Managers look for ways to pollinate their crop by Finance News Bulletin

Published: 28/12/07

All occasions are London occasion Search News in the FTcom siteSearchSearch Quotes in the FTcom siteQuotes Your moneyBreadcrumb follow navigation:FT house > Your moneyServicesFrom the countdown to low-energy lighting to tax penalties for gas-guzzling cars, we’re all under rising pressure to get a grip on our carbon path So it’s little shock that a clutch of fund managers have picked up on the investment theme of type of weather change and the businesses that place to profit as we find ways of adapting to it

This autumn has seen the open of global climate change funds from HSBC and Schroders, with offerings obtainable from Virgin, Allianz and F&C in the novel year They have differing perspectives, but they are all trying to recognize companies – worldbroad, large and small, across a broad range of sectors and industries – whose activities in the climate alter arena will give them a competitive edge in the near futureHowever, assessing which crop or technologies have a strong prospect in tackling climate change is, by definition, a pretty speculative exercise“Our side has spent the last nine months going through each sector, manufacturing by manufacturing, trying to assess how climate alter will affect it in the medium to long word, and which companies will benefit,” says Simon Webber, who with Matthew Franklin runs Schroder’s worldwide Climate Change fund

The end consequence is a proprietary database of more than 600 companies universal that are leading the field with innovations in their sectorUnlike most ethical funds, there is no negative show of morally unwanted industries: pragmatism is the name of the game as far as climate change funds are worried So, for example, Webber and his side work on the grounds that we’re not going to give up our cars, but we will move to lower-emission technology including diesel, emotional hybrids and finally cars powered by hydrogen fuel cellsThe Schroders universe includes unadulterated plays such as Borg Warner, which manufactures turbochargers for diesel engines, and also “environmental” automobile manufacturers Honda and Toyota

“Their focus on alternative automobile technologies means they are positioned to gain marketplace share, in comparison with the likes of GM or Ford,” says WebberFrom the database, the Schroders team then selects a collection of 50 to 80 stocks diversified across five themes – clean energy (for example, storm turbines), environmental resources (such as forestry and farming, environmental efficiency (near to the ground-energy lightbulbs, insulation materials), sustainable transport and near to the ground carbon fossil fuels (focusing on habits of using the world’s coal and gas reserves in a cleaner method, for instance by capturing and storing carbon emissions)F&C’s worldwide Climate Opportunities fund has in fact already been launched, but so distant is available only to institutional investors – a retail version is about to happen The fund takes a similarly wide range of nine themes, representing “a holistic move toward to the problems posed by climate change”

These include not only the numerous technologies intended to help reduce emissions, but also those that will pave the method for industries and infrastructures to adapt in the countenance of change – for example, connecting water management and flood controlMeanwhile, with no experience of running actively- managed money, Virgin Money is farming out the management of its Climate alter Leadership fund to expert managers GLG Partners and environmental research firm TrucostVirgin’s finance, which launches in January, focuses on strongly-performing companies (across all sectors) that are most important the field in reducing their own carbon footprints, as well as those involved in the manufacture of solutions to environmental problemsHSBC’s Global Climate Change fund is a distinctly different animal

Having created a cosmos – called the worldwide Climate Change (GCC) index – of 300 stocks of all sizes universal that generate at least 10 per cent of their revenue through a broad range of climate change-related activities, the final assortment of 50 to 70 stocks likely to bring the best risk-adjusted returns is made using quantitative techniques The aim of the finance is to break the underlying GCC index by at least 3 per centFarley Thomas, global skull of wholesale at HSBC, emphasises that although the new fund is based in an directory, it is not a follower “The initial selection of a cosmos of 300 companies is itself an active bet, as is its decrease to a portfolio of 50,” he says

“It’s just done by analysing the basics quantitatively, rather than making value judgments about the managers We favor this route because it’s more systematic and less open to illogicality, but in the end it’s just a different way of investing actively”These are very near the beginning days to talk about performance, but backtests on HSBC’s GCC index suggest that type of weather change does indeed link closely with profitability Backdating the index to the start of 2004 produces a return of around 125 per cent, which far outstrips the MSCI earth Index’s 55 per cent rise over that time

What about volatility One disadvantage of established ethical funds a lot of of which include sustainable environment themes) is that they comprise mainly little and mid-cap holdings, because the biggest companies tend to be screened out of the running on negative criteria That smaller-cap bias does make them more flat to volatilityBut the novel climate change funds take no moral or ethical standpoint: they select on the basis of relevance and performance alone, and therefore are able to invest in companies of all sizes and in most sectors

They are also extremely diverse in nature“There’s not a significant difference in the risk profile of the HSBC fund compared with the worldwide equity universe, but the risk-adjusted returns are much more good-looking,” says Farley ThomasSo is there a long-term prospect for dedicated climate change investment opportunities, or is it just a container of canny marketing and exploitation of the present buzzword“I don’t see them as ‘me too’ funds, though they have been criticised in those terms,” says Anna Bowes of Chase de Vere, the independent monetary adviser (IFA)

“I’m not a fan of theme funds, but climate change is not going absent, and to me it makes sense to focus on the companies standing to capitalise on it”Even moral IFAs are positive Ian Hudson of Hudson Green says: “The size of my clients won’t desire funds like these because they have clear ideas of companies where they will not spend, and there’s no unenthusiastic screening involved here“But I’d suggest them for clients without strong ethical views but keen to sup- harbor good environmental practice

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