Investment platform Circa5000 has launched an impact-focused Ucits ETF fund range that will invest in companies tackling the world’s most pressing challenges, in line with the investible UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The new range of ETFs will invest in five key areas: green energy and technology, sustainable food and biodiversity, clean water and waste, social and economic empowerment, and health and wellbeing.
The range of five ETFs provides coverage of all the investible UN SDGs with minimal overlap and each with specific goals.
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The aim of the Green Energy & Technology Ucits ETF is to eliminate the 51bn tonnes of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere each year.
For the Circa5000 Sustainable Food & Biodiversity Ucits ETF the aim is to protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity through sustainable production techniques and technologies.
The Clean Water & Waste Ucits ETF targets improved access to water globally and facilitate safe and effective waste management.
For the Circa5000 Social & Economic Empowerment Ucits ETF, the aim is to create equal social and economic opportunities for all subsets of society whilst progressing human development.
Finally, the Health & Wellbeing Ucits ETF invests to ensure the world’s population has access to the basic goods and services required to live a healthful life.
The Circa5000 funds can be used individually to gain key thematic exposure, or together to create a fully diversified portfolio, covering the full spectrum of high-impact global equities.
The fund manager has adopted fintech Tumelo’s pioneering voting technology for its new range of impact focused ETFs, becoming the first UK ETFs to offer this facility.
It means every institutional investor in the Circa5000 fund range can choose how they want to vote at corporate annual meetings – via Tumelo’s platform – by selecting a voting policy, voting ad hoc, or delegating to their fund manager. The Tumelo platform also allows investors to access research from leading proxy advisor Glass Lewis.
Following roll-out to institutional investors, Circa5000 is also considering offering the same service to retail investors.
Thematic screening and impact analysis, in partnership with Impak Analytics and BITA, ensures only the highest impact companies are selected for each fund, according to Circa5000, and the firm reports on a comprehensive set of impact metrics for each ETF.
Charlie Macpherson, managing director of ETFs at Circa5000, said: “The Circa5000 funds invest in companies generating positive social and environmental benefits alongside positive long-term financial returns.
“We don’t tweak existing strategies to tick regulatory boxes, our core strategy is impact investing. And at the heart of our philosophy is the measurement and reporting of impact.”
Circa5000 was launched in 2019 and is one of the few investment specialists to earn B Corp status.
It is dedicated to channelling investment to companies addressing the most pressing environmental and social challenges of our time. It already has 150,000 customers on its direct-to-consumer platform.
This story originated on our sister publication, ESG Clarity.
