Stewart Investors, an active, long-only equity specialist focused on sustainable investing since 2005, has recently launched a Global Emerging Markets (ex-China) Leaders Sustainability Fund (“the Fund”). The Fund is available as a VCC for investors in EMEA and Asia, reflecting growing appetite among investors for the investment manager’s emerging markets-focused funds.
The UCITS fund, managed by Jack Nelson, leverages the team’s decades of expertise and strong track record of investing in emerging markets. It will invest in high-quality companies with exceptional cultures, strong franchises, and resilient financials outside of mainland China. It will aim to achieve attractive long-term capital growth and contribute to a more sustainable future across global emerging markets.
The Fund follows the launch of the Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability Fund in 2020, which invests in leading companies valued at over USD $1 billion that positively contribute to, or benefit from, sustainable development. Earlier this year, Stewart Investors marked the 15-year anniversary of its Global Emerging Markets Sustainability (GEMS) All-Cap strategy with benchmark-beating returns across multiple time periods, net of fees, further highlighting the team’s strong track-record in this asset class.
The Global Emerging Markets (ex-China) Leaders Sustainability Fund will focus on identifying 25-45 mid to large-cap companies with quality management teams. It will exclude firms listed in China or companies whose majority of revenue is derived from China. This reflects recent investor appetite for dedicated China allocations separate from global emerging market specialist funds, as well as pockets of concern over perceived investment risk and volatility in China.
Jack Nelson, Portfolio Manager at Stewart Investors, said: “Emerging markets are a melting pot for forward-thinking and innovative companies contributing positively to sustainable development. Underpinned by our bottom-up approach to stock picking, we believe there is a real opportunity in the years ahead to deliver quality returns by investing with responsible stewards who are growing resilient franchises. This latest fund will enable us to continue on this journey and support our investors as they look to benefit from the many tailwinds in emerging markets.”
Stewart Investors has an investing heritage dating back to 1988 and manages more than US$18.6bn worth of assets (as at 31st March 2024). The team aims to achieve positive social and environmental outcomes by investing in and proactively engaging with companies that support positive contributions, such as health and wellbeing, financial inclusion, reducing waste, water and energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
Its website outlines the team’s approach to sustainable investing and showcases its Portfolio Explorer tool, which allows easy access to details of the companies held in their sustainability strategies and explains how these companies are contributing to sustainable development.