ESG & Sustainable Investing

In this virtual session, Chris Bowie (Partner & Portfolio Manager) introduces our sustainable, short duration credit fund; ‘Vontobel Fund - TwentyFour Sustainable Short Term Bond Income’.

Fixed income investors increasingly desire their investments to have a positive societal impact, but in the rush to scrutinise the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials of government and corporate bond issuers, we believe the natural ESG advantages of asset-backed securities (ABS) have so far been overlooked.

This deal, backed by a £472m pool of owner-occupied mortgages partially securitised in a previous transaction, drew over £1.2bn of orders and was printed 10-30bp tighter than initial price guidance depending on the tranche, reaching pre-COVID tights.

Ultimately, the fact that the Klockner deal is not marketed as a green loan but still includes ESG-related covenants is proof that ESG needs to be integrated into an investor’s credit work as a matter of course, something we have been arguing for years.

ESG investing was tipped to be the biggest theme of 2020 for financial markets, but was swiftly superseded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has dominated investors’ thoughts since Q1. We thought it was important to revisit this topic and explore if and how the pandemic has changed the world of ESG.

Jack Daley discusses how we actively engage with companies on behalf of our clients to help transition to a more ESG responsible world.

A member of our Multi-Sector Bond team discusses TwentyFour's ESG approach.

A member of our Investment Grade team discusses the growth of green bonds over the last few years.

Elena Rinaldi discusses why ABS should be seriously considered by investors looking to invest on an ESG or sustainable basis.

Partner and Portfolio Manager Chris Bowie discusses whether a particular low volatility credit fund could have been managed on a sustainable basis, while still meeting its objectives

Gordon Shannon, Portfolio Manager, discusses momentum in ESG investing.

Sophia Papi discusses TwentyFour's CSR approach.