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Fund Complex: Thornburg Funds

Management Company: Thornburg Investment Management, Inc.

Funds Affected: Thornburg Better World International Fund

Sustainable Investing Strategy: ESG Integration

Summary:

The fund seeks to invest in companies which in Thornburg’s view demonstrate one or more significant positive environmental, social and governance (ESG ) characteristics. Many market observers believe that these characteristics contribute to sustainable business and long term investment performance. Through Thornburg’s fundamental research process, the portfolio management team evaluates each potential investment based on a variety of factors, including traditional investment criteria such as the company’s ability to effectively allocate capital, willingness to pay dividends and repurchase shares, ability to sustain a competitive advantage, and ability to grow its core business. The portfolio management team also assesses each company’s ESG characteristics, emphasizing the following areas: Ethical business activity, corporate governance, environmental impact, social factors surrounding customers, suppliers and employees and product integrity.

Market observers differ in their perspectives and understanding of the importance of ESG factors to investment decisions. In its evaluation of potential investments, Thornburg may identify as significant certain ESG characteristics that are different from the characteristics that other investors may consider significant. Thornburg consequently may not consider the same ESG characteristics that other investors might consider in evaluating a potential investment. Similarly, Thornburg may assess the significance of ESG characteristics differently than some other investors, assigning either greater or lesser emphasis to a characteristic than another investor might assign.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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