Our approach to ESG

Investment portfolios that are positioned for the future and reflect your values

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The rise of ESG (environmental, social and governance) and responsible investments has dramatically altered the landscape around us. There are now more than 1,800 laws and policies in over 180 countries relating to climate change alone. Momentum is set to continue so awareness of the latest developments in ESG and responsible investing is key to building a portfolio that is both well positioned for the future and reflects your values.

Evelyn Partners has long been aware of the benefits of socially responsible investing and ESG investing. We’ve always looked to incorporate clients’ individual values into how we invest for them.

As long-term stewards of your assets, the ESG and sustainability credentials of companies remain an important consideration within our process. This is why we welcome the greater focus on helping company management and investors make appropriate decisions, driven by data.

We routinely consider how this shifting landscape impacts companies we invest in and when and how we need to engage with boards. This ensures that companies are being managed with the long-term prospects of all stakeholders in mind.

The world of ESG and responsible investing is complex and moving constantly, but Evelyn Partners is always on hand to help guide you through.

Our commitment to ESG and responsible investing

Evelyn Partners is not new to managing ethical and sustainable investment mandates. In fact, we have been helping clients invest in line with their values for the past 100 years. As long-term investors, we have always looked at the sustainability of the companies we invest in. Incorporating ESG metrics and screening into our analysis is a continuation of this practice.

The roles of financial analyst and ESG analyst are combined to ensure that material ESG factors are discounted effectively within the financial decision process at Evelyn Partners.

We are signatories to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing (UN PRI) and the UK Stewardship Code. We are also a member of:

  • Climate Action 100+, the world’s largest investor engagement initiative on climate change
  • Find it, Fix it, Prevent it, which harnesses the power of the investment community to increase the effectiveness of corporate actions against modern slavery
  • The Investor Forum, which helps investors work collectively to escalate material issues with boards of UK-listed companies

How we monitor ESG factors

  • Environmental: we analyse the challenges or opportunities faced by companies from their exposure to environmental risk factors (both physical and transitional, including adoption of new technologies or new regulations), dependency on natural capital or impact on the environment. These span climate-related risks, resource management (water, timber, cotton etc), waste management, pollution, land-use and many more
  • Social: we monitor the social policies and practices of companies to ensure that all internal and external stakeholders are being treated fairly. Social issues include, but are not limited to, labour management, supply chains, health and safety, product safety and community relations
  • Governance: we consider factors that measure the quality and robustness of a company’s internal structure and management behaviours and practices. Issues such as executive pay, bribery, board structure, diversity and tax strategy are assessed to ensure the company is well-managed, with decent risk controls and with all stakeholders in mind

To enhance our analysis of investments, we use external screening services. MSCI ESG Manager provides us with ESG data for over 7,000 direct equity holdings, and we can screen over 33,000 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

Your ESG and responsible investment options with Evelyn Partners

We help a wide spectrum of individuals, companies, charities and professional advisers to create bespoke portfolios, using direct investments and funds, plus pre-set managed funds. Through Bestinvest, we also offer an execution-only service.

All our portfolios take ESG metrics into account, alongside more traditional financial factors, whether constructed using direct investments or third-party funds.

Depending on portfolio size, we can exclude certain stocks based on a wide range of negative screens. We’re capable of introducing positive tilts to portfolios too – for example, by using best-in-class ESG scores or alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). In addition, we have a range of ‘Article 8’ classified managed funds pursuing environmental objectives.

Speak to Evelyn Partners about ESG and responsible investing

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Important information

The value of investments, and the income from them, may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested.

Ethical funds

Please note that some ethical funds may, by definition, have a limited investment universe; this may affect performance.