Asset manager Columbia Threadneedle Investments has launched the CT (Lux) Global Social Bond fund, aiming to use the bond market to target positive social outcomes globally.
As a part of the asset manager’s social impact range, the fund is classified as Article 9 according to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.
Available to European investors, the fund uses the firm’s proprietary rating methodology to determine the suitability of bonds based on their social intentionality and social intensity.
Using an outcomes-based approach, bond issuers making a positive social impact from seven key social development fields – primary social needs, basic social needs, social enabling, social empowerment, social enhancement, social facilitation and societal developments – are identified to form a global social investible universe of over 8,000 bonds.
Priority is given to “areas of most need” based on geographic importance, focusing on aligning outcomes with the 169 targets of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, said the firm.
The social advisory panel, consisting of Columbia Threadneedle representatives, the fund’s core social partner organisation, The Good Economy, and impact adviser, Steward Redqueen – will assess and report on the fund’s social impact, ensuring it delivers social targets alongside financial returns.
Tammie Tang, portfolio manager of the CT (Lux) Global Social Bond fund, said: “By actively selecting specific bonds with positive social outcomes, rather than excluding bonds through conventional negative screens, we aim to generate positive social impact and financial results.”
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