Fund reporting

This information relates to the Stewart Investors Asia Pacific and Japan Sustainability Fund, Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Sustainability Fund, Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Sustainability Fund, Stewart Investors Indian Subcontinent Sustainability Fund, Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Sustainability Fund, Stewart Investors Worldwide Leaders Sustainability Fund and Stewart Investors Worldwide Sustainability Fund (the “Funds”)

The Funds listed above and shown below pursue responsible or sustainable investment strategies and/or pursue ESG/sustainability characteristics, themes or outcomes. For these Funds the manager aims to make information readily available on how well the Fund is meeting its stated objectives on an ongoing basis to enable investors to monitor whether their expectations are being met. The regulatory environment for these types of funds is rapidly developing and we expect our disclosures to develop over time in light of the changing regulatory landscape.

These Funds seek to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing in companies which both contribute to and benefit from sustainable development, achieving positive social and environmental sustainable outcomes. The Funds only invest in companies that are sustainable investments which contribute to an environmental and/or social objective. The contribution of the Funds’ investments to the environmental and social objectives are assessed by reference to two framework indicators – the manager’s human development pillars and Project Drawdown climate change solutions. 

Project Drawdown is a non-profit organisation, founded in 2014, which has mapped, measured and modelled over 80 different solutions to global warming, with the ultimate goal of reaching drawdown – i.e. the point in the future when emissions stop increasing and start to steadily decrease. Each Fund investment is mapped by the manager against the c.80 solutions (which are captured in eight broader solutions of Buildings, Circular economy / industry, Conservation / restoration, Energy, Food system, Human development, Transport and Water). The manager’s focus is on whether the companies themselves are making a meaningful contribution and will have meaningful involvement with the delivery of any of those solutions. Where the companies in which the Fund invests do contribute to any of the solutions, they will be involved in making products and delivering services directly, by enabling/supporting those solutions, or indirectly.

These frameworks, alongside the manager’s own bottom-up analysis, lean on measurable and reportable outcomes as evidence for determining a company’s meaningful contribution to sustainable development.

Meaningful company contribution:

1. Demonstrates a clear link to the underlying issue and solution, including whether the contribution is direct, enabling/supporting or indirect.
2. Is relevant for the company either as a revenue/growth driver, as strategic initiatives backed by research and development or capital expenditure, or a function of strong culture or behaviours and ‘how they do things’ e.g. for equality and diversity.
3. Recognises negative impacts from the company, including contradictions and risks of perverse outcomes.

Companies can contribute in many different ways to a better future for people and planet. To align with their bottom-up investment approach, the manager provides descriptions on their website, via their interactive Portfolio Explorer tool, on how they believe each company is contributing towards sustainable development. 

Users can explore the stories of individual companies organised by the diverse contributions they make including towards human development pillars and climate solutions. This information is updated on a quarterly basis.

In addition, the data and charts below provide a summary of the social and environmental outcomes for each Fund. This information will be updated biannually. 

Source for analysis and mapping: Stewart Investors investment team, company data and © 2014–2022 Project Drawdown (drawdown.org) as at 31 December 2021.

Contributions are defined by the team as demonstrable contributions to any solution, either direct (directly attributable to products, services or practices provided by that company), enabling (supported or made possible by products or technologies provided by that company) or indirectly (companies that are involved in and around the solution). Indirect contributions are relevant for climate solutions only. More information is available on the manager’s website - stewartinvestors.com/all/sustainable-funds-group/introducing-portfolio-explorer/portfolio-explorer.