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Global Impact Equities Strategy

Conviction Equities

Why invest?

  • People increasingly want to live in a more sustainable manner and invest in companies that contribute to a better environment and societal change – without forgoing performance.
  • In constructing an equity portfolio of carefully selected 50 to 70 stocks, we aim to help tackle global challenges. These companies with scalable business models are active in areas requiring billions of dollars of investments over the next few decades.
  • The companies we pick for our portfolio contribute to at least one of our impact yardsticks (“impact pillar”) and one or a number of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To measure the companies’ positive effect on the environment and/or society, we aim to establish which portion of their revenues contributes to our key performance indicators.
  • We believe our well-established investment process has delivered attractive risk-adjusted returns over different cycles. Although the strategy itself is new, we have managed client portfolios aligned with this strategy since 2019.

“Companies that provide good, responsible solutions to everyday needs enjoy favorable growth opportunities, in our opinion. Moreover, they can also provide strong financial returns."

Pascal Dudle, Portfolio Manager

Our investment process

The companies we target for our global impact strategy provide innovative solutions helping to address critical challenges like population growth, urbanization, resource scarcity, pollution, aging of population, health problems, food distribution and rising inequalities. We find the most attractive opportunities in eight areas. Four of these are what we call pillars with a high concentration of companies that work towards a better environment: clean energy, clean water, sustainable cities as well as innovative industry and technology. The four other “pillars” pertain to societal change: good health and wellbeing, sustainable food, responsible consumption, and equal opportunities. We believe increasing demand for their solutions will lead to market share gains, pricing power, and rising stock prices. Moreover, such companies are less exposed to tighter regulation than their competitors.

The investment universe consists of approximately 1,000 companies scattered across multiple sectors. After a close look at potential candidates including the evaluation of impact, financial and sustainability aspects, we arrive at a portfolio of 50 to 70 stocks.

Investment team

Pascal Dudle, portfolio manager of the Global Impact Equities Strategy, has more than 27 years of investment experience. He is supported by a team of investment experts able to conduct financial as well as impact assessment and sustainability analyses. Being active asset managers, we rely on our own in-house fundamental research.

Global Impact Equities Composite

 
 

Source: Vontobel. The composite inception date is January 1, 2019. The composite‘s gross rates of return are presented before the deduction of investment management fees, other investment-related fees, and after the deduction of foreign withholding taxes, brokerage commissions and transaction costs. An investor’s actual return will be reduced by investment advisory fees. The composite‘s net rates of return are presented after the deduction of investment management fees, brokerage commissions, transaction costs, other investment-related fees and foreign withholding taxes. Results portrayed reflect the reinvestment of dividends and other earnings. The comparison to an index is provided for informational purposes only and should not be used as the basis for making an investment. There may be significant differences between the composite and the index, including but not limited to the risk profile, liquidity, volatility and asset composition. The MSCI All Country World (ACWI) captures large and mid cap representation across 23 Developed Markets (DM) and 24 Emerging Markets (EM) countries. The index covers approximately 85% of the global investable equity opportunity set. Past performance not an indication of future results. Returns more than one year are annualized. Please refer to the Disclaimer tab for additional explanations regarding composite disclosure and other Important Information.

Global Impact Equities

Composite description

The Global Impact Equities Composite includes all share classes of pooled funds and all segregated accounts invested in publicly listed companies that provide products and services along the whole value chain, which have the potential to tackle today’s pressing environmental and social challenges including, but not limited to, climate change, resource scarcity, urbanization and rising inequalities. Such companies’ products and services represent a large fraction of the business, generate a direct or indirect positive impact and are well aligned with the UN SDG framework. Portfolios within this composite are managed benchmark-agnostic and consist of stocks from developed as well as emerging markets.

Benchmark description

MSCI AC World Net Total Return Index (since inception)

Firm definition

Vontobel Asset Management is a multi-boutique asset management firm established in 1988 and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA. For GIPS purposes, Vontobel Asset Management is defined to include assets managed in the Fixed Income, the Vontobel Conviction Equities, the Quantitative Investments and the Vontobel Multi Asset boutiques across all global offices and includes both the management of institutional segregated accounts and pooled funds.

Claim of compliance

Vontobel Asset Management claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®).

