Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM), part of the BNP Paribas Group, has launched the AXA WF Defensive European Equity Fund, offering exposure to sustainable European equities.
The fund is classified Article 8 ( funds that include both ESG and non-ESG traits without sustainability as a core goal. ) under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, a standardised approach to ESG fund disclosures as part of the EU Sustainable Finance package.
The fund is built on the MSCI Europe Climate Paris Aligned Index, which promotes environmental and social responsibility in line with the strategy’s focus on supporting the climate transition.
The fund aims to provide a predetermined level of downside protection and limited upside participation each quarter. Each quarter, its protection feature resets to shield investors from losses between –5% and –20%, while capping potential gains over the same period.
Axa IM launches Paris-Aligned European equity ETF
The product is available to institutional and retail investors in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The strategy is managed by Axa IM’s structured asset management team.
Lorraine Zafrani, head of structured asset management at Axa IM, said: “We are excited to offer a product that not only reduces uncertainty for investors and reduces the downside risk, but also provides them with access to AXA IM’s time-tested expertise in derivatives, usually offered to institutional clients only. Moreover, the fund is one of the first of its kind to give a framed exposure to the European market with an actively engaged ESG approach.”
