Listed Impax Asset Management has been chosen to run the Desjardins SocieTerra Environment Fund.
The fund will be run using the same process as the Impax Global Opportunities strategy (‘GO’). The Desjardins STE Fund, which as of 31 March 2020 had assets of around CAD 152 million (£87 million), is a socially responsible investment funds launched in Canada and focuses on investing in companies that offer solutions to environmental problems.
GO is an all cap global equity strategy investing in durable companies identified by the proprietary Impax Sustainability Lens. In January 2020 GO celebrated its five-year track record and has outperformed throughout that period returning 81.4 percent since inception to the end of March 2020 versus 48.1 percent from the MSCI All Country World Index (‘MSCI ACWI’). Despite recent market volatility caused by the impact of Covid-19, GO has outperformed the MSCI ACWI, returning -6.5 percent in March 2020 versus -10.9 percent from the benchmark.
David Richardson, Executive Director, Client Service & Business Development at Impax, said in a statement: "We are honoured Desjardins has chosen Impax to become this flagship fund's new portfolio Sub-Manager. GO remains one of our best performing strategies and has outperformed its benchmark year to date, despite the volatile markets. The portfolio is benefitting from its focus on resilient companies that have durable business models, particularly those with lower levels of debt. During the market weakness the portfolio managers have been looking to add to their high conviction holdings.”
Kirsteen Morrison, Co-Portfolio Manager of the GO strategy, added: “Five years ago, we decided to launch this strategy because of the increasing evidence of the disruption that is happening in the world economy. A series of major factors are playing out in the world which we believe will profoundly shape private sector markets over the coming decades, including demographic change, resource scarcity, inadequate infrastructure, and environmental constraints. We don’t believe that the disruption caused by Covid-19 has negatively impacted the long-term growth opportunity of our investment universe.”
