WHEB Asset Management has confirmed it will be adopting the ‘Sustainability Impact’ label on its FP WHEB Sustainability fund in the coming weeks, one of the first funds to use this label since the Financial Conduct Authority’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) were rolled out on 31 July.
An updated version of the fund’s prospectus will be published in the coming weeks in line with the policy’s disclosure requirements, and the name of the fund will be changed to the FP WHEB Sustainability Impact fund. It is run by Ted Franks with Claire Jervis, Ty Lee and Victoria Maclean as deputy managers.
On adopting the label, George Latham (pictured), managing partner at WHEB AM, said: “Impact investing is all we do and all we have ever done. When the policy statement was first announced we said that WHEB would work with FundRock Partners, the authorised corporate director, as we planned to make use of the ‘Sustainability Impact’ label for our UK fund. We are very pleased to be among the first fund managers to be able to do so.
“We were involved in the FCA’s consultation in the build-up to announcing SDR, and we have welcomed the SDR’s introduction in order to tackle widespread greenwashing and encourage the level of impact reporting we have championed for over a decade.
“The average investor on the street doesn’t care what hoops have to be jumped through or what the regulation is called, but they do care that when they invest in a sustainability labelled fund it does what they expect it to do, by investing in stocks that are aligned with their environmental and social values.”
On the process to get to this point, Latham added: “We make no bones about it, the SDR process has been challenging, even for an experienced impact investor like WHEB, but this was a team effort and we’re grateful to the authorised corporate director, FundRock Partners, part of the Apex Group, for their valued guidance along the way. The SDR labelling regime is a necessary and welcome step towards cementing trust with end investors, and a notable milestone for sustainable finance.
“It was always going to be a challenge to find a balance between being sufficiently detailed and robust yet accessible, understandable and engaging to retail investors, but we think the end result is worthwhile.
“We’ve seen frustration across the industry with the challenges of complying with the new disclosures required for a sustainability label to be used, but it’s what you would expect so early in any new framework regulation. The fact the process is so tough might be a sign that it is working, and it is in everyone’s interests that we have a regime that has a high enough standard that people trust it.”
Simon Gunson, managing director at Apex FundRock, continued: “We are delighted the WHEB fund will be one of the first adopters of the ‘Sustainability Impact’ label under the voluntary SDR labelling regime.
“This underpins our commitment to sustainable funds. We look forward to help drive positive change in an area which is so closely aligned with Apex Group’s sustainability goals.”
