year at Firm, less than a year in Industry)
- Andrew Mason - Head of Active Ownership (10 years at firm, 17 years in Industry)
- Douglas Wilson - Senior Sustainability Manager (22 years at firm, 25 years in Industry)
- Joanna Sulc - Senior Sustainability Manager (7 years at Firm, 20 years in Industry)
- Kathleen Dewandeleer - Senior Sustainability Manager (3 years at firm, 30 years in Industry)
- Nick Duncan - Senior Sustainability Manager (7 years at Firm, 25 years in Industry)
- Claire Leighton - Sustainability Manager (12 years at Firm, 12 years in Industry)
- Stuart Riddick - Sustainability Manager (3 years at Firm, 3 years in Industry)
- Katie Mint - Sustainability Support (2 years at Firm, 2 years in Industry)
- Danielle Welsh-Rose - Head of Sustainability Investment Specialists & APAC Sustainability (2 years at Firm, 20 years in Industry)
- Jamie Govan - Sustainability Director (14 years at Firm, 14 years in Industry)
- Neil Murdoch - Senior Sustainability Specialist (6 years at Firm, 16 years in Industry)
- Nicola Skrastin - Sustainability Specialist (5 years at Firm, 5 years in Industry)
- Qianlin Li - Sustainability Specialist (Less than a year at Firm, 10 years in Industry)
- Sylvain Augoyard - Sustainability Manager - APAC (Less than a year at Firm, 13 years in Industry)
- Daniel Bowie-MacDonald - Sustainability Investment Specialist (9 years at Firm, 10 years in Industry)
- Sheela Veerappan - Sustainability Investment Specialist - APAC (Less than a year at Firm, 18 years in Industry)
- Fionna Ross -Sustainability Investment Specialist & Head of Sustainability Institute - Americas (14 years at Firm, 14 years in Industry)
- Toby Grubb - Sustainability Support (1 year at Firm, 1 year in Industry)
Equity:
- Sarah Norris - Head of ESG - Equities (11 years at Firm, 12 years in Industry)
- David Smith - Senior Investment Director (10 years at Firm, 16 years in Industry)
- Jerry Goh - Investment Manager (7 years at Firm, 7 years in Industry)
- Daniel Ng - Investment Manager (5 years at Firm, 5 years in Industry)
- Andrew Risk - UK Equity ESG Analyst (Less than a year at Firm, 9 years in Industry)
- Fraser Harle - Investment Analyst (6 years at Firm, 7 years in Industry)
- Tzoulianna Leventi - ESG Analyst and Investment Analyst (4 years at Firm, 4 years in Industry)
- Jonny Salvage - ESG Analyst - European Equities (Less than a year at Firm, 4 years in Industry)
Multi-Asset:
- Craig MacKenzie - Head of SAA Research (11 years at Firm, 25 years in Industry)
- Catie Wearmouth - ESG Investment Director – Multi Asset Solutions (1 year at Firm, 23 years in Industry)
- Fiona Ritchie - ESG Investment Manager (10 years at Firm, 35 years in Industry)
Fixed Income:
- Marianne Zangerl - Head of ESG Fixed Income (7 years at Firm, 13 years in Industry)
- Nicholas Kordowski - Head of Non-Financials Research (12 years at Firm, 18 years in Industry)
- Andrew Fraser - Head of Financials Research (13 years at Firm, 31 years in Industry)
- George Westervelt - Head of US HY Research (13 years at Firm, 23 years in Industry)
- Julien Martin - Head of Euro HY Research (9 years at Firm, 17 years in Industry)Paul Lukaszewski - Head of Asian Corporate Debt & Emerging Market Credit Research (11 years at Firm, 21 years in Industry)
- Matthew Kence - Investment Director (12 years at Firm, 19 years in Industry)
- Josef Helmes - Investment Director (10 years at Firm, 21 years in Industry)
- Mark Munro - Investment Director (9 years at Firm, 16 years in Industry)
- Samuel Bevan - Investment Manager (10 years at Firm, 10 years in Industry)
- Henry Loh - Investment Manager (8 years at Firm, 8 years in Industry)
- Emilia Matei - Investment Analyst (7 years at Firm, 7 years in Industry)
- Kate McGrath - ESG Analyst - Fixed Income (3 years at Firm, 3 years in Industry)
- Scott McQuiston - ESG Analyst - Fixed Income (2 years at Firm, 2 years in Industry)
- Khashayar Lotfizadeh - Global Head of Quantitative Analytics (8 years at Firm, 8 years in Industry)
- Samuel Grantham - Investment Director (9 years at Firm, 9 years in Industry)
- Thomas Leys - Investment Director (9 years at Firm, 10 years in Industry)
