Smart Pension has invested £550m in the AMX-DWS global low carbon stewardship fund.
The fund is one of the first pooled funds to provide institutional investors with split voting within a pooled fund. It is a new low-carbon global equity index strategy that also offers new stewardship voting capabilities.
The fund makes use of Minerva Analytics’s new split voting technology, which attempts to follow a low-carbon global stock index and provides investors with diversified equities exposure in line with the Paris Climate Agreement’s long-term goals. The goal of the fund is to achieve net zero by 2040, which is in line with the Smart Sustainable Growth Fund goal of Smart Pension.
The asset manager DWS, the Carne platform, AMX, Minerva Analytics, and Solactive, a provider of indexes, are all partners in the fund.
Smart Pension chief investment officer Paul Bucksey says: “We are focused on achieving great outcomes for our members. We want to help them secure long-term financial growth and a safer, healthier world in which they can retire. We’re delighted to have worked with AMX, DWS, Solactive and Minerva Analytics, to create a fund that is strongly aligned with not only our net zero targets but also our commitments to stewardship and accountability.
“We wanted to be able to invest in a low carbon fund that offers institutional investors split voting, so we have even more influence over the simple changes companies can carry out to make a big difference: lowering their carbon emissions, reducing harmful waste and improving their sustainability processes. Now more than ever before, investing in a lower carbon economy is crucial for our future.”
Carne chief business development officer Mark Stockley says: “We are delighted to partner with Smart Pension, Minerva Analytics, Solactive and DWS to provide institutional investors with an innovative solution that allows them to express their voting rights, ensuring climate change and governance issues are addressed by corporate stewards across the globe.”
Minerva chief executive Sarah Wilson says: “Pooled index funds are an extremely cost-effective proposition for long-term investors. For too long, however, that has meant compromising on stewardship and voting issues. We’ve always believed that clients can have the best of both worlds: cost effective asset management with a bespoke active voting and engagement strategy built around the client’s wishes. We are therefore delighted to partner with Carne and DWS and Smart Pension on this important and timely initiative.”
