Matthews Asia launches new Article 9 fund

Matthews Asia has launched a new Article 9 portfolio, the Matthews Asia Sustainable Future fund, which will invest in climate change mitigation, clean environment and health and wellbeing, among other themes.

This is the first Article 9 fund from the investment house, with five existing portfolios recently recategorised as Article 8 under SFDR regulation.

The fund will be run by Vivek Tanneeru (pictured) who currently runs the Matthews Asia ESG fund, along with head of ESG Kathlyn Collins.

Potential investments in the fund will be evaluated on its sustainable credentials via a sustainable investment framework, identifying the ones contributing to a sustainable future and addressing global environmental and social challenges, all while following good governance principals.

The fund will take an active shareholder approach, engaging with companies in order to encourage sustainable practices.

Tanneeru acknowledged some of the headwinds to running a dedicated ESG-focused fund in the Asian market.

He said that while Asia was an "extraordinarily diverse region [that] offers a deep universe of sustainable investment opportunities across frontier, emerging and developed markets", it remains inadequately covered by ratings providers and ESG researchers.

Jonathan Schuman, global head of distribution at Matthews Asia, said he had noticed a "structural shift in investor priorities in recent years, with sustainability and outcome-based objectives becoming an important requirement when making investment decisions".

He continued: "This fund launch underscores our commitment to providing sustainable investment solutions to clients and continuing our history of being responsible stewards of investor capital. We are excited to be able to make these strategies available to a wider, sustainability-conscious investor community."