RLAM launches new ethical bond fund

Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) has launched a new authorised unit trust called the Royal London Ethical Bond Trust.

The fund has already received £35m of initial investment and we expect further strong interest amongst institutional and wholesale investors with an ethically sensitive approach.

“Responsible investing”, whether social, environmental or ethical, has come to the fore in recent years. The fund will take a broad policy of not investing in companies and organisations with significant trading interests in five sectors:

Alcohol – involvement in brewing, distillation or sale of alcoholic drinks.
Armaments – manufacture of armaments or nuclear weapons or associated strategic products.
Gambling – investments in betting shops, casinos or amusement arcades.
Tobacco – growing, processing or sale of tobacco products.
Pornography – adult entertainment services.

The fund’s objective is to maximise income (whilst maintaining capital) over the medium to long term. It will invest mainly in Sterling denominated fixed interest securities issued by companies or organisations that meet the predefined ethical criteria.

The Royal London Ethical Bond Trust will build in particular on the success of the Royal London Corporate Bond Trust, currently rated AAA by Forsyth OBSR, our corporate bond pooled pension funds and segregated portfolios.

It will be managed by Sajiv Vaid and Stephen Peirce. Sajiv currently manages the Royal London Corporate Bond Trust and Royal London Pooled Pension Corporate Bond Fund. Stephen co-manages RLAM’s government bond portfolios and also has experience in managing corporate bonds. Jonathan Platt, RLAM’s Head of Fixed Interest, will have oversight of the fund, as he does for all RLAM bond portfolios.

Robert Talbut, RLAM’s Chief Investment Officer and Head of Corporate Governance, said: “We believe that increasingly clients should not have to make a choice between performance and ethical considerations. This fund will allow investors to benefit from our strong performance record while also exercising their ethical preferences.

“At RLAM we believe in “Fixed Interest – not Fixed Thinking”. Our active investment approach gives us an opportunity to add value. RLAM primarily uses its own research for corporate bonds, focusing on the areas of the market where we believe we can add value, particularly in the Unrated and Secured areas of the market.”