Pimco, owned by the world’s fifth largest asset manager Allianz, has launched a fixed income platform for investors that want to “promote change in the world” through social impact themes.
The platform focuses on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment globally, which are normally pursued through equities, but the firm wants to widen impact investing in the fixed income market.
The Pimco GIS Global Bond ESG Fund has been launched as part of the platform roll out. The ESG fund invests in sovereign and investment grade corporate bonds globally and is managed by Andrew Balls, chief executive of global fixed income, and Alex Struc, portfolio manager who co-heads the firm’s ESG initiative.
Pimco excludes companies with business practices that are misaligned with sustainability principles from its ESG portfolios and favours those with best-in-class ESG practices.
The firm said that, “critically”, the ESG team “engages collaboratively” with companies, encouraging them to improve their ESG practices.
Balls said: “For many investors, screening out undesirable investment categories isn’t enough anymore; they want to use their investments to promote change in the world. Our ESG platform provides the tools to do that without compromising on returns.”
Allianz Group was ranked as the fifth largest manager by Willis Towers Watson for 2015. According to Allianz’s latest data, Pimco’s latest assets under management are $1.47 trillion (€1.38 trillion), as at year-end 2016.
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