J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has today launched JPMorgan Investment Funds - Global Income Sustainable Fund (SICAV), a globally diversified multi-asset income fund with a sustainable focus.
The new fund complements JPMAM's flagship $29bn JPMorgan Investment Funds - Global Income Fund (SICAV) and will be run by the same portfolio managers, Michael Schoenhaut and Eric Bernbaum.
Building on the complete ESG integration already inherent to the investment process of Global Income Fund, the new offering will go further with two additional sustainability characteristics. First, it will exclude companies from 10 unsustainable sectors based on client values, industry norms and regulation.
Second, leveraging the firm's well-established global research capabilities for finding attractive income-producing investments globally, Global Income Sustainable Fund will be tilted towards securities with more effective governance and superior management of environmental and social issues.
This will produce a portfolio with a higher overall ESG score and a materially lower carbon footprint. Reflecting Global Income Sustainable Fund's concentration on ESG leaders, the two funds are expected to only have about 30% overlap in holdings. The new fund, which will have a TER of 75 basis points (C share class), is expected to have 65% lower carbon emissions, than the multi-asset income investment universe.
Massimo Greco, head of EMEA funds at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said: "In the continued incredibly low yield environment, investors need more sustainable sources of diversified income. For more than a decade with our Global Income Fund, we've provided investors with a disciplined and rigorous approach, supported by strong research capabilities, to finding the best risk-adjusted income opportunities globally, across multiple geographies and asset classes. We're thrilled to now expand our offering with this dedicated sustainable multi-asset income fund."
Rob Stewart, global head of JPMAM's Multi-Asset Solutions Investment Specialist team, said: "A huge challenge for sustainable multi-asset income investing is incorporating widely varying ESG factors, from across different asset classes, and bringing those together into a diversified portfolio that produces attractive risk-adjusted income. That's why we believe it is critical for sustainable multi-asset investors to leverage well-established fundamental and quantitative research capabilities."