Pictet has added to its fund range with a vehicle focused on identifying companies that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The management of the new fund, named Pictet-Positive Change, will target companies with the potential to improve their SDG-alignment and establish targeted engagement with those firms.
Classified as Article 8 under SFDR guidelines, the fund’s investment team will use the proprietary Natural Language Processing (NLP) tool to assess the alignment of a company’s products & services with the SDGs.
Evgenia Molotova, co-lead manager for the fund, said: “Our aim is to create a concentrated portfolio of financially robust companies that are aligning with global efforts to achieve sustainability goals and that will outperform the broader market.
“As the world transitions towards a more sustainable future, companies whose products and services are aligned with the SDGs will benefit from the compounding of their superior returns over time.
“While companies increasing alignment, through targeted engagement, will benefit both from improving returns and a valuation re-rating.
Yuko Takano (pictured), co-lead manager who recently joined from Newton, added: “Investing in companies at an earlier stage of the impact improvement transition requires transparency in reporting alongside active and targeted engagement, as the investment team seek to demonstrate and drive the Positive Change after which the strategy is named.”
