InvestmentWeek, James Baxter-Derrington, 03 November 2020
Quantitative and qualitative screens
From 1 October, the sub-fund became the Generali Investments Sicav (GIS) Sustainable World Equity fund, which offers investors access to “stocks with solid fundamentals” across developed markets, along with strong ESG criteria.
The sub-fund will seek to provide a high diversification across different sectors, countries and currencies in which it will target “recognised leaders” with strong profitability and sustainable financial leverage.
ESG analysis is built into the sub-fund in a three step process, the first of which is the Generali Group Ethical Filter that excludes firms based on “major controversies”, followed by a positive screen identifying ‘best-in-class’ companies within each sector.
Following these, the management team utilises a combined quantitative/qualitative analysis, blending both opinions on the investment ideas with a quantitative framework to optimise risk/return.
Carlo Trabattoni, CEO of Generali Investment Partners, said: “Investors are becoming more ESG conscious and this trend has been enhanced by Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of investing towards a more sustainable economy and inclusive society.
“Generali Group plays a leading active role supporting the sustainable transition and, as Generali Investments, we will keep enhancing our ESG-compliant solutions, offering our investors sustainable performance and superior resilience, combined with a positive and measurable impact on society and environment”.
