The BMO Responsible Euro Corporate Bond Fund will be managed by Andrew Brown and Rebecca Seabrook and aims to maximise returns by providing investors with exposure to primarily investment grade, ethically-screened Euro fixed interest securities.
The fund invests in companies it views as making a positive contribution to society, taking practical action to improve the environment, as well as those furthering sustainable development and operating in a transparent and open way in the reporting of their business activities.
The fund will benefit from the insight and input of three separate specialist teams, including the portfolio managers and Governance and Sustainable Investment (GSI) teams as well as the Responsible Investment Advisory Council (Riac).
The portfolio managers will be responsible for credit research, choice of investments and portfolio construction, with the GSI team and Riac responsible for rigorous screening and input of the ethical and sustainability criteria.
Claudia Wearmouth, director, governance and sustainable investment at BMO Global Asset Management, said: “Demand for ESG focused funds is continuing to grow, as investors become more interested in investing in companies that contribute to sustainable development and avoid those that potentially harm society. We are seeing this demand across asset classes, which is why we have responded with the launch of a second fixed income fund within our responsible range.”
Commenting on the new fund, Andrew Brown, portfolio manager at BMO Global Asset Management, said: “Our income capabilities, combined with our expertise in responsible investment makes us ideally placed to deliver this fund. The BMO Responsible Euro Corporate Bond Fund will be managed with the same approach as our existing Responsible Sterling Bond fund, with the team focused on active credit management, with a view towards capturing risk-adjusted returns over full market cycles, whilst taking into account ESG issues.”
The BMO Responsible Euro Corporate Bond Fund size at launch is €45.2m and will be targeted at retail and institutional investors. The ongoing charge for the R EUR share class is 0.71% and the I EUR share class is 0.67%.
The fund is registered in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy.
