Imfino News

April 8, 2019 - AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) today announces the launch of the AXA World Funds Framlington Clean Economy fund which seeks to provide investors with access to the long term growth potential of clean technologies.

Managed by Amanda O’Toole, the Sub-Fund of the Luxembourg-domiciled SICAV aims to deliver long-term growth by investing across the clean technology universe of companies, whose activities improve resource sustainability, support the energy transition (from fossil-based to zero-carbon energy production and storage), and address the issue of water scarcity.

The fund’s investment approach looks beyond traditional sector classifications, and identifies companies whose activities benefit from long-term, secular growth themes.

The fund also forms part of AXA IM’s growing impact fund range, and the company’s Impact Framework is a key feature within its investing strategy. In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the AXA IM Impact Framework helps define the impact objectives and outcomes across the range. Within the Clean Economy fund, the UN SDGs it focuses on are aligned with each of the strategy’s 4 sub-themes. Please see Fig 1. below for a comprehensive look at the SDGs the strategy measures against.

The strategy’s 4 sub-themes address and attempt to solve the problems we face due to fixed/finite amounts of resources.

•  Sustainable Transport – electric vehicle adoption, significant advances in battery technology, and the development of emmision reduction systems.
•  Smart Energy – renewable production costs, greener homes and buildings with digitalised electricty networks and energy storage solutions, and greater efficiency in factories reducing energy consumption.
•  Responsible Nutrition – precision farming, reducing demand for excessive animal products, bioscience innovation and companies whose technology improves drinking water quality and reduces water usage.
•  Recycling and Waste Reduction - businesses which mitigate environmental damage – by reducing waste, facilitating recycling, monitoring and resolving pollution.

Amanda O’Toole, portfolio manager, comments on why the Clean Economy is relevant for investors right now:

“There is greater urgency than ever before to manage carbon emissions and limit global warming. Every day the planet’s finite natural resources are further stretched: 200,000 more people populate the earth every day. In today’s interconnected society people are increasingly aware of these issues and are lobbying for change. At AXA IM we’ve recognised these changes and the opportunities they represent for the companies whose activities facilitate the transition to a more sustainable economy.”

“Using an unconstrained, multi-cap strategy, the Clean Economy fund invests in publicly-listed companies that have high growth potential as they support the world’s renewable energy transition and the drive towards resource optimisation, as well as waste and pollution reduction.”

The fund is registered and available to professional and retail investors in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Portugal (retail only), Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Liechtenstein.