AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) announces the launch of the AXA ACT Framlington Clean Economy fund, an onshore version of the successful global thematic equity strategy it has been running for three years.
The launch of the UK onshore fund is part of AXA IM’s strategy to further develop its range of sustainable funds available to UK-based investors which will continue to expand in 2021 and beyond, signifying a growing demand for these strategies in the market.
The new UK-domiciled fund, which is an official reshaping of the AXA Framlington European Fund, is part of a move to consolidate AXA IM’s UK fund range and offer clients more relevant and sustainably managed global equity funds, as well as offer more options for potential growth.
The fund aims to provide investors with both long-term capital growth and a sustainable investment objective, in line with a responsible investment (RI) approach, mirroring the existing offshore AXA WF Framlington Clean Economy fund.
Managed by Amanda O’Toole, the fully ESG-integrated strategy invests in companies operating across the clean economy, whose activities support the energy transition and the drive toward resource optimisation, waste and pollution reduction.
The strategy invests across four key sub themes that offer measurable clean economy indicators (CO2 emissions, water intensity, waste management etc.) and allows the fund to invest across a diverse range of themes. This approach also allows the fund to tackle a number of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as outlined below:
- Low carbon transport (SDG 7 and 13) – Investing in the low carbon transport value chain from car makers, battery producers and enablers such as connectors and semiconductors.
- Smart energy (SDG 7, 11 and 13) – Companies supporting the energy transition by producing and supplying renewable energy, digitalising electricity networks and improving energy usage in factories and cities.
- Agriculture and food industry (SDG 12, 13 and 14) – Innovative companies which help improving yield, encouraging people to adopt sustainable food consumption habits or reducing food waste.
- Natural resource preservation (SDG 6, 11, 12 and 13) – Businesses which mitigate environmental damage by reducing waste, facilitating recycling, monitoring and resolving pollution.
The strategy applies a high conviction and selective investment approach. To construct the investable universe, a combination of quantitative and qualitative filters is applied to build the ‘CleanTech’ thematic filter, which identifies companies who seek to have a positive environmental impact, and is applied to all globally listed equities – alongside AXA IM’s Sectorial Policies and ESG Standards – to select the most relevant and eligible companies. Fundmanetal investment analysis is then applied to the remaining universe to build the portfolio which constists of 40-60 stocks.
