SDG Credits
Key points:
- Positive contribution to Sustainable Development Goals
- High-quality fundamental credit research to manage risk and identify opportunities
- Credit team of more than 30 credit specialists with deep industry and company knowledge
- SDG scores validated by Sustainability Investing Research team
Philosophy
Credit markets often show signs of dislocation, and typical benchmark thinking and institutional biases mean some investment opportunities are overlooked. We believe that we can discover and capture market inefficiencies in valuation, risk and reward by combining in-depth fundamental and ESG research with contrarian portfolio construction and strict risk control.
Process
The strategy applies a proprietary screening framework to define an SDG investable universe composed of issuers that make a positive (or at least neutral) contribution to the SDGs.
The research process combines a top-down market view to assess credit attractiveness and factors that drive credit market returns in the short term with skillful issuer selection to create a broadly diversified portfolio. In this respect, avoiding losers is more important than always picking winners.
Team
Three dedicated teams work closely together. The strategy is managed by the Credit team of more than 30 credit specialists with deep industry and company knowledge. They are supported by sustainability research specialists with a focus on financially material ESG issues. Further support comes from the Active Ownership team that engages with companies to address material sustainability issues.
