Invesco has added to its multi-asset range with five risk-targeted portfolios investing in low-cost responsible products.
The Invesco Summit Responsible Range is managed by multi-asset fund managers Clive Emery (pictured) and Richard Batty, alongside deputy fund manager David Aujla. The team will select low-cost ETFs largely created by teams at Invesco to meet specific ESG criteria. The Invesco solutions team and the wider multi-asset, global ETF and ESG teams will also be involved.
The range is initially available in the UK and carries fees of between 0.26% and 0.30%.
To create the funds in the range, Invesco has worked with index providers’ customised ESG indices and has also launched a framework for the asset allocation, known as Responsible Asset Allocation (RAA).
In a statement, Invesco said the plethora of funds coming to the market with unclear definitions and characteristics can be confusing and unclear. It created the range to be a “simple, affordable and comparable proposition” with the team using “industry standard” MSCI ESG data.
Invesco head of UK distribution Alexander Millar said: “Everyone should be able to make responsible investment decisions that don’t cost the earth. Through active management and our experience and resources across our investment, solutions, ETF and ESG teams, we are able to offer meaningful outcomes to suit a variety of client needs.”
The range of funds is risk-rated from 1 to 5 and has three objectives: to grow the assets over the long term of five years or more by investing across a variety of regions and asset classes; to invest 100% in investments that meet certain ESG criteria; and for each fund to adhere to a specific risk level.
Each fund has a different allocation across asset classes and geographies, including third-party funds, in line with the group’s ESG criteria and the RAA framework. Emerging markets have been excluded until ESG appropriate vehicles in these markets exist.
Fund manager Emery said: “Working with our in-house expertise across investment and ESG, we have been able to create the building blocks for this fund range, that enable broad access to financial markets, while also positively and substantively increasing their ESG credentials.”
The investment managers select underlying ESG funds that typically aim to track indices and follow all or some of the following methodology:
– Negative ESG screening which includes weapons, oil sands, tobacco and companies that have not been assessed on the basis of their ESG credentials.
– Positive ESG screening or tilting increasing overall exposure to those companies demonstrating a robust ESG profile and/or a positive trend in improving that profile.
– Sustainability focused selection with exposure to issuers and instruments linked to activities that positively contribute to certain environmental or social sustainability objectives such as companies in a specific sector or industry.
