Notes from the Investment Floor: Seeking sustainable investment ideas
Freddie Woolfe, Investment Analyst, Global Sustainable Equities discusses the team's approach to identifying investment ideas.
In our Global Sustainable Equities strategy, we invest in high quality companies that are leading the transition towards a more sustainable world. ‘Quality’ in this sense refers to those companies that balance the interests of three core stakeholders:
- the planet on which we all depend,
- the people with whom we coexist, and
- profit which we need for our savings.
This stems from our core belief that those companies that actively seek to reduce theirs and others’ impact on the environment and maximise the value that they can create for society by promoting a more inclusive and equitable world are better placed to create better long-term returns for their investors. This latter point is critical to the proposition of the Global Sustainable Equities strategy; to deliver outperformance of our benchmark while also aligning our clients’ savings with the delivery of positive environmental and social outcomes.
Financial sustainability is a key part of our assessment process, as we believe that offers the strongest platform from which to lead in environmental and social sustainability as well. This results in a significant quality style bias within the strategy. We believe that our focus on companies with long histories of strong and resilient balance sheets, excellent cash flow generation and durable franchises with brand and pricing power should leave them well positioned financially and operationally in times of economic stress, as well as for the long-term secular growth trend that addressing key sustainability challenges represents.
The value of active minds: independent thinking
A key feature of Jupiter’s investment approach is that we eschew the adoption of a house view, instead preferring to allow our specialist fund managers to formulate their own opinions on their asset class. As a result, it should be noted that any views expressed – including on matters relating to environmental, social and governance considerations – are those of the author(s), and may differ from views held by other Jupiter investment professionals.
Important information
This document is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. We recommend you discuss any investment decisions with a financial adviser, particularly if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable. Jupiter is unable to provide investment advice. Market and exchange rate movements can cause the value of an investment to fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than originally invested. For definitions, please see the glossary at jupiteram.com. The views expressed are those of the individuals mentioned at the time of writing, are not necessarily those of Jupiter as a whole, and may be subject to change. This is particularly true during periods of rapidly changing market circumstances. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information, but no assurance or warranties are given. Holding examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation to buy or sell. Issued in the UK by Jupiter Asset Management Limited (JAM), registered address: The Zig Zag Building, 70 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6SQ is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Issued in the EU by Jupiter Asset Management International S.A. (JAMI), registered address: 5, Rue Heienhaff, Senningerberg L-1736, Luxembourg which is authorised and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier. For investors in Hong Kong: Issued by Jupiter Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited (JAM HK) and has not been reviewed by the Securities and Futures Commission. No part of this document may be reproduced in any manner without the prior permission of JAM/JAMI/JAM HK. 29269