GIB AM launches Article 8 European focus fund

GIB Asset Management has launched an Article 8 European focused fund, International Investment's sister brand Investment Week can reveal.

The GIB AM European Focus fund is part of the Amundi UCITS Fund Partners ICAV, and will be managed by Matthew Kates, with support from head of equities Neil Brown and the firm's global equities investment team.

Aiming to outperform the European benchmark over the long-term, the fund focuses on identifying exceptional companies, with a strong focus on corporate culture.

Kates said: "We believe long-run stock market returns are driven by a small number of exceptional companies. The fund seeks to identify these truly sustainable businesses and hold them over a significant timeframe, thereby enjoying the benefits of exponential growth."

Katherine Garrett-Cox, CEO of GIB AM, added: "We believe that there should be an emphasis on assessing a company's character, with specific focus on how they engage, motivate and develop their workforce as well as their attitudes towards customers and wider stakeholders.

"This fund does exactly that, by looking for those companies that act and behave in the right manner, set high standards and strive to exceed them."