List of composites and how to obtain a GIPS Report

To receive additional information regarding Vontobel Asset Management, including a GIPS Composite Report for the strategy presented in this advertisement and a list of all composite descriptions managed by the firm, contact the GIPS Office at gips@vontobel.com or write Vontobel Asset Management AG, GIPS Office (G27 611), Gotthardstrasse 43, 8022 Zurich, Switzerland.

Past performance and investment risk

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Value and income received are not guaranteed and one may get back less than originally invested.

CFA Institute

GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.

Important Information

This document has been prepared and approved by a company of the Vontobel Group (“Vontobel”) for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer, solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any investment securities or strategies discussed, to effect any transactions or to conclude any legal act of any kind whatsoever. This information should not be considered investment advice or any other kind of advice on legal, tax, financial or other advice or a recommendation to purchase, hold or sell any investment. No representation is given that the securities, products, or services discussed herein are suitable for any particular investor.

The index comparisons are provided for informational purposes only and should not be used as the basis for making an investment decision. Further, the performance of the composite and the Index may not be comparable. There are significant differences between the composite and the indices referenced, including, but not limited to, risk profile, liquidity, volatility and asset composition. Please note that an investor cannot invest directly in an index.

Environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) investing and criteria employed may be subjective in nature. The considerations assessed as part of ESG processes may vary across types of investments and issuers and not every factor may be identified or considered for all investments. Information used to evaluate ESG components may vary across providers and issuers as ESG is not a uniformly defined characteristic. ESG investing may forego market opportunities available to strategies which do not utilize such criteria. There is no guarantee the criteria and techniques employed will be successful. Unless otherwise stated within the strategy's investment objective, information herein does not imply that the Vontobel strategy has an ESG-aligned investment objective, but rather describes how ESG criteria and factors are considered as part of the overall investment process.

Any projections contained above are based on a variety of estimates and assumptions. There can be no assurance that the assumptions made in connection with the projections will prove accurate, and actual results may differ materially. The inclusion of projections should not be regarded as an indication that Vontobel considers the projections to be a reliable prediction of future events and projections should not be relied upon as such.

There can be no assurance that investment objectives will be achieved. Clients must be prepared to bear risk of a total loss of their investment.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future performance. The return may go down as well as up, e.g. due to changes in rates of exchange between currencies. The value of invested monies can increase or decrease and there is no guarantee that all or part of your invested capital can be redeemed.

The MSCI data is for internal use only and may not be redistributed or used in connection with creating or offering any securities, financial products or indices. Neither MSCI nor any other third party involved in or related to compiling, computing or creating the MSCI data (the “MSCI Parties”) makes any express or implied warranties or representations with respect to such data (or the results to be obtained by the use thereof), and the MSCI Parties hereby expressly disclaim all warranties of originality, accuracy, completeness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to such data. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall any of the MSCI Parties have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

Please refer to Form ADV Part 2A for additional information on the strategy which includes Vontobel’s investment advisory fees.

Vontobel Asset Management, Inc. (Vontobel) is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, in the USA. Registration as an Investment Advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not imply a certain level of skill or expertise. Advisory services for strategy discussed herein are offered through a Participating Affiliate structure between Vontobel Asset Management, Inc., Vontobel Asset Management AG, and Vontobel Asset Management Asia Pacific Ltd.

Although Vontobel believes that the information provided in this document is based on reliable sources, it cannot assume responsibility for the quality, correctness, timeliness or completeness of the information contained in this document. Except as permitted under applicable copyright laws, none of this information may be reproduced, adapted, uploaded to a third party, linked to, framed, performed in public, distributed or transmitted in any form by any process without the specific written consent of Vontobel. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Vontobel will not be liable in any way for any loss or damage suffered by you through use or access to this information, or Vontobel’s failure to provide this information. Our liability for negligence, breach of contract or contravention of any law as a result of our failure to provide this information or any part of it, or for any problems with this information, which cannot be lawfully excluded, is limited, at our option and to the maximum extent permitted by law, to resupplying this information or any part of it to you, or to paying for the resupply of this information or any part of it to you. Neither this document nor any copy of it may be distributed in any jurisdiction where its distribution may be restricted by law. Persons who receive this document should make themselves aware of and adhere to any such restrictions.

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