Global investment manager Schroders announced today that it will include sustainability data at an individual fund level, beginning with its next Assessment of Value Report (AoV), to be published in April 2022.
In 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the conduct regulator for financial services firms and financial markets in the UK, began requiring fund managers to complete an Assessment of Value Report annually for each UK-domiciled retail and institutional investment fund that they manage, providing investors with detailed information on a range of areas, including performance, costs, charges and quality of service. According to today’s announcement, Schroders stated that it is enhancing the transparency of its sustainable and impact investing related information by adding individual fund level sustainability data, as well as insights around active ownership.
James Rainbow, Chairman of Schroder Unit Trusts Limited and Head of Schroders UK business, said:
“Our aim is to be at the forefront of responding to market demands and ensuring investments remain suitable for our clients’ needs. Our two published Assessment of Value reports have described Schroders approach to sustainable investing. We are now going one step further by including sustainability data for all of our funds. We see this as an opportunity for Schroders as an active manager to differentiate ourselves by enhancing transparency around sustainability and demonstrate additional value to our clients.”
The increase in transparency follows the announcement by Schroders earlier this year that it had completed its process to integrate ESGEnvironmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments. More factors into the decision-making across all investments that the firm manages. At the time, the firm said that it would next look to understand the impact of its investments and the risks they face as a result. Schroders developed a platform called impactIQ, encompassing the firm’s proprietary tools SustainEx, Carbon Value at Risk (VAR) and ThemeX, aiming to enables investors to understand the direct impact their investments are having on society and the environment.
According to Schroders, the sustainability and impact data in its upcoming AoVs will be supported by impactIQ, and will also be reflected for relevant funds in the firm’s fund factsheets.
Andy Howard, Global Head of Sustainable Investing, Schroders, said:
“As an active asset manager, it is important that we help our investment teams assess the potential socialSocial criteria examine how it manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where it operates. More and environmentalEnvironmental criteria consider how a company performs as a steward of nature. More impacts of our clients’ investments and be able to estimate and quantify them. We do this with impactIQ, our set of proprietary tools.
“These tools help our investment teams quantify the sustainability risks and potential impacts of issuers in which we invest and enable our clients to apply a similar lens to the portfolios we manage for them. They enrich our research process and enable our analysts and fund managers to ask questions of how a company is managing its business, the impact this might have on society and stakeholders or how they contribute to sustainable themes.”
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