New range of funds launched for charities with ESG focus
Charities Aid Foundation’s subsidiary, CFSL, is partnering with abrdn to launch a new range of funds for charitable investors with a focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors.
The range intends to offer value for money whilst ensuring that investments contribute towards the long-term benefit of the causes that charities support. The new range will open for an initial offer period from 16 May to 10 June 2022, and will formally launch on 13 June 2022.
abrdn are a market-leader in investment management with ESG at the core of their investment processes. ESG investing is a strategy that puts money to work with companies that strive to make the world a better place. Potential investments are screened against a set of standards to ensure that the fund only holds assets that meet a set of criteria.
IFSL (Investment Fund Services Limited) continues to act as Authorised Corporate Director of the funds.
The new range consists of a choice of three funds with clear aims, investment policies and targets, to enable charitable investors to choose the most appropriate fund or funds for their needs. The IFSL CAF ESG Fund Range includes:
- IFSL CAF ESG Cautious Fund
- IFSL CAF ESG Income and Growth Fund
- IFSL CAF ESG Growth Fund
The funds are only open to charitable investors, and the pooling of investment allows for greater diversification than could be achieved with a smaller amount of money.
Recent research shows that 85% of respondents of charities feel that ESG factors are either very or quite important to them, and 82% now believe that it is their responsibility to think about climate change specifically. 1
Alison Taylor, CEO of CAF Bank and Charity Services, Charities Aid Foundation, said:
“As a charity ourselves, we’re driven to develop products and services for charitable organisations that reflect the dynamics of the world we are in. This new range of investment funds is about enabling charities to build their financial resilience with sustainable returns, so they can do more life-changing work with lasting benefits for all.
“With the strength of their investment offer and their long-term commitment to ESG investing, abrdn are well placed to work with us in delivering this exciting new range of responsible investment funds.”
Caroline Tye, Managing Director Discretionary, abrdn said:
“We believe that investing responsibly is key to delivering sustainable, long-term returns, as well as helping to address the challenges faced by the world today. Bringing together the global investment capability of abrdn with the unrivalled charity expertise of CAF, we have developed a range of funds that can offer what charitable investors want: robust investment returns, cost efficiency, and investing integrity.
“We’re excited to draw on CAF’s almost one-hundred-year history of supporting charitable organisations to meet their needs, while staying true to their values. The overarching aim is to help investors make the most of their investments, empowering them to fund the causes they are looking to support.”