Why the Liontrust Sustainable Investment team
- Experienced team: The Sustainable Investment team has more than 200 years of combined experience. Peter Michaelis, Head of the team, has been managing sustainable global growth strategies since 2001. View the team page here.
- Pioneers: Key members of the team were among the pioneers of sustainable investing, being founder members of the PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment) while at Aviva and leading on issues that are now central to mainstream investing such as not owning companies exposed to diesel engines, coal and oil (in 2001) and moving to exclude natural gas (from 2016).
- Distinct, rigorous and repeatable process: The process seeks to generate strong returns from investing in companies aiming to deliver profits through positive social and environmental impacts. The managers look at the world through the prism of three mega trends – Better resource efficiency (cleaner), Improved health (healthier) and Greater safety and resilience (safer) – and then 22 themes within these.
- Selecting stocks: The managers identify well-run companies whose products and operations benefit from these transformative changes and which are helping to make the world cleaner, healthier and safer. Further analysis hones this list down to those companies that exhibit superior sustainability management, will deliver persistently high returns on equity and are attractively valued on a five-year view.
- Integrating ESG: Each manager is an analyst and is responsible for conducting research on a given sustainability theme and the sustainability analysis of potential investments. As each manager is also responsible for the business fundamentals and valuation analysis, we believe it derives an information advantage that would be lost if these roles were separate.
- Time arbitrage: By having a longer time horizon than most, the managers can patiently invest in businesses they believe have years of growth ahead, and take advantage of dislocations in the market when these businesses are trading considerably below what the managers believe they are worth.
- Engagement: This is an integral part of how the managers invest. Engaging on key ESG issues gives the managers greater insight, helps to identify leading companies and is used as a lever to encourage better business practices.
- Impact: The managers show how their funds’ themes and investments are contributing to the UN’s SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). The managers have for many years published all holdings for them.
- Mitigating CO2 exposure: Investments in the SF Managed Fund emit 77.0% less carbon (tCO2e) than the market it invests in as at 31 December 2022. This independent analysis includes direct emissions forming scope 1 and scope 2 emissions only. (Source: MSCI Carbon Analytics/Liontrust).
- Advisory committee: The managers consult an external Advisory Committee, which comprises five experts in sustainability. The Committee’s role is to continually assess and challenge the team and offer guidance on evolving issues within sustainability.
Sustainable Investment team
The team has been managing the Sustainable Future funds for more than 22 years. The team is headed by Peter Michaelis who has been managing the funds since launch. The fund managers all joined from Alliance Trust Investments (ATI) as part of its acquisition and were previously running the Sustainable Future fund range at Aviva Investors.
Funds managed by the team
The Liontrust Sustainable Investment team manages a broad range of funds across equities, bonds, and managed funds.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR applies the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in the US.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund seeks to produce monthly income payments together with capital growth by investing at least 80% of the portfolio in corporate bonds.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing between 40% to 60% of the portfolio in global equities and the rest in bonds, infrastructure and cash.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund invests at least 80% of the portfolio in investment grade corporate bonds denominated in sterling or hedged back to sterling.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing between 20% to 50% of the portfolio in global equities and the rest in bonds, infrastructure and cash.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund applies the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in continental Europe and up to 5% in UK-listed stocks.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund invests between 90% to 100% in global equities, applying the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in developed markets.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing between 60% to 85% of the portfolio in global equities and the rest in bonds and cash.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing between 60% to 100% of the portfolio in global equities and the rest in bonds and cash.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund applies the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in UK-listed stocks.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund uses a thematic approach to identify the key structural growth trends that will shape the global economy of the future and then seek to invest in well run UK-listed companies whose products and operations capitalise on these transformative changes.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR invests in euro denominated investment grade corporate bonds or non-euro denominated corporate bonds hedged back into euros.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR invests between 90% to 100% in global equities, applying the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in developed markets.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing in global equities, bonds and cash.
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR aims to generate capital growth by finding the opportunities for sustainable investing across Europe, including in UK-listed stocks.
