The fund, managed by Allspring’s systematic edge equity team, is the company’s first equity fund within the CT suite. It provides investors with a diversified global equity portfolio, with the dual objective of targeting excess returns versus the MSCI ACWI and reaching net zero by 2050, the firm said in a statement. 

Previously, the fund operated as the Allspring 2 Degree Global Equity Fund, launched in July 2021. By joining the CT suite, the investment strategy has evolved to introduce a formal net-zero 2050 target. The fund intends to achieve its target by setting a cap on the weighted average carbon intensity that is lower than that of the MSCI All Country World Index, with the cap reducing along a trajectory aiming to decarbonise the fund by 2050, the firm added. 

The fund, which is classified as Article 8 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), is registered for distribution in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland and for professional investors only in Hong Kong.

“We believe that identifying climate transition winners does not necessarily mean solely investing in the low-carbon companies of today but rather in companies that should win in a low-carbon world of tomorrow,” Peter Weidner, senior portfolio manager and head of the systematic edge equity team at Allspring, said. “We use forward-looking transition pathway assessments to identify these companies, helping to reduce risk and capture opportunities presented by the transition to a decarbonised economy.”