T. Rowe Price has launched a global impact equity product certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australiasia (RIAA) that aims to provide investors with an opportunity to pursue their financial goals through positive impact investing.
The Global Impact Equity Fund would provide a high-conviction global equity portfolio of between 55 and 85 securities that would seek to invest in companies creating sustainable, positive, and measurable impact.
The actively managed fund focused on three impact pillars: climate and resources, social equity and quality of life, and sustainable innovation and productivity guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
It excluded industries and companies that the manager believed did not conform to the fund’s impact mandate, such as fossil fuels, tobacco, gambling/ casinos, and for-profit prison companies.
The fund was managed by Hari Balkrishna who had 15 years of investment industry experience, almost entirely at T. Rowe Price.
Prior to being appointed the portfolio manager of the fund, Balkrishna worked closely with Scott Berg on the T. Rowe Price Global Equity Strategy for more than five years.
Darren Hall, T. Rowe Price, head of distribution for Australia and New Zealand, said: “We are pleased to launch the fund with a RIAA certification that signifies best-in-class operational and disclosure standards.
“Over the last decade, T. Rowe Price has invested significantly to integrate ESG factors into our investment research platform, recognising that the long-term sustainability of our portfolio companies is critical to their financial success and to our mission of helping clients reach their financial goals,” he said.
“As an active manager, we want to make a difference with our dollars by directing capital towards desired impact outcomes as well as to influence positive environmental and social progress.”
Balkrishna said: “The investment industry has reached an exciting point where we can contribute to positive societal and environmental change, alongside a focus on financial performance.
“Being able to marry these goals together in a single strategy is an exciting step forward for us as investors, and we look forward to partnering with clients in our pursuit of positive impact at scale, on a truly global basis.”
