The fund seeks to exploit growth opportunities in environmental markets for long term investors.
It is based on the Impax leaders strategy, which has a seven year track record. The AUM of the strategy was £506m ($721.9m, €667.3m) as of 31 December 2015.
The fund invests globally, providing exposure to resource efficiency companies across the market cap spectrum.
The underlying companies of the fund tend to have higher market capitalisations than those in Impax’s specialists strategy. The fund also has a lower tracking error and slightly higher yield.
Sustainable economy
Impax believes that the fund will be appealing to clients that have an interest in participating in the transition to a more sustainable economy.
Bruce Jenkyn-Jones, head of listed equities at Impax, said: “We are pleased to expand our product range for UK investors. We believe that the Impax Environmental Leaders Fund is well aligned with strong growth in investor interest in positive climate and environmental solutions.
“Investors are waking up to the inevitability of the long-term decline of the energy and natural resources sectors and an accelerated shift towards decarbonisation. Last December’s Paris Climate Agreement is proving to be an additional strong catalyst for these markets.”
No bias
The portfolio is expected to number 40 – 60 stocks and have a low turnover. The fund has no strong geography bias (54% North America, 27% Europe, 17% Asia including Japan). It is broadly diversified across environmental markets.
The fund is managed by Hubert Aarts who has been lead portfolio manager of the leaders strategy since its inception. Aarts will be supported by Jenkyn-Jones and David Winborne and the 12 strong listed equity team.