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Jessica IronsideHead of International and Institutional Client Service
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Contact us
Vanessa LawleyHead of UK Client Service
Sagar MehtaUK Client Service – London
Direct line:+44 (0)20 3908 8741
Jemima KenworthyUK Client Service – Midlands and the North
Direct line:+44 (0)203 908 8630
Sam NortonUK Client Service – South
Email:sam.norton@liontrust.com
Direct line:+44 (0)20 7412 1763
KEY RISKS
Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested.
We recommend this fund is held long term (minimum period of 5 years). We recommend that you hold this fund as part of a diversified portfolio of investments.
The Funds managed by the Sustainable Investment team:
- Are expected to conform to our social and environmental criteria.
- May hold overseas investments that may carry a higher currency risk. They are valued by reference to their local currency which may move up or down when compared to the currency of a Fund.
- May hold Bonds. Bonds are affected by changes in interest rates and their value and the income they generate can rise or fall as a result; The creditworthiness of a bond issuer may also affect that bond's value. Bonds that produce a higher level of income usually also carry greater risk as such bond issuers may have difficulty in paying their debts. The value of a bond would be significantly affected if the issuer either refused to pay or was unable to pay.
- May encounter liquidity constraints from time to time. The spread between the price you buy and sell shares will reflect the less liquid nature of the underlying holdings.
- May invest in smaller companies and may invest a small proportion (less than 10%) of the Fund in unlisted securities. There may be liquidity constraints in these securities from time to time, i.e. in certain circumstances, the fund may not be able to sell a position for full value or at all in the short term. This may affect performance and could cause the fund to defer or suspend redemptions of its shares. May invest in companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) which is primarily for emerging or smaller companies. The rules are less demanding than those of the official List of the London Stock Exchange and therefore companies listed on AIM may carry a greater risk than a company with a full listing.
- May, under certain circumstances, invest in derivatives, but it is not intended that their use will materially affect volatility. Derivatives are used to protect against currencies, credit and interest rate moves or for investment purposes. There is a risk that losses could be made on derivative positions or that the counterparties could fail to complete on transactions. The use of derivatives may create leverage or gearing resulting in potentially greater volatility or fluctuations in the net asset value of the Fund. A relatively small movement in the value of a derivative's underlying investment may have a larger impact, positive or negative, on the value of a fund than if the underlying investment was held instead. The use of derivative instruments that may result in higher cash levels. Cash may be deposited with several credit counterparties (e.g. international banks) or in short-dated bonds. A credit risk arises should one or more of these counterparties be unable to return the deposited cash.
- Do not guarantee a level of income.
The risks detailed above are reflective of the full range of Funds managed by the Sustainable Investment team and not all of the risks listed are applicable to each individual Fund. For the risks associated with an individual Fund, please refer to its Key Investor Information Document (KIID)/PRIIP KID.
The issue of units/shares in Liontrust Funds may be subject to an initial charge, which will have an impact on the realisable value of the investment, particularly in the short term. Investments should always be considered as long term.
DISCLAIMER
This material is issued by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP (2 Savoy Court, London WC2R 0EZ), authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 518552) to undertake regulated investment business.
It should not be construed as advice for investment in any product or security mentioned, an offer to buy or sell units/shares of Funds mentioned, or a solicitation to purchase securities in any company or investment product. Examples of stocks are provided for general information only to demonstrate our investment philosophy. The investment being promoted is for units in a fund, not directly in the underlying assets.
This information and analysis is believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but is subject to change without notice. Whilst care has been taken in compiling the content, no representation or warranty is given, whether express or implied, by Liontrust as to its accuracy or completeness, including for external sources (which may have been used) which have not been verified.
This is a marketing communication. Before making an investment, you should read the relevant Prospectus and the Key Investor Information Document (KIID) and/or PRIIP/KID, which provide full product details including investment charges and risks. These documents can be obtained, free of charge, from www.liontrust.com or direct from Liontrust. If you are not a professional investor please consult a regulated financial adviser regarding the suitability of such an investment for you and your personal circumstances.