Evans & Partners adds ClearBridge’s value fund to | Australian Markets

Australian asset management firm Evans & Partners has added ClearBridge’s Global Value Improvers Fund, which targets value stocks with confirmed ESG bona fides, to its sustainable product listing.

William Hart, government director of ESG & sustainable investment at Evans & Partners, welcomed the addition of the fund, which he mentioned helps “a progressive style of sustainable investing and ESG integration”.

Hart famous that the fund embraces the following gen ‘ESG 2.0’ strategy, concentrating on firms that show notable enhancements in ESG measures throughout your complete value chain – both reworking their services and products or enabling different entities to advance ESG targets.

The fund, as a core goal, seeks out firms rated by ClearBridge as each undervalued and exhibiting enchancment on ESG measures, with between 30 to 40 holdings throughout each developed and rising markets.

“By adopting this active, forward-looking approach, ClearBridge aims to uncover overlooked opportunities and promote ESG improvements while delivering long-term value for investors,” it mentioned.

The fund targets three classes of ESG improvers: ‘enablers’ (these firms whose services and products facilitate ESG developments); ‘reformers’ (firms with a clear roadmap to ESG progress, similar to power companies transitioning to renewables); and ‘promoters’ (these companies straight advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals).

Among its high sector weightings embrace industrials (25.5%), financials (25.4%) and healthcare (12.4%), with its present high holdings together with banking giants Wells Fargo & Co and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argenta, international funds service PayPal, French power giant Totalenergies, and UK food companies group Compass.

Since inception in January 2024, the fund has returned 26.2% to traders, 2.3% above the MSCI World Value (Net) (AUD) benchmark index.

ClearBridge portfolio supervisor Grace Su mentioned the fund is “focused on companies that we believe are committed to change”.

“We think there’s a lot of opportunity in companies the market doesn’t classify as ESG-friendly, or which have not had their success in incremental ESG achievement recognised.”

The fund uniquely positions itself by concentrating on value stocks, with Su noting that the present evolution of ESG investing has “tended to overlook value strategies as viable investment choices, with most strategies “philosophically oriented toward ESG leaders”.

ClearBridge Investments, an ESG specialist equity supervisor and subsidiary of US investment giant Franklin Templeton, manages US$189.6 billion in belongings (as at December 31, 2024).