Being sustainable has never been more important.
In an atmosphere of ever louder clamour for change, as heard at COP26, surprising and ever more exciting opportunities are being created in the world of investments in response to huge environmental and societal challenges.
And that's a good thing.
At Collegia we’ve always known sustainability was the future – not only for the whole planet but for the world of investments. This is why we made sustainability the foundation stone of our business and our Auto Enrolment pension. And the good news is that sustainable investments are their own reward, as they can generate excellent returns for all.
Invigorated not daunted by environmental, social and governance (ESG) problems, the Collegia sustainable funds invest in businesses that are not only making a positive difference but also offer a healthy long-term investment. Together with our investment partners at AllianceBernstein (AB), we research thousands of companies, identifying those that have sustainability at their core and using in-depth financial analysis to ensure any investments are sound. The Collegia sustainable funds are based on the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ESG factors are key to all investment decisions.
We don’t invest or minimise exposure to companies directly involved in the alcohol, coal, gambling, pornography, prison, tobacco and weapons industries, and our ambition is for our portfolio revenues to have no exposure to these industries whatsoever.
When sustainable means sound.
It’s not always been easy to identify companies that are doing social good, and doing so profitably, which is why healthy ESG performance and good economic performance have rarely been viewed by investors as a single objective. Recent research, however, indicates that sustainable investments make sound financial sense; it shows a strong and clear correlation between a company’s financial performance and its ESG performance[1].
Engage, understand, change.
Engagement is key to understanding how ESG factors impact investments.
We are firm believers that by engaging with management teams we can gain an in-depth understanding of a company’s operations and culture. In 2020, for example, our investment managers engaged with 40 different companies on 149 ESG issues, sharing real-time insights and offering fresh perspectives.
We at Collegia advocate for positive change, encouraging companies to rein in overly generous compensation packages, create sustainable and ethical supply chains and divest any businesses that distract from their core aims.
We are strong advocates of sustainability as a pillar of responsible investments.
If you’d like to hear more about our approach to sustainability (plus how we’re shaking up the UK’s pension market!), please follow for more.
[1] AB Sustainable Global Thematic 2020 Impact Report
