BNP Paribas Asset Management Australia opens two sustainable trusts

By Penny Pryor

BNP Paribas Asset Management Australia (BNPP AMAU) has launched two BNP Paribas sustainable trusts -  the BNP Paribas Green Bond Trust and the BNP Paribas EARTH Trust  - to Australian investors.

The BNP Paribas Green Bond Trust invests in fixed income used to finance projects designed to mitigate or address climate change issues, or green bonds. It is managed by head of Euro multi strategy fixed oncome, Arnaud-Guilhem Lamy.

"The demand for quality sustainable, ethical and impact investment products has continued to grow in Australia and New Zealand. BNPP AMAU is thrilled to offer additional capabilities that meet investor demand for sustainable investment solutions," David Grybas, BNPP AMAU, chief executive officer, said.

"The launch of these additional capabilities will allow an even broader range of investors to benefit from BNP Paribas Asset Management's significant expertise in the sustainable investment space."

The BNP Paribas Green Bond Trust has a management cost of 0.65 per cent per annum (of the net asset value of the trust) and is benchmarked against the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Global Green Bond Index (AUD Hedged).

The EARTH Trust is a global equity long/short strategy that combines long positions in innovative companies that are providing solutions to environmental challenges, with short positions in overvalued companies or those with unsustainable business models vulnerable to transition risk.

It has a management cost of 1.1 per cent per annum (of the net asset value of the trust) and a performance fee of 15 per cent per annum subject to high water mark
and performance hurdle of the benchmark plus 2 per cent. It is benchmarked against the Bloomberg AusBond Bank Bill Index.