Specialist responsible and sustainable asset manager EdenTree Investment Management has launched the EdenTree Green Infrastructure Fund (GIF).
The fund aims to provide investors with an attractive yield and capitalise on the increasing financial commitment to a low-carbon and more sustainable economy.
EdenTree said the fund will take “a rigorous and uncompromising approach to green infrastructure, providing investors with a unique opportunity to access infrastructure projects designed to help forge a sustainable path to energy security and build a greener economy by investing in companies that are committed to responsible, sustainable and ethical business.”
Holdings in the Fund will include companies responding to environmental challenges such as climate change, through investment in areas such as alternative energy, energy storage and the circular economy. The fund will also hold companies aimed at providing solutions to wider societal challenges.
Investing in the infrastructure asset class will give investors exposure to inflation-linked income streams, and a favourable risk and return profile with low correlation to stock and bond markets, “characteristics that are pertinent for investors seeking to navigate today’s market and economic backdrop,” .
The fund will be managed by Tommy Kristoffersen, who is a member of the Multi- Asset and European Equities teams at EdenTree. The team currently manages around £1.7 billion, and the group manages a pool of about £100m of assets explicitly related to green infrastructure.
Kristoffersen has more than ten years’ experience in the investment industry, including as an investment analyst in the alternatives team at Jupiter Asset Management and a member of its Stewardship Committee.
All EdenTree fund managers are supported by EdenTree’s Responsible Investment (RI) team, which sits at the heart of EdenTree and provides market-leading intelligence, analysis, and guidance on responsible and sustainable investments across every part of the fund screening process.
Commenting on the launch, Kristoffersen said: “We believe this fund will be the first of its kind in the market and is the result of decades of responsible and sustainable expertise at EdenTree combined with a unique market opportunity. There is a gap in the market for investments with this level of ESG integration and focus, and the appetite for this type of product has grown immensely in recent years.”
Phil Baker, head of Distribution, EdenTree, added: “Our clients regularly tell us they struggle to identify credible and innovative funds for the alternatives allocations in their ESG portfolios. Advisers, wealth and discretionary managers have invested heavily in providing compelling offerings for their clients and whilst fund options have proliferated in equities and, to a degree, bonds, asset managers have not met the need in the alternatives space. We’re delighted we are able to bring this fund to market at a time our clients are telling us they want to increase their exposure to green infrastructure, as the demand from their own clients for ESG investment solutions only increases.”
EdenTree will be hosting a webinar on the new fund on Thursday 13 October at 10am.
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