Fidelity International expands fund range to include SFDR Article 9 strategies

7 September 2023

• Fidelity’s fund range now includes six active funds and two ETFs under Article 9 of SFDR.
• The funds are part of Fidelity’s wider Sustainable Family range of funds, totalling 59 strategies and representing $36.64bn

Fidelity International (“Fidelity”) today announces that it has expanded its fund range to include eight funds classified as Article 9 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”). This selective group of active and exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) strategies are open to retail, wholesale and institutional clients. The funds address the growing client demand for strategies which invest in issuers that contribute to and benefit from the transition to a more sustainable economy.

Jenn-Hui Tan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Fidelity International, commented: “These funds are supported by the further enhancement of Fidelity’s sustainable investing framework, including a proprietary dataset which assesses an issuer’s positive contribution to the targets and indicators of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (“SDG”). From this foundation, we have been able to develop a series of fund solutions for clients wishing to align their investments with the transition to a sustainable economy.”

Fidelity’s Sustainable Family range of funds expands

Fidelity‘s Sustainable Family range of funds is a cross-asset class fund range with a focused environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) framework. Its investment approach is underpinned by three pillars centred around engagement, exclusion, and Fidelity’s proprietary research.

Fidelity has launched two new active Article 9 funds that aim to achieve capital growth over the long term by investing in ‘sustainable investments’ through investments in their respective country remits. These are:

• Fidelity Funds – Sustainable Global Equity Fund, managed by Cornelia Furse as lead Portfolio Manager, supported by Matt Egerton as Assistant Portfolio Manager.
• Fidelity Funds – Sustainable Asian Focus Fund, managed by Mohit Mandhana as Portfolio Manager.

In addition, four of Fidelity’s Sustainable Family range of funds have been reclassified from SFDR Article 8 to Article 9. These strategies have been adapted to fit with Fidelity’s Article 9 framework. The portfolio management team for these reclassified funds remains unchanged. These are:

• Fidelity Funds – Sustainable Biodiversity Fund
• Fidelity Funds – Sustainable Climate Solutions Fund
• Fidelity Funds – Sustainable Eurozone Equity Fund
• Fidelity Funds – Sustainable US Equity Fund

Article 9 funds require 100% of fund investments, net of cash and hedging instruments, to be invested in ‘sustainable investments’. For an issuer to meet Fidelity’s ‘sustainable investment’ definition, it must have at least 50% of its revenues generated from activities contributing to an environmental or social objective, measured by the EU Taxonomy, by Fidelity’s proprietary SDG tool or through a robust strategy to decarbonise towards net zero. In addition, as specified by SFDR, ‘sustainable investments’ are required to do no significant harm and meet minimum safeguards and have good governance practices.

The suite of Article 9 active funds is complemented by 2 ETFs managed under Article 9(3) of SFDR: the Fidelity Sustainable Global Corporate Bond Paris-Aligned Multifactor UCITS ETF and Fidelity Sustainable Global High Yield Bond Paris-Aligned Multifactor UCITS ETF.

Christophe Gloser, Head of Sales, Continental Europe, Fidelity International added: “Sustainability is one of the biggest and most disruptive megatrends that the sector is facing and one that is impacting our investment decision process. We are committed to providing the best solutions for our clients which is why we strive to further develop relevant products for our clients in the long-term. The expansion of our Sustainable Family range of funds now counts nearly 60 active strategies, offering clients access to a range of funds across asset classes with a coherent ESG framework.”

Source: Fidelity