Europe's largest asset manager, Amundi, is making an aggressive push into the green investment space as the firm confirmed it has launched a range of 'net zero ambition' funds across several asset classes.
According to the firm, these strategies provide an opportunity for investors that aim to support the transition to net zero while searching for risk-adjusted returns.
The company's new net zero strategies will be made available across its offerings of equities, fixed income, real estate, multi-asset, emerging markets, and climate ETFs.
All of Amundi’s actively managed “net zero ambition” strategies have the objective of reducing their portfolios’ carbon intensity by 30% by 2025 and 60% by 2030 compared to 2019.
Investment vehicles
In equities, the Amundi Funds Net Zero Ambition Global Equity and Net Zero Ambition Top European Players assess the credibility of companies’ decarbonisation targets.
Both are large-cap focused, and are respectively managed by Piergaetano Iaccarino, Amundi’s head of equity solutions, and Andrew Arbuthnott, senior portfolio manager.
In fixed income, the Amundi Funds Net Zero Ambition Global Corporate Bond fund seeks to achieve a combination of income and capital growth while aiming to reduce its carbon footprint in line with the benchmark (Solactive Paris Aligned Global Corporate).
The strategy is managed by Nadine Abaza, global credit portfolio manager and Steven Fawn, head of global credit at Amundi.
Finally, the Amundi Real Estate European Net Zero Ambition Strategy is a real estate climate impact strategy that employs a multi-sector and multi country allocation, with a commitment to maintain the carbon footprint of the portfolio below a 1.5 C° trajectory model, in line with the Paris Agreement.
In terms of geography, the strategy will focus primarily on the deeper, more mature markets in Western Europe, while also investing in a selection of European peripheral markets.
Vincent Mortier, chief investment officer at Amundi, said: “As a European asset management leader, we are launching the net zero ambitions range across active, passive, and real assets, so investors can fuel the transition."
He stressed: "It is also critical to provide investors with a wide range of choices in order to help them align their investments to a net zero decarbonisation pathway.”
Last year, Amundi released a statement setting out the company’s approach to “Say on Climate” proposals, which are proposals that target corporate climate strategies.
