Vontobel Asset Management Australia has launched the Vontobel mtx Sustainable Emerging Markets Leaders Fund, a new emerging market fund for Australian institutional and wholesale investors.
After screening for ethical, social and governance (ESG) factors, the fund invests in companies in emerging markets that trade at discounts relative to their peers and the overall market.
The fund's investment strategy states that the fund "will seek to achieve its objective by investing mainly in a portfolio of equities, or equity-like instruments, of companies domiciled, or having a majority of their business activity, in an Emerging Market and which we believe are leading in their sector in terms of competitive position and return on invested capital, while also fulfilling sustainability criteria."
As part of the ESG selection the fund avoids industries such as tobacco and weaponry. It has an initial minimum investment of $10 million.