Generali Investments launches first green bonds fund
Generali Investments has launched its first sub-fund investing primarily in green and sustainable bonds in a move that, according to the Italian group, is in line with its commitment to sustainability with its long-term fixed income investment expertise.
Generali Investments SICAV (GIS) Euro Green & Sustainable Bond offers a liquid and transparent investment strategy in bonds set to finance projects related to energy transition or renewable energies, with a real positive impact on climate change.
The sub-fund invests primarily in Investment Grade green and sustainable bonds denominated in Euro featuring the Bloomberg MSCI Barclays Euro Green bond index as its main investment universe and official benchmark. It is registered for sale in Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Spain.
GIS Euro Green & Sustainable Bond benefits from an active investment approach combining top-down and bottom-up financial analysis, and leverages several areas of expertise:
- Proprietary Group Ethical Filter, to screen and identify potential ESG controversies affecting issuers
- Specific investment universe including green bonds meeting the "Green Bond Principles" based on the Bloomberg MSCI Barclays Euro Green bond index
- Additional ESG Risk Rating provided by Sustainalytics, to monitor issuers on ESG criteria in addition to their green bond issuances.
- Portfolio construction and bond selection carried out by in-house Euro Fixed Income specialists, based on internal Sovereign and Credit research inputs
The result of this rigorous selection process is a green and sustainable bond portfolio with high average rating and attractive geographical diversification, said Generali Investments in a note.
Carlo Trabattoni, CEO of Generali Investment Partners, said: "Financial markets can be highly effective in moving capital to where it is needed and we aim to leverage on our expertise in managing more than €405bn in Euro fixed-income assets to address sustainability issues.
"In this perspective, and in line with the Generali Group's commitment, we are launching the new GIS Euro Green & Sustainable Bond, which we think might contribute to the key global priority of climate change mitigation."
More than $250bn in green and sustainable bonds were issued in 2019, with a diverse pool of issuers across sectors and various types of "green" financial instruments on the rise.
According to Generali, the perspectives for 2020 are in the direction of further growth in terms of number of issuances, expected volumes and market players.
