BMO GAM has categorised its suite of 16 Responsible and Sustainable strategies, accounting for €7.8 billion[1] in assets under management, as either article 8 or article 9 under the new EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”), which comes into effect on 10 March 2021.
Since launching Europe’s first ethically screened fund over 35 years ago, BMO GAM believes in the importance of taking a responsible approach to investment and has chosen to take an EMEA-wide approach to its implementation of the new regulation. Alongside those funds registered in Luxemburg and Ireland, BMO GAM has also applied the same criteria to its UK registered Responsible and Sustainable Funds and will follow the same approach taken for its EU registered funds.
Environmental, social or governance (ESG) risks are already integrated into BMO GAM’s investment process, across all asset classes, helping determine how the investments it makes for its clients have an impact on ESG factors and what actions it can take to mitigate any negative impact.
Under the new regulation, Article 8 Funds are classified as those which actively promote environmental or social characteristics, while Article 9 Funds have sustainable investment as their objective, with both categories subject to higher standards of disclosure under the SFDR. BMO GAM has taken a thoughtful and considered approach to how it has classified funds, in keeping with its longstanding high integrity approach to responsible investment.
In line with these higher standards of disclosure, BMO GAM has published both its “ESG Sustainability Risk Policy” and “Principal Adverse Impact Statement”.
Commenting on the classifications, Kristi Mitchem, CEO, BMO Global Asset Management, said: “Aligned to our Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, we pride ourselves on building genuinely sustainable solutions for clients. To achieve this, we have built a comprehensive investment process that is well-resourced and able to deliver results. This process is complemented by our 21-strong Responsible Investment team that assess each portfolio holding and analyses how it contributes to a more sustainable future. The team also undertakes an extensive engagement programme, ensuring full critical analysis of companies, whilst also holding them to account.”
“For each of our Funds classified 8 and 9 under SFDR, we use the Sustainable Development Goals to map a clear framework for demonstrating sustainability, and we therefore embrace the SDGs throughout the investment process: from security selection and engagement discussions, through to client-level disclosure within our fund-level ESG Profile and Impact Reports.”
[1] as of 28 February 2021
