In focusing on sustainability in our investments, we seek to position portfolios to benefit from a deep understanding of externalities that, over the long term, we believe the market will price into the value of securities. This is central to our core goal of achieving long-term excellence for our clients.
We have a firmwide controversial-weapons exclusion policy and will not invest in companies that are directly involved in the manufacture and production of cluster munitions, antipersonnel landmines, and biological and chemical weapons. At the request of clients with segregated portfolios, we can exclude specific securities, sections or countries from our ESG-integration portfolios.
Investments involve risk; losses may be made.
We seek high-quality ESG-integration standards firmwide for all strategies. Our aim is to ensure that robust ESG-integration processes highlight material sustainability risks and opportunities. Our approach is based on the belief that, over time, the market will increasingly price negative externalities into the value of securities, and that investment outcomes can be improved by a deep understanding of material ESG-related risks and opportunities.
Ninety One’s investment teams have ultimate responsibility for managing sustainability risks and opportunities, and their own integration frameworks. In this, they are supported by several global functions:
Our engagement approach is driven by our goal to preserve and grow the real value of the assets entrusted to us by our clients over the long term. We take a targeted approach, prioritising engagements where we can exert influence. Where we believe engagement is ineffective or companies are not committed to change, we may use the ultimate lever we have as an investor, which is to reallocate our capital. Ninety One votes at shareholder meetings throughout the world as a matter of principle.
During the financial year 2024, we carried out 488 engagements and cast 15,006 votes.
Ninety One offers a range of strategies that focus on aspects of sustainability, including:
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Climate change |
Access to services |
Economic development |
We invest in a way that seeks to capture the return and growth opportunities from addressing these sustainability challenges. During the reporting period, we focused on expanding our range of sustainable strategies, enhancing our approach to measuring impact, and aligning to regulatory requirements.
| Shareholder support for our transition plan | |
98% |
at the 2023 annual general meeting (“AGM”) |
| Science Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”) commitments or targets approved | |
10.9%Financed emissions |
26.6%Corporate AUM |
| Completed Transition Plan Assessments | |
44 |
to evaluate progress of our top emitters towards delivering ambitious and credible transition plans |
| Added new scenario-analysis tools to enhance our ability to assess climate risks |
| Opened ‘Transition School’ for Ninety One investment teams to further develop sustainable investing expertise |
| Achieved PRI Assessment scores between | |
4 & 5 stars |
across all applicable modules |
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Maintained signatory status to the |
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Implemented UK’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) |
| Submitted our second full CDP report |
| Assets managed | |
£4.3billionsustainable equity and multi-asset strategies* |
£1.0billionsustainable fixed income and infrastructure* |
*As at 31 March 2024. |
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Developed an |
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Developed new analytical frameworks |
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Ninety One Global Sustainable Equity named *Announced 7 March 2023. Based on written submissions assessed by a judging panel. Award organised by ESG Investing. |
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Ninety One Global Environment strategy won the
‘Sustainable Active Equity Manager’ *Announced 24 November 2023. Based broadly on performance over 12m to 30 June 2023. Award organised by Professional Pensions in association with Aon. |
Carbon data is backward looking and needs a better measure at a sovereign level explains Portfolio Manager Nicolas Jaquier. In an interview with Sustainability Director, Daisy Streatfeild, he outlines the unique challenges he and the team face when measuring and assessing the net-zero impact of countries and how to align portfolios to this goal.