The latest news on investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

Manulife Investment Management
This week, Manulife Investment Management launched The Manulife Global Fund – Global Climate Action Fund for European institutional investors to invest in organisations that help achieve net zero, under article 9 of the SFDR.

Article 9 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation seeks long-term capital growth by investing in organisations that make positive contributions to climate change, the firm said in a statement.

It responds to investors’ investment needs with solutions that work towards reducing carbon emissions while seeking to generate long-term sustainable investment returns through investments in equities.

“European investors are very conscious of how their actions affect the environment and demand innovative investment solutions that focus on and measure climate action,” said Patrick Blais, head of Manulife Investment Management’s fundamental equity team.

“We believe businesses that are nimble and able to align policies and practices to lower their carbon emissions while also creating strong financial returns are set to be more attractive to investors, have a greater potential to outperform, and can represent less risk for investors over the long term,” he added.

The firm launched the Global Climate Action strategy in Canada early last year and it is now available to European institutional investors through the fund, the firm added.

The fund seeks to invest in companies that are considered by the investment manager to be aligned with the principles of the Paris Agreement and make positive contributions to climate change.

“Whilst some funds focus on passively investing in companies who have low greenhouse gas emissions, we also seek to invest in companies who are likely to significantly reduce emissions, by looking for companies who have incorporated science-based targets into their business to ensure long-term, measurable impact, which should help lead to a faster route to achieving net zero objectives,” he added.

“The launch of this and other sustainably-focused Manulife Global Fund sub-funds to European institutional clients showcases our ESG capabilities and the importance of aligning with the Paris Agreement framework in the journey towards a low-carbon future. It also illustrates our global approach to investing to capture opportunities for European investors across all markets,” Marco Zanuso, head of distribution EMEA, at Manulife Investment Management, said.

Manulife Investment Management also announced the expansion of its range of Manulife Global fund sub-funds available to European investors: Sustainable Asia Equity Fund under article 8, Asian High Yield Fund, and U.S. Small Cap Equity Fund.