Santander Asset Management (SAM) continues bolstering its range of sustainable strategies with the launch of a fixed income fund investing in green bonds.
Santander Sostenible Bonos will invest in green bonds as well as in other type of sustainable debt including social bonds and climate change and environmental products. All these bonds included in the Fund’s portfolio aim at generating a positive impact in the environment and the society.
SAM’s new strategy is managed by Carmen Borondo and builds its porfolio after a thorough analysis of the bond market universe, investing only in issuers in euros with an investment grade rating. The company said in a statement that this process is subsequently followed by the firm’s investment and sustainability committee, which oversees compliance with the sustainability goals and the evolution of this type of funds’ profitability.
During SAM’s Sustainable and Responsible Investment SRI Forum held last month, the firm said it managed 66% of Spain’s total assets under management in SRI strategies and that it had nine funds of this kind: seven in Spain, one in Portugal and one in Brazil.
SAM launched its first range of sustainable funds in Spain last year, made up of two mixed funds, Santander Sostenible 1 and SantanderSostenible 2, and of an equity strategy, the Santander Sostenible Acciones fund.
The firm also launched a global equity fund in October last year aimed at promoting gender equality. The strategy, Santander Equality Acciones, managed by the firm’s veteran fund manager Lola Solana and her team, is the first fund in Spain investing in companies that promote gender equality at all levels.
In 1995, SAM launched the InveractivoConfianza, which was the first SRI fund launched in the southern European country. The firm currently manages the largest fund following responsible and sustainable investment criteria, the Santander Responsibidad Solidario, which had €950m in assets under management as of January 2018.
Source Investment Europe