Nikko Asset Management has updated the mandate for its Global Green Bond strategy to include Sovereign, Supranational and Agency (SSA) green bonds.
The fund group announced in a statement on Thursday that its Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS fund had updated its mandate to invest across a wider universe “of predominantly AAA-rated, SSA-issued” green bonds.
There has been mixed data published on the growth of the green bond market in recent weeks.
In Nikko’s announcement on Thursday, it cited Moody’s data which projected that green bond issuance would grow between $175 and $200 billion in 2018. Earlier this month, ESG Clarity cited the same data, but highlighted that the ratings agency had cut its original forecast for green bond issuance for 2018 from the $250 billion originally estimated at the end of 2017.
Some regions are reporting stronger growth than others for green bond issuances. Nasdaq published statistics earlier this week, showing 40% more green bond listings in the Nordic region for the first half of 2018, than in the whole of 2017.
Andre Severino, global head of fixed income at Nikko Asset Management said the company considered itself to be a pioneer in the green bond investment space, having launched its first green bond fund in 2010.
He said: “The team actively invests in green bonds across both developed and emerging markets, and we believe this ‘best positions us’ to deliver sustainable alpha for our clients while also contributing to the preservation of the environment.
“The investment focus is on sovereign agencies that provide the leading standard of reporting and project selection.”
The company said that the expanded investment universe would offer clients greater access to the green bond market and provide capital to a wide array of green projects worldwide.
According to Standard & Poor’s, the green bond market was worth $372 billion at the end of December 2017.
