Environmental or social characteristics of the Sub-Fund

The Sub-Fund aims to provide a total return (the combination of income and capital growth) of the Benchmark plus 0.75% (gross of fees per annum), over any five-year period, while applying ESG Criteria and Sustainability Criteria

How the Sub-Fund meets its environmental and social characteristics

The Sub-Fund applies ESG Integration. ESG integration is the systematic inclusion of ESG factors in investment analysis and investment decisions.

The Sub-Fund invests in securities that meet the ESG Criteria and Sustainability Criteria.

The following types of exclusions apply to the Sub-Fund’s direct investments:

• Norms-based exclusions: investments that are assessed to be in breach of commonly accepted standards of behaviour related to human rights, labour rights, environment and anti-corruption. 
• Sector-based and/or values-based exclusions: investments and/or sectors exposed to business activities that are assessed to be damaging to human health, societal wellbeing, the environment, or otherwise assessed to be misaligned with the Sub-Fund’s sector-based and/or values-based criteria.
• Other exclusions: investments assessed to be otherwise in conflict with the ESG Criteria and Sustainability Criteria.

References to “assessed” above mean assessment in accordance with the ESG Criteria and Sustainability Criteria.

The benchmark of the Sub-Fund is the Bloomberg MSCI Euro Corporate ESG BB+ Sustainable SRI Bond Index (Total Return Gross).

The Benchmark is an ESG benchmark which is consistent with the ESG characteristics promoted by the Sub-Fund. The Bloomberg MSCI Euro Corporate Sustainable SRI BB+ Bond Index is an investment-grade corporate bond benchmark that follows the rules of the Bloomberg Euro Aggregate Corporate Index and applies additional ESG Factors for security eligibility. The Investment Manager refers to the Benchmark when constructing the Sub-Fund’s portfolio but is not bound by the Benchmark rules when selecting investments.

Additional information

Further information on the ESG methodology, including data sources, screening criteria and the relevant sustainability indicators of the Sub-Fund can be found in the ESG Criteria and Sustainability Criteria.

A description of ESG and responsible investment terms used is available in the Sub-Fund’s Prospectus.

Information on how the environmental and social characteristics have been met can be found in the latest annual report.