Neuberger Berman is launching a Dublin-domiciled UCITS Sustainable Asia High Yield fund, which aims to a have a portfolio with a carbon intensity 30% lower than the broader Asian high yield universe.
The fund, which will be benchmarked against the JPMorgan JSEG JACI High Yield index, will be run by Nish Popat in London alongside Sean Jutahkiti and Prashant Sing in Singapore. The managers will be supported by 15 on-the-ground investment professionals in Singapore and Shanghai.
Popat said: "Asia forms a large and resilient part of the global economy and is now one of the largest bond markets in the world. Yet, sustainable investing all too often stops at the border to the emerging world.
"We believe EMD investors have an important role in promoting sustainability, as emerging countries contain about 80% of the world's population, contribute towards 60% of its GDP and generate two-thirds of its carbon emissions."
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The portfolio managers will analyse ESG factors along with identifying businesses that are using technology to "provide solutions for a low carbon future". The fund will omit corporate issuers from the bottom decile of Neuberger Berman's ESG rankings and sovereign issuers "with weak ESG profiles".
The team will proactively engage with corporate issuers to encourage improvements in ESG profiles, while sovereign engagement is focused on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights.
Jose Cosio, head of intermediary, Global ex US at the firm, said: "In order to significantly reduce carbon emissions globally, targeted investment across Asia will be necessary to ensure substantial progress is made.
"This requires a more active, engaged, and forward-looking approach to achieve genuine sustainable investing, while meeting the needs of the region."
The management fees for the Class I Acc USD share class are 0.60%.
