Tjibbe Hoekstra

An active fund that mainly invests in green and social bonds from emerging markets was not available until last month, when the BlackRock Emerging Markets Impact Bond Fund was launched. The new fund is one of the first two EMD funds with an Article 9 rating under the SFDR. 

The Chinese stock markets have been on fire for a few weeks now. The large price losses have also surprised local fund managers, and investors are wondering whether they can still invest in the country with peace of mind. Fund manager David Raper (photographed above) thinks these concerns are somewhat exaggerated.

By only investing in the best of the best, sustainable investors are harming their interests, says Henrietta Pacquement, manager of the Wells Fargo Climate Transition Global Investment Grade Credit fund.

Equity markets in most emerging markets are lagging the US and Europe significantly this year. The reason for this is the stricter rules for listed companies in China and the continuing impact of the coronavirus. While the former is an ongoing source of uncertainty for investors, the latter creates buying opportunities, particularly in Southeast Asia.

Sustainable equity funds invest in a wide range of assets, not just expensive ‘growth’ companies, as is widely assumed, according to Maximilian Anderl, manager of the UBS Equity European Opportunities Sustainable fund.

At launch in 2017, the Responsible Horizon Euro Corporate Bond Fund was one of the first bond funds with a focus on sustainability. The fund has since achieved solid outperformance, but this is not due to the sustainability filters the fund applies, according to fund manager Lutz Engberding of Insight Investment, a boutique of BNY Mellon Investment Management.

US corporate bonds have performed exceptionally well over the past year, but rising inflationary pressures are rapidly increasing the downside risks. The Capital Group High Income Opportunities Fund is therefore underweight on US corporate paper and sees more opportunities in emerging markets.

Quintet Private Bank is shifting its strategic asset allocation to a global asset allocation framework. “Focusing your bond portfolio on Europe has a lot of jeopardy in it,” says CIO Bill Street in an interview with Investment Officer.

Green bonds in developed markets often appear greener than their counterparts in emerging markets. But investors should read too much into this, according to Maxim Vydrine, manager of the Amundi Emerging Markets Green Bond Fund.

Private equity investor Sun European Partners has shifted its focus from typical turnaround investments to ‘good companies that we can turn into top companies’, said Mark Corbidge, head of Sun Capital’s European subsidiary, in an exclusive interview with Investment Officer. ‘Special situations awards we no longer accept.’