Morningstar has added three funds to its Sustainable Prospects list, which highlights strategies that analysts feel stand out for their integration of ESG factors in their approach.
The Robeco Multi Asset Sustainable range was among the latest cohort to the list.
The range consists of three different strategies. Sustainable Income Allocation aims to deliver stable income, Sustainable Diversified Allocation invests a large part of its equity allocation into impact strategies, while Sustainable Dynamic Allocation offers significant exposure to Robeco’s thematic strategies.
“We consider the firm’s sustainability team to be among the most impressive in the industry,” said Morningstar analyst Thomas De Fauw.
“The firm’s five-year return forecasts help set the strategic asset allocation, after which the team makes tactical adjustments using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative indicators.
“A positive development has been the recent move from a fund-of-funds to a line-by-line approach, which allows for greater customisation.”
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The $4.7bn Pictet Clean Energy Transition has also been recognised by Morningstar for its ESG characteristics. The strategy has been managed by Xavier Chollet since 2011.
“He also has provided continuity to the strategy as there has been some turnover within his supporting cast throughout his tenure. However, the team has been bolstered recently, and as of May 2024, it counts four portfolio managers, which makes it one of the better-resourced outfits,” said analyst Ronald van Genderen.
“This strategy uses the same proven, well-structured, and repeatable bottom-up process as all of the other Pictet’s thematic strategies. It’s a sensible approach that warrants sufficient depth of research, and execution has been highly consistent.”
The fund has returned 104.8% over five years, compared to the IA Commodity/Natural Resources sector average of 64.8% according to FE FundInfo data.
The new additions, alongside the Belgium-domiciled DPAM B Equities Europe Small Caps Sustainable fund, take the total number of strategies on the Sustainable Prospects list to 10.
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