M&G has expanded its sustainable range with the launch of an equity fund dedicated to companies improving gender and ethnic diversity.
The M&G (Lux) Diversity and Inclusion Fund, managed by Thembeka Stemela Dagbo (pictured) and supported by John William Olsen, invests in global equites to create a concentrated portfolio of 30-40 stocks aiming to provide a higher total return than that of the MSCI ACWI over any five-year period.
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The group added the fund is a hybrid strategy incorporating sustainability and impact considerations into the stock selection process:
- At least 15% of the portfolio is invested in impactful companies providing solutions to empower social inclusion.
- The rest of the fund is allocated to sustainable companies demonstrating gender and ethnic diversity at work.
Fund manager Stemela Dagbo said: “Social inclusion and diversity are not only the right thing to do, they also make good economic sense. Left unaddressed, the exclusion of disadvantaged groups and the lack of diversity can be costly and result in lost GDP and human capital wealth, whereas pioneers of the diversity and inclusion initiatives are being increasingly recognised for their financial outperformance. Indeed, companies with top quartile levels of gender diversity are 25% more likely to outperform, and 36% more likely for ethnically diverse ones.
“This fund provides our customers with the opportunity to capitalise on these trends and address diversity imbalances while putting their savings to work with a purpose.”
The fund sits under Article 9 within the SFDR classifications.
