Sunsuper, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds with more than $69 billion in funds under management, has awarded its first green bond mandate to London-based impact fixed income manager, Affirmative Investment Management (AIM), with an initial investment of A$150 million.
The mandate’s objective is to deliver a mainstream financial return while providing financing to generate positive environmental and social impact projects.
A long-term active supporter of sustainability, Sunsuper offers a socially conscious balanced option to its members.
Sunsuper’s Chief Investment Officer Ian Patrick said to best protect and manage investments for the long-term, Sunsuper considers environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, impacts and opportunities in our investment decision-making process.
“We believe ESG integration is consistent with better investment outcomes, and has the ancillary benefit of contributing to a better future for our members.”
“As an organisation, we have long considered the science behind climate change as settled. We recognise that from an investment perspective, a just transition to a low-carbon global economy presents both risks and opportunities,” says Mr Patrick.
AIM will deliver an annual impact report to provide investors with transparent measurement of the positive impacts of bond-funded climate change mitigation and adaptation, and global sustainable development, with details of the financial returns achieved from the mandate’s bond portfolio.
AIM’s Managing Partner, Stephen Fitzgerald said he is delighted to partner with Sunsuper.
“We are really excited to be working with the fund to manage an active global fixed income portfolio, benchmarked against Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate, hedged into Australian dollars.”
“The ongoing support and recognition of AIM’s approach reinforces the view that a pure play focus to investing, founded on deep analysis and engagement, can be beneficial to both investors, in terms of financial returns, and to the broader society, in terms of environmental and social outcomes,” said Mr Fitzgerald.
AIM has also been recently named Best Fixed Income Firm Initiative for ESG Investment Process (for their SPECTRUM Bonds®), in the inaugural Environmental Finance Sustainable Investment Awards 2019. This follows on from last year’s success, when the Lombard Odier Global Climate Bond Fund, managed by AIM, won the EF Green Bond Fund of the Year category.
About Sunsuper
Sunsuper is one of Australia’s largest and fastest-growing top-10 super funds with $69 billion in funds under management. As a profit-for-members fund, our 1.4 million members sit at the heart of everything we do. We also support more than 100,000 registered employer clients across a diverse range of industries.* Our purpose is to inspire and empower Australians to fulfil their retirement dreams. It’s our reason for being and motivates us to deliver outstanding customer service, low administration fees, and strong and consistent investment returns. In fact, our Balanced investment option has outperformed the industry average over 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years.** With trust and transparency never more important, we’re also proud to have been recognised as the best of the best when it comes to super, winning Money magazine’s 2018 and 2019 Best Super Fund Manager and Best Featured Pension Fund awards.
* At July 2019.
** Source: SuperRatings Fund Crediting Rate Survey – SRSO Balanced {60-76) Index, April 2019. Warning: Past performance is not a reliable indication of future performance.