Rathbone Unit Trust Management Limited has announced the launch of the Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainable Bond Fund on 30 November 2023.
The new fund will be managed by head of fixed income, Bryn Jones, and fund manager Stuart Chilvers, supported by the wider fixed income team.
The Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainable Bond Fund will be a global credit fund, focusing on sustainable themes aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and building on the team’s long-standing Four Cs Plus* investment process. The investment universe covers government, corporate investment grade and high yield bonds and will predominantly focus on three main currencies, USD, EUR & GBP.
Independent sustainability screening of securities will be provided by the research team of Greenbank, Rathbones’ ethical, sustainable and impact (ESI) investment division, led by head of research, Kate Elliot. Greenbank will provide the same sustainability framework utilised by the Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability Fund and the Rathbone Greenbank Multi-Asset Portfolios. Should a bond fail to pass the screening, Greenbank will veto its inclusion in the portfolio.
The fund will sit in the IA Sterling Strategic Bond Sector and the S share class OCF will be capped at 0.4%.
Bryn Jones, fund manager of the Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainable Bond Fund, said: “With more than 20-years’ track record investing in ethical bonds, we feel this is a natural extension to our range. Regulation is leading to a higher cost of capital for ESG laggard companies and carbon intensive industries. Further, stricter disclosure requirements are making evaluation of high yield and emerging market debt opportunities significantly easier in terms of meeting our sustainability criteria. We believe adopting this global opportunity set makes sense when we can see diverging core inflationary pressures across the globe.”
Tom Carroll, chief executive officer, Rathbone Unit Trust Management, said: “We are pleased to introduce this new strategy to investors who are looking for a flexible global bond allocation, which meets strict sustainability standards. The Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainable Bond Fund both complements, and provides a different approach to, our existing bond funds. Our award-winning fixed income team has an enviable track record and have, for many years, worked successfully with Greenbank on the Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund.”
