Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) has launched an actively-managed, high conviction sustainable corporate bond fund, aiming to “provide investors with access to a diverse set of sustainably minded borrowers across a variety of economic sectors”.
The fund is the latest offering in RLAM’s sustainable investment range, after the firm launched its article 8 sustainable equity fund in October. The sustainable corporate bond fund will assess the ESG profile of bonds with an expected duration of between two and a half to three years.
Bond yields rose significantly in the wake of the Bank of England’s emergency sell-off prompted by the mini budget in September, especially in the short-dated space.
RLAM said: “Alongside attractive yield, the fund will offer investors access to a variety of socially impactful sectors that are often out of reach of public equity investors, such as charities, government agencies or privately owned businesses.”
Shalin Shah has been appointed senior fund manager, having managed a range of corporate bond funds since joining RLAM in 2008. He will be assisted by fund manager Matt Franklin.
Shah said: “The increasingly important role of sustainability on corporate agendas offers investors opportunities to access assets that can meaningfully contribute to both their return objectives and sustainable goals. We believe our approach, focusing on high quality, short duration assets, offers an attractive solution for investors seeking new sources of yield within a robust portfolio able to minimise exposure to downside risks.”
Rob Williams, chief distribution officer at RLAM, added: “The launch of the sustainable short duration corporate bond fund builds on our established range of sustainable investment solutions which continue to see strong levels of interest from a broad range of investors. Its launch reflects our continued commitment to providing our clients with relevant solutions to meet their long-term return and sustainability goals.”
