Sustainable Equity Management
Mirova is one of the major players in sustainable equity management. Mirova’s funds are all labelled or are in the process of being labelled SRI1 and all its investment portfolios align with a 2°C trajectory. To investors, who want to direct their capital to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we offer equity strategies whose ambition is to reconcile financial performance with a positive environmental and social impact. We believe that investors have a key role to play in transforming the economy into a more sustainable model, and that they will benefit from it.
It is through a long-term vision that we are contributing to the emergence of a greener and more sustainable economy, by taking into account the relevance of the business model, the strategic and financial strength of the company, as well as the environmental, social and governance criteria (ESG criteria) in each investment decision. Our equity management is based on this strong conviction that is shared by our management and research teams.
Sustainable equity management: responsible investment at the core of our portfolios
It is now clear that our economy must be transformed. We are facing environmental, social, as well as governance issues, which urge us to rethink our growth model to make it greener and fairer.
Taking into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in the management of equity portfolios has become essential for asset managers, in order for them to identify opportunities and meet investors' expectations but also to anticipate risks.
However, Mirova’s management philosophy goes far beyond the integration of ESG criteria. We seek to offer investors the investment solutions that enable them to participate in financing the most advanced companies from an ESG perspective1, and innovations needed to transform the economy across all sectors. We believe that both of these approaches, financial and extra-financial, are a powerful lever for long-term value creation for investors and society as a whole.
This is how we have gradually built up a range of thematic and multi-thematic investment strategies with environmental and social impact. These strategies meet the best standards of sustainability and reporting: they are at least SRI labeled and have other specific labels when relevant (label ISR, Finansol, Greenfin, Febelfin)1. Further, all our portfolios are aligned with a global warming trajectory of 2°C.
These strategies are part of green and sustainable growth dynamics, which seems to us to be the only option in the long term.
[1] References to a ranking, prize, certification or label do not anticipate the future performance of the fund or the manager and are not representative of the manager’s experience.
Thematic funds and impact investing: the winning combination of our equity management
Mirova offers sustainable equity management applying both active investing and fundamental-based management focused on innovation and models able to provide business solutions for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our investment strategy goes largely beyond the simple integration of ESG criteria, since we have chosen to put environmental and social impact at the heart of the definition of our investment universes. We have developed a range of impact-based thematic equity strategies, in line with our ambition to pursue both financial performance and sustainable growth. Each of these strategies targets a specific issue addressing it through the choice of investments, and also through the implementation and monitoring of impact indicators.
Our range of thematic equity strategies:
Investing in long term transitions
Today’s world is changing, led by long term transitions: demographic, technological, environmental and related to corporate governance. They will take place regardless of cyclicality within the global economy: sea levels will continue to rise, natural sources of fresh water will continue to become scarcer, people will continue to live longer, and innovations in technology will continue to change the way the world interacts and conducts business.
We believe the companies that are transitioning their business model towards sustainability will have a place in the future economy.
Financing environmental transition
Environmental transition is a key issue for our economic model, but it is also the source of many innovations. Our equity strategy Environmental Transition proposes to invest in innovative companies, in the so-called “green industries”: sustainable waste and water management, sustainable agriculture, green building, industrial energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean transportation. [This strategy is applied to two geographical zones: Europe and the World]
Diversification close to the benchmarks, but for carbon
We created a Climate Ambition investment strategy for investors who are particularly concerned about the climate issue and convinced that low-carbon investments will be a source of outperformance over the medium term, but who also want a strong sectoral diversification of their portfolio. Close to the benchmarks in terms of sectoral allocation, this strategy offers a very broad diversification across the economic sectors. Further, it allows to be consistent with a global warming trajectory of 2°C by investing in climate assets. This strategy seeks to outperform the market in terms of returns and impact, and to control risks as well.
Gender equality: a question of justice as well as of performance
The empowerment of women and achieving equality in the workplace are among the issues identified by the UN (SDG 5). To support the promotion of women in companies, and as we are convinced that gender diversity is a factor of performance for the company, in 2019, Mirova launched a global thematic equity strategy to invest in high-performance companies committed to gender equality, notably improving women’s access to decision-making bodies and equality in the workplace.
Our research and management teams have developed their own quantitative and qualitative analysis methodology to assess companies, as well as a corporate engagement strategy. Finally, Mirova has established a unique partnership with UN Women, to which we pay a portion of the management fees to finance the empowerment of women in developing countries.
Learn about our concept “Empowering women through listed equities”
Learn about the joint investor statement to promote gender equality in the workplace, coordinated by Mirova
Our range of multi-thematic equity strategies : Financing solutions for Sustainable Development Goals
To enable investors to participate in the financing of solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals as a whole, we have created multi-thematic equity strategies broken down by geographical areas: the euro area, Europe, world, and world excluding the US. Each of the strategies, in its geographical area and depending on the opportunities, seeks to invest in all the themes of sustainable development through an active investment management based on responsible conviction. We believe that the most virtuous companies today will be the winners of tomorrow, and we are applying this vision throughout our asset allocation.
Mirova offers active, conviction-based management based on the ability of our asset managers to identify business models that provide solutions to sustainable development challenges.
Latest news
Natixis Investment Managers (Natixis) and Mirova today announced that the Mirova Global Sustainable Equity Fund (ESGYX) has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management. The fund is managed by Mirova US LLC (Mirova US), an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers. Mirova is a certified B Corporation dedicated to sustainable investment, and one of only 20 asset managers selected by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) organization to the PRI Leaders Group 2020(1).
Mirova US Climate Ambition Equity strategy seeks to have a high positive climate impact by making investments that lead to reduced carbon emissions and increased saved emissions, while outperforming the S&P 500 Strategy’s track record extends over four years Managed by Mirova, a global leader in impact investing and part of the Net Zero Asset Management initiative
Fund’s thematic investment approach seeks to identify companies that will benefit from global megatrends in demographic, environmental, technological, and governance transitions Maximizes exposure to companies with a positive impact on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, as well as those with strong performance on material ESG factors Managed by Mirova, a global leader in ESG investing and part of the PRI Leaders Group 2020
Latest publications
We believe that more than ever, green bonds are the focus of attention and the curiosity they are arousing is equalled by the questions they have raised. These instruments, which are geared towards "green" projects, have emerged as a market segment of their own at a time when questions about the integrity and sustainability of investments are becoming increasingly pressing.
Meet Gen Z, which are individuals born between 1996 and 2016, and accounting for a third of the global total population1. They never knew a world without internet and are more likely to be connected much of the time. We also believe they are more socially and environmentally aware and not afraid to voice their opinion. They are entering the workforce and are inclined to choose companies that are more aware of sustainability. We think that other generations will have to adapt to them, not the other way around, and they better do it fast and sustainably, as we feel the Gen Z disruption is in motion.
