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Funds Group: Aberdeen Funds
Management Company: Aberdeen Asset Management
Funds Affected: Aberdeen Asia Bond, Aberdeen Asia Pac ex-Japan Equity, Aberdeen China Opportunities, Aberdeen Diversified Alternatives, Aberdeen Emerging Markets Debt, Aberdeen Emerging Markets, Aberdeen Focused US Equity, Aberdeen Global Equity, Aberdeen Global High Income, Aberdeen Global Unconstrained Fixed Income Fund, Aberdeen International Equity, Aberdeen International Small Cap, Aberdeen Japanese Equities, Aberdeen Select International Equity, Aberdeen Total Return Bond, Aberdeen US Mid Cap Equity, Aberdeen US Multi-Cap Equity, Aberdeen US Small Cap Equity Inst.
Principal Sustainable Investment Strategy: ESG Integration

Aberdeen Standard Investments Summary:

With regard to equity funds, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) analysis is fully integrated into investment decisions for all equity holdings. As such, Aberdeen evaluates ESG factors as part of the investment analysis process and this forms an integral component of Aberdeen’s quality rating for all companies.

As for bond funds, Aberdeen examines the material risks of an investment across a spectrum of considerations including financial metrics, regional and national conditions, industry specific factors and ESG risks. ESG considerations are fully integrated across all asset classes. The management company assesses how these issues are managed and mitigated as well as the opportunities they might create for the issuer.

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Research

Research and analysis to keep sustainable investors up to-date on a broad range of topics that include trends and developments in sustainable investing and sustainable finance, regulatory updates, performance results and considerations, investing through index funds and actively managed portfolios, asset allocation updates, expenses, ESG ratings and data, company and product news, green, social and sustainable bonds, green bond funds as well as reporting and disclosure practices, to name just a few.

A continuously updated Funds Directory is also available to investors.  This is intended to become a comprehensive listing of sustainable mutual funds, ETFs and other investment products along with a description of their sustainable investing approaches as set out in fund prospectuses and related regulatory filings.

Getting started

Many questions have surfaced in recent years regarding sustainable and ESG investing.  Here, investors and financial intermediaries will find materials that describe the various approaches to sustainable investing and their implementation.  While sustainable investing approaches vary and they have thus far defied universally accepted definitions, many practitioners agree that they fall into the following broad categories:  Values-based investing, investing via exclusions, impact investing, thematic investments and ESG integration.  In conjunction with each of these approaches, investors may also adopt various issuer engagement procedures and proxy voting practices.  That said, sustainable investing approaches will continue to evolve.

In addition to periodic updates regarding sustainable investing and how this form of investing is evolving, investors and financial intermediaries interested in implementing a sustainable investing approach will also find source materials that cover basic investing themes as well as asset allocation tactics.

Inesting ideas

Thoughts and ideas targeting sustainable investing strategies executed through various registered and non-registered sustainable investment funds and products such as mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), closed-end funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Unit Investment Trusts (UITs). Coverage extends to investment management firms as well as fund groups. 

Independent source for sustainable investment management company research, analysis, opinions and sustainable fund disclosure assessments