In early August, fears of an impending recession flared up among investors and the market experienced severe turbulence. Stock markets suffered significant falls. In Europe, the EuroStoxx 50 fell by more than 6% between July 31 and July 5. August; In Spain, the Ibex 35 lost 5.8%. He was not exempt from scare Wall Street, not to mention ESG stock indices (those that apply environmental, social and corporate governance criteria): the MSCI World ESG Leaders, which brings together more than 700 companies from around the world with better sustainable practices than their peers, It remained 6.5%; fell a little more, even, than its brother traditional, the MSCI World.
Although sustainable investing has historically proven more resilient to falls (as revealed in 2021 by Practical guide to sustainability and asset management d’Afi, Allianz GI and FinReg 360, who conclude that ESG indices “perform better in terms of withdrawal or maximum fall”), during the scare This August was not like that. On averageSustainable funds on sale in Spain fell by 5.2% in those days, exactly the same as the funds not ESGAccording to data provided by Morningstar, 71% of ibex values have already recovered from the collapse of early August.
Regardless, some responsible investment vehicles have managed to remain strong despite the worst of this minor crisis. accident. We have selected the ESG equity funds that have fallen the least, that have also returned to their pre-fall levels and that, at the same time, are positive in 2024. All are accessible, given their minimum investment, to the retailer.
Many of these products invest in the infrastructure sector, which has shown its resilience in the first days of August, when it suffered a lower-than-average decline. The first two funds on the list come from Australian manager First Sentier Investors. The first of these, the First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure Fund Category I (accumulation) EUR It appreciated by 1.75% between July 31 and August 5 while the whole market was falling. It has a rating 3 stars from Morningstar. It has beaten its fund category average – variable income, infrastructure sector – in 3 of the last four years, including 2024, when it returned 10.2%, with data as of September 2. In the portfolio, the heavyweights are big utilities such as NextEra, Duke Energy and National Grid. Its 3-year average volatility is 12.2% and it is a product classified as Article 8which implies that it has ESG characteristics. In second place is placed the First Sentier Responsible Listed Infrastructure Fund Class I EUR Accsimilar to the previous one although with a more purely sustainable bias, which over the course of the accident It increased by 1.4% and in 2024, by 6.5%.
These same quotes, for the most part utilitiesin addition to the round American Tower, promoted the Kempen (Lux) Global Listed Infrastructure Fd Class A EUR Accwhich rose 0.90% in the midst of a stock market drain. It is barely a year old and in 2024 it will reach 12.2%. And, also created in 2023, the Ecofin Global Renewables Infrastructure UCITS Fund B EUR Accumulated It resisted last month’s declines with an increase of almost 0.8%. In the year, it increased by just over 5%.
The longest is the Partners Group Listed Infras EUR P Acc, which, according to Morningstar, was launched in 2006. It has increased by 0.60% in these first days of August and in 2024 it has registered a little more than 4%. The most weighted company in the portfolio is the Spanish Cellnex Telecomwhich was the third most bullish price in the entire Stoxx 600 between July 31 and August 5 (+4.75% while the index fell by 6%). Aena is also among its main positions, as are Vinci and American Tower. The average volatility over 3 years is 14.10%.
The bleeding also remained positive. Barings ASEAN Frontiers Fund Class A EUR Accwhich has beaten its category (Equities, Asia) in four of the past five years, including 2024, when it is up 10.8%. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and PT Bank Central Asia Tbk stand out in the portfolio. The Chinese stock market, which is having a bad year – it is down about 6% in 2024 – limited its losses to less than 3% in a turbulent start to August.
With very moderate declines, we find four other funds. BNY Mellon Sustainable Global Emerging Markets Fund Euro A Acc It also relied on Asian markets to lose a tiny 0.2% in the first days of last month. It is the one with the highest costs of this selection and, in a complicated 2024 for Asia in the markets, it marks 1.2%. It is classified as Article 9, meaning it measures and demonstrates your contribution to your sustainable goals; These types of funds are the purest in sustainable investing according to the EU Disclosure Regulation.
They are also Article 9 the two Federated Hermes funds featured in this selection. It Federated Hermes Biodiversity Equity Fund R EUR Acc It has held steady with a drop of 0.25% and has increased by more than 10% this year. It invests in companies “that contribute to protecting and restoring biodiversity,” according to its legal document. It has completed two years of life. It has a significant weight in the portfolio of industrial companies, and among its main positions we find Thermo Fisher Scientific, Kingspan and Tetra Tech. There are still two products with drops of only 0.7%, but in the year they only increase by 4. % %: are the Federated Hermes Impact Opportunities Equity Fund Class R EUR Capitalization and the Stewart Investors Worldwide Sustainability Fund Class I (accumulation) EURthe latter being an indexed product.
