PIMCO ESG Global Bond Fund

PIMCO has launched its first dedicated ESG fund offered to Australian clients, the PIMCO ESG Global Bond Fund (the Fund).

The Fund benchmarks itself against a traditional global bond index (the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index hedged into AUD), and invests in a range of sovereign and investment grade corporate bonds from around the world. The Fund is managed by a team led by PIMCO's MD and CIO of global fixed income, Andrew Balls, and portfolio manager and head of ESG portfolio management, Alex Struc.

Commenting on the Fund, 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 Fund provides the tools to do that without compromising on returns."

Struc added: "Historically, this type of strategy has been pursued by equity investors but we firmly believe that engagement as a debtholder is equally important. Across the vast fixed income universe, small change can have an enormous positive impact."