Hartford Funds has launched a sustainable international equities fund, the company announced Tuesday.
The Hartford Schroders Sustainable International Core Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation and will invest primarily in international and emerging markets equities that fit certain sustainability criteria, the company said in its announcement.
“The investment team aims to construct a diversified portfolio where stock selection is the primary driver of alpha, seeking mispriced opportunities across a multitude of industries and regions,” the company stated. “At the same time, the investment team strives to build a portfolio that has a positive impact on society by investing in companies that they believe have best-in-class stakeholder behaviors.”
Schroders’ sustainability measures will help the investment team understand the social impacts of different companies in the fund’s portfolio, the firm said.
The fund will use the MSCI Al Country World ex USA Index as its performance benchmark.
Managing the fund is Schroders’ Nicholette MacDonald-Brown, who will be supported by regional portfolio managers based in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo, the company noted.
Currently, there are seven other sustainable mutual funds and ETFs available from Hartford Funds.
The company also announced the launch of another product, the Hartford Schroders International Contrarian Value Fund. That fund, which focuses on identifying “out of favor stocks which have low valuations but are considered to have resilient earnings and/or misunderstood balance sheets,” integrates financially material ESG factors “such as climate change, environmental performance, labor standards and corporate governance,” the company stated.
