Nordea Asset Management (NAM) will broaden the investable universe of its Nordea 1 – Global Gender Diversity Fund to also focus on engagement.
Rebadging the mandate as Nordea 1 – Global Diversity Engagement, the firm said societal demands for change regarding diversity and inclusion “continue to evolve beyond just gender representation”.
“In addition, diversity data disclosure is continually progressing and revealing the wider complexity of D&I issues,” a spokesperson said.
“By extending the global equity strategy’s investment universe to include additional D&I factors, NAM aims to capture a broader range of companies in the early stages of D&I development.”
Portfolio managers Julie Bech and Audhild Aabø will remain at the fund’s helm, and will continue to use the same investment process. However, engagement with the fund’s holdings will become a “core component” of the fund’s strategy. The co-managers will also now be supported by NAM’s responsible investment team.
Another change will be that the fund moves from an SFDR Article 9 product, to an Article 8 product.
While Article 9 funds must make a positive societal or environmental impact and have a non-financial key objective, Article 8 funds should promote good governance, environmental, social and governance practices across their holdings.
See also: “Nordea AM expands ESG range with social bond fund“
Nordea said this is so that no candidates for positive change are excluded. However, it added that at least 50% of the fund will still be held in sustainable investments.
Co-manager Bech said: “Expanding the investment focus of this fund gives us a broader scope, which translates into broader impact. The refocusing also allows us to place a stronger emphasis on engagement in order to drive both alpha and social change.”
According to data from FE Fundinfo, the $273.7m fund has returned 34.2% since launch, compared to its average peer’s total return of 23.5%.
Nordea 1 – Global Diversity Engagement as the second engagement-focused ESG strategy for NAM, having launched the Nordea 1 Global Climate Engagement Fund last April.