- Jonathan Mondillo - Head of Municipals (4 years at Firm, 17 years in Industry)
- Nicole Lim - Investment Analyst (1 year at Firm, 5 years in Industry)
- Curt Starer - Investment Director (15 years at Firm, 22 years in Industry)
- Janaka Nanayakkara - Investment Director (7 years at Firm, 15 years in Industry)
- Albane Poulin - Head of European Private Placements (7 years at Firm, 10 years in Industry)
- Eliza Uphadya - Lending Manager (6 years at Firm 6 years in Industry)
Dialshifter
Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by…
abrdn strongly supports the objectives of the Paris Agreement. We are committed to playing a constructive role in the decarbonisation of the global economy and serving the long-term interests of our clients. We have developed a business-wide approach to support the goals of the Paris Agreement based on five principles:
- Public policy advocacy
- Rigorous climate scenario analysis
- Responsible stewardship
- abrdn net zero real estate commitment
- Reporting: tracking carbon and climate solutions
Further information on these principles and our approach to Paris alignment is available here: https://www.abrdn.com/docs?editionId=407977f9-165c-4edf-a894-13d005e4ac3f
SDR Labelling: Not eligible to use label
Literature
Fund Name | SRI Style | SDR Labelling | Product | Region | Asset Type | Launch Date | Last Amended |
|
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abrdn SICAV II - Euro Corporate Sustainable Bond Fund |
ESG Plus | Not eligible to use label | SICAV/Offshore | Europe | Fixed Interest | 17/10/2012 | Oct 2022 | |
Fund Size: £1560.00m (as at: 30/11/2024) Total Screened Themed SRI Assets: £29131.00m (as at: 30/06/2022) Total Responsible Ownership Assets: £29131.00m (as at: 30/06/2022) Total Assets Under Management: £508407.00m (as at: 30/06/2022) ISIN: LU0767911984, LU2199628350 |
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Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG OverviewNo response when requested update from manager (August 2024) Fund manager happy with infomation displayed (as at July 2023)
The fund aims to provide long term growth from capital gains and the reinvestment of income generated by investing predominantly in European investment grade corporate bonds which meet our sustainable and responsible investment criteria. The fund is actively managed by our investment teams who may invest in a wide range of bonds (e.g. government bonds, corporate bonds including high yield bonds, government backed securities, overseas bonds, index-linked bonds, floating rate notes (FRNs) and asset backed securities (ABSs)) and/or money market instruments in order to take advantage of opportunities they have identified and which meet our sustainable and responsible investment criteria.
|
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Primary fund last amended: Oct 2022 |
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Information received directly from Fund Manager |
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Fund FiltersSustainability - General
Sustainability policy
Funds that have policies that consider (environmental and social) sustainability issues. Strategies vary but are likely to consider environmental issues like climate change, carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, resource management, environmental impacts; and social issues like equal opportunities, human rights, labour standards, diversity and adherence to internationally recognised codes. See fund information.
Sustainability theme or focus
Find funds where there is a significant emphasis on (environmental and social) sustainability. Funds with a 'sustainability theme' typically place more emphasis on the area than funds with a 'sustainability policy' - meaning that it is more likely to drive investment selection. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail. Environmental - General
Environmental policy
Funds that have policies which relate to environmental issues. These will typically set out the fund's stance on issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, plastics and/or additional environmental impacts. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.
