R&M Global Sustainable Opportunities Fund

A global equity fund which combines valuation discipline and contrarian thinking with sustainability integration (SFDR Article 8)

Why Global Sustainable Opportunities?

A sustainable global equity fund that achieves a rare combination of sustainable investing with contrarian and value-based credentials
Focused on the transition of firms to sustainability, leading to “off the beaten track” ESG investments…
… with re-rating potential and an actual real-world positive impact on the environment
A great diversifier for investors over-exposed to the same narrow set of ESG growth stocks
Run by experienced global equities managers, William Lough and Hugh Sergeant.

What is SFDR article 8?

In March 2021, the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) came into force.

The SFDR is designed to help institutional asset owners and retail clients understand, compare, and monitor the sustainability characteristics of investment funds by standardising sustainability disclosures.

Under article 8, a fund seeks to achieve its investment objective through promoting, among other characteristics, environmental or social characteristics, or a combination of those characteristics, provided that the companies in which the investments are made follow good governance practices.

How does the fund differ from other 'ESG' funds?

This fund is focused on opportunities created by a generational shift within a number of unloved areas of the market, as they improve their own sustainability characteristics and tap into opportunities created by huge trends such as spend on decarbonisation.

We don't believe that carbon avoidance is the investment solution to the environmental issues we face. If society is to hit its climate targets, there is an unequivocal need to decarbonise polluting sectors and activities. Is it better to invest in a company with a low carbon footprint because it is capital light, or does it do more actual good for the environment to, for example, invest and support a steel manufacturer with the technology to halve the carbon intensity of its products or its customers’ products?

This has profound implications for the sort of investments we will make. Rather than a list of the usual well-known companies which are perceived as good simply because their business activities happen to have low carbon emissions, we will be investing in companies which expect to show an improvement, and enablers of that improvement. This leads us to stocks with rerating potential and fits well with our contrarian and valuation-orientated mindset.

This is our broad investment opportunity then: an opportunity to make the returns we want for our investors, and the investment that is going to support companies delivering sustainable improvement.

Investment process

The fund is an SFDR Article 8 fund, managed via R&M’s established Sustainable-PVT (S-PVT) process, in which ESG is an integral part of our approach. We believe that a sustainable business compounds value for all stakeholders over the long term. It is a responsible steward of capital with a culture of longevity. We evaluate sustainability through the pillars of People, Innovation and the Environment, including companies undergoing change leading to positive long-term outcomes.

learn more about our philosophy and process

Asset TV Fund Selector Masterclass | Equities & ESG with Brewin Dolphin

In this Masterclass with Brewin Dolphin hosted by AssetTV, three experts, including R&M's portfolio manager William Lough, discuss how they integrate ESG and sustainability into their global portfolios, how they use engagement and how they encourage better governance.

Learning Outcomes:

The difference between thematic and sector-based investing
How the energy crisis has re-invigorated the ESG debate
Finding alpha opportunities for ESG portfolios

Please note that this video is hosted by AssetTV and requires you to sign in via LinkedIn or AssetTV directly.

About the fund managers

William Lough
Portfolio Manager, PVT Equities

William graduated from the University of Oxford with a First-Class Honours Degree in Modern History, before joining R&M Asset Management an equity analyst in 2009. In 2013 he was promoted to Director of Research and in 2014 became alternate Portfolio Manager on Hugh Sergeant’s Recovery and Alpha strategies.

In addition to the Global Sustainable Opportunities strategy, William is also the co-manager of the UK Dynamic Equity strategy and the Global Alpha strategy.

Hugh Sergeant
Head of Value and Recovery strategies, PVT Equities

Hugh graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in Economics. He joined Gartmore in 1987 as a UK equities graduate trainee and moved to Phillips & Drew in 1990, managing UK equities throughout his 12 years there. He became Head of Smaller Companies in 1997, establishing a new team and launching the UBS Smaller Companies Fund. In March 2000 Hugh was promoted to Head of UK Equities at UBS Global Asset Management and Chairman of the UK Equities Committee. He joined Société Générale Asset Management in 2002 as Head of UK Equities, manager of the Growth strategy and co-manager of the Special Opportunities Fund.

Hugh was one of the founding members of R&M Asset Management in 2006. Hugh is Head of Value and Recovery strategies within the PVT Equities team and manages the Alpha and Recovery strategies.