Wealth management group St James’s Place has announced that Impax Asset Management has been appointed to manage the group’s Ethical Fund.
In a media statement on Tuesday, the company said that the fund would be renamed as the Sustainable and Responsible Equity fund to better describe its investment objective, following the appointment.
Chris Ralph, chief investment officer of St. James’s Place, explained that fund managers Kirsteen Morrison and David Winborne of Impax Asset Management are to manage the newly rebranded fund.
He said: “This strategy adopts a differentiated philosophy, which effectively integrates ESG considerations, as both a source of growth and a risk factor, into a more traditional, fundamental investment process.
“The fund will invest in globally listed companies which stand to benefit from the transition to a more sustainable global economy”
Ralph said that the changes reflected St James’s Place’s “continued commitment to identifying new investment opportunities” for its clients.
He added: “Our focus remains to provide clients with a diversified range of funds to meet their long-term investment objectives.”
In an interview with ESG Clarity prior to today’s announcement, Ian Simm, founder and chief executive officer of Impax Asset Management, said investors are becoming increasingly aware of the high growth rates of sustainable companies in the clean energy, water, waste, materials, food and agriculture sectors.
He said: “With growing urbanisation, growing consumption, increasing demand for higher protein in diets and environmental issues around air pollution, it makes quite a lot of sense for investors with ethical views to adjust their portfolios accordingly.”