Environmental damage and pollution policy
Funds that have written policies explaining the approach they take when companies damage the environment or are significant polluters. Funds of this kind may work with companies to encourage higher standards, or exclude companies - sometimes dependent on the situation. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail. Climate Change & Energy
Nuclear exclusion policy
Find funds that have policies which say they avoid or limit their investment in the nuclear industry. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Paris aligned fund strategy
This fund has a strategy that aims ensure its holdings will gradually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with targets set at COP21 in Paris. The ultimate aim is to achieve ‘net zero emissions by 2050’ and a ‘maximum global temperature increase of +1.5 to +2 degrees above preindustrial levels’. Strategies and opinions vary. Read fund information. Social / Employment
Social policy
Find funds that have policies which set out their approach to social issues (e.g. human rights, labour standards, equal opportunities, child labour and adherence to internationally recognised codes such as the UN Global Compact). Funds with social policies typically avoid companies with low standards or work to encourage higher standards. See fund information for detail. 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. Human Rights
Human rights policy
Find funds that have policies relating to human rights issues. Funds of this kind typically require companies to demonstrate higher standards, although some fund managers work to encourage improvements. Investee companies are often judged against internationally agreed norms or standards. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.
Child labour exclusion
Find funds that have policies in place to ensure they do not invest in companies that employ children. 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
Anti-bribery and corruption policy
Find funds that have policies explaining how managers will respond to assets / companies that do not comply with relevant anti-bribery and anti-corruption standards or laws. Strategies vary; options include stewardship/ engagement and divestment - or a combination. See fund literature for further information. 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. How The Fund Works
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.
Norms focus
Find funds that use internationally agreed standards, conventions and 'norms' to help direct where the fund can and cannot invest (e.g. the UN Global Compact, UN Sustainable Development Goals). Read fund literature for further information.
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
Available via an ISA (OEIC only)
Find funds that are available via a tax efficient ISA product wrapper. 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.
Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM company wide)
Find fund managers that vote all* the shares they own at Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. A commitment to voting shares is a key indicator of 'responsible share ownership' demonstrating their support for or disagreement with management policy. (*situations can legitimately, occasionally occur where voting proves impossible, but in principle all shares should be voted.)
Responsible ownership / ESG a key differentiator (AFM company wide)
Find fund managers that consider responsible ownership and ESG to be a key differentiator for their business.
Senior management KPIs include environmental goals (AFM company wide)
The leadership team of this asset manager have performance targets linked to environmental goals.
SDG aligned aims / objectives (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies that aim to align all their investments (across all funds) to help meet the aims of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Responsible ownership policy for non SRI funds (AFM company wide)
Find funds run by fund managers that apply Responsible ownership or 'Stewardship' policies to all or most of their investment assets. This means active involvement (e.g. voting, dialogue) with the companies they invest in across funds (not normally limited to ethical or SRI options.) Read fund literature for further information.
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.
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'.
UKSIF member
Find fund management companies that are members of UKSIF - the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance association
Fund EcoMarket partner
Find fund management companies that have partnered with Fund EcoMarket - meaning that they are helping to improve access to information on sustainable and responsible investment by paying an annual fee to us which enables us to publish information for free. Partner funds are listed ahead of other funds and have their logos displayed.
TNFD forum member (AFM company wide)
A member of the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures group which aims to aid risk management and shift money towards nature-positive outcomes. 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
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. Company Wide Exclusions
Controversial weapons avoidance policy (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies (not funds) that avoid investment in 'controversial weapons' across all of their funds and other investment vehicles.
Review(ing) carbon / fossil fuel exposure for all funds (AFM company wide)
Find funds / fund managers that are reviewing, or have reviewed, their exposure to carbon intensive industries including (but not only) mining, oil and gas companies. (Typically with reference to climate change.) Climate & Net Zero Transition
Voting policy includes net zero targets (AFM company wide)
Fund manager AGM / EGM voting strategy has processes in place that mean they will normally be expected to vote in a way that will encourage the transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Net Zero - have set a Net Zero target date (AFM company wide)
This asset management company has set a date by which they plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.
Encourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon offsetting - offset carbon as part of our net zero plan (AFM company wide)
This asset management company plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions with the help of a scheme that will lock away an amount of carbon that is equivalent to the company’s own emissions – so that the end result is ‘net zero’. Calculations and scope vary.
In-house carbon / GHG reduction policy (AFM company wide)
Find fund management companies that are working to reduce their own (fund management company) carbon/greenhouse gas emissions. 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.
Publish full voting record (AFM company wide)
Fund management companies that publish a full record of how they vote their shares at AGMs (annual general meetings) and EGMs (extraordinary general meetings). Voting strategies have an important role to play encouraging higher environmental, social and governance standards.
Sustainability transition plan publicly available (AFM company wide)
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are to become a sustainable business - without significant negative environmental or social impacts.
Paris Alignment plan publicly available (AFM company wide)
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they will align to the climate change commitments made at the Paris Climate Talks, COP21.
Net Zero transition plan publicly available (AFM company wide)
This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are going to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.
Dialshifter statement
Find fund management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information. Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:Assessment criteria Company rating model We use our Sustainable and Responsible Investment screen which is a proprietary rating tool. It is based on the UN Global Compact, a set of internationally recognised legal, social, ethical and environmental standards that encompass human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. Using external data providers and our internal measurement systems driven by independent research and company engagement, our Stewardship and ESG Investment team rate companies on their approach to these standards. Their assessment of a company reflects both its level of risk - influenced by the sector in which it operates - and the company’s mitigation of these risks.
Inputs: We compile raw ESG data from various sources. This raw data captures information on how companies manage their ESG risks. We use it to measure key issues related to the specific ESG risks linked to an individual business’s operations.
Proprietary rating model We use the raw data to form the basis of our company rating model. A company’s score is largely influenced by the specific ESG risks linked to its operations. For example, energy companies will typically have a larger tilt towards environmental issues where as software companies will be more affected by social and governance issues.
Companies are assessed relative to their peers on the management of these ESG risks and this provides an initial company score. However, we do not rely on this data to provide the definitive source of a company SRI score. Our Stewardship & ESG Investment team is able to adjust the score based on its own research and company engagement.
Engagement Meeting with companies provides the opportunity to assess their strategy for managing ESG risks on a forward-looking basis. This gives us the insight to ascertain how a company is mitigating these risks and allows us to assign the appropriate company rating. Furthermore, through engagement, we can promote management of ESG risks in line with best practice. Our aim is to encourage positive company behaviour and activities that support long-term value.
Our general approach is to rate all companies in which we invest. A key element that influences the rating of a company is engagement. We prioritise this based on the following.
Risk sector classification Sectors are classified using industry data and internal analysis on quantitative risks relating to climate change, human rights, environment, labour issues and business ethics. The overall rating is determined by the Stewardship and ESG Investment team and in consultation with the relevant sector analyst in our credit and equity teams. The objective is to assign a risk classification for each sector: high, medium or low. RISK SECTOR Examples:
MEDIUM-RISK SECTOR Examples:
LOW-RISK SECTOR Examples:
The investment universe is then screened based on the following criteria. Binary exclusion
Active exclusion
Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:Investments Vector Sustainability Group:
Equity:
Multi-Asset:
Fixed Income:
DialshifterOur organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by… abrdn strongly supports the objectives of the Paris Agreement. We are committed to playing a constructive role in the decarbonisation of the global economy and serving the long-term interests of our clients. We have developed a business-wide approach to support the goals of the Paris Agreement based on five principles:
Further information on these principles and our approach to Paris alignment is available here: https://www.abrdn.com/docs?editionId=407977f9-165c-4edf-a894-13d005e4ac3f
SDR Labelling: Not eligible to use label Literature |