Investing in the social transition
The ‘S’ in ESG is multifaceted but can fundamentally be drawn back to the unequal distribution of human rights and resources – the right to a decent job and income, education, and access to healthcare. The socio-economic implications of inequality could impede growth and increase the risk of financial crises and poor public policy decisions, as well as fuel social unrest.
We believe investors can play a positive and influential role and capture a significant investment opportunity as markets increasingly price in the risks and opportunities of social inequality.
Our Social Transition Global Equity strategy targets opportunities aligned to the principles of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (see below specific SDGs) that support and benefit from the transition to a more socially equitable economy. We invest with an active, high-conviction approach to address the needs of investors seeking two objectives:
Long-term capital growth
To support the transition to a socially equitable economy
Our approach
We go beyond a simple approach of only investing in companies providing solutions to tackle inequality, to also invest in companies transitioning their business models towards a more socially equitable economy. Moreover, we seek to drive further positive change by engaging with investee companies on specific social issues.
Transition focus
Our proprietary transition risk framework helps identify winners from the social transition across all sectors. Our approach aims to deliver more resilient performance over the long term, uncover more alpha opportunities, and more effectively support the social transition than by investing in solutions-focused companies alone.
Bespoke engagement
We engage with all portfolio companies on specific social issues. Our three-year structured engagement programme systematically tracks all companies with an escalation pathway that could ultimately lead to divestment if we are not satisfied with their progress.
Investment opportunities in the strategy are linked to the following investment themes and aligned with the principles of the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
Transition themes
Respect human rights
Promote decent work
Responsible corporate behaviour
Solution themes
Access to education
Access to health
Access to finance
Social Transition Global Equity strategy
Aviva Investors Social Transition Global Equity Fund
This strategy aims to deliver long-term capital growth by investing in companies globally that either provide solutions to social inequality or transitioning their business models to manage their social impact, while avoiding those that do not meet minimum social criteria.
Evidencing how we are progressing against our sustainable outcomes objective
This report looks at the progress the fund has made in 2022, in delivering tangible sustainable outcomes for clients, across the companies invested in as well as through company engagement and macro stewardship.
Social Transition Global Equity: Strategy in brief
We invest in global equities of companies which are providing solutions to tackle inequality as well as companies transitioning their business models towards a more socially equitable economy.
Key risks
Full information on the risks applicable to the Fund is detailed in the KIID and Prospectus.
Investment risk and currency risk
The value of an investment and any income from it can go down as well as up and can fluctuate in response to changes in currency and exchange rates. Investors may not get back the original amount invested.
Equities risk
Equities can lose value rapidly, can remain at low prices indefinitely, and generally involve higher risks — especially market risk — than bonds or money market instruments. Bankruptcy or other financial restructuring can cause the issuer's equities to lose most or all of their value.
Counterparty risk
The Fund could lose money if an entity with which it does business becomes unwilling or is unable to meet its obligations to the Fund.
Illiquid securities risk
Certain assets held in the Fund could, by nature, be hard to value or to sell at a desired time or at a price considered to be fair (especially in large quantities), and as a result their prices could be very volatile.
Derivatives risk
Derivatives are instruments that can be complex and highly volatile, have some degree of unpredictability (especially in unusual market conditions), and can create losses significantly greater than the cost of the derivative itself.
Sustainability risk
The level of sustainability risk to which the fund is exposed, and therefore the value of its investments, may fluctuate depending on the investment opportunities identified by the investment manager.
Strategies in focus
Sustainable transition
A range of strategies investing in opportunities to accelerate change for Climate, People and Earth.
Social Transition Global Equity team
Richard Saldanha
Senior Portfolio Manager
Need more information?
For further information, please contact our investment sales team.
Our views
-
The tipping point for climate finance: Making financial flows consistent with the Paris Agreement
29 Nov 2023
Transition plans, including from governments in response to the Global Stocktake, will be crucial to bring about the shift to a low-emissions, climate-resilient world. Markets need clear implementation signals to align capital with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Our in-depth report calls for the creation of a transition-plan ecosystem connecting all levels of the global economy.
-
Deals delayed and crowded trades…But investors can still find value in infrastructure debt
4 Sep 2023
Private infrastructure debt still offers a broad spectrum of opportunities, but investors face complex challenges. In this Q&A, our infrastructure debt team contemplate the current state of the market and where it goes from here.
-
Tipping points and transformation: Getting on the right side of change
16 Aug 2023
Rapid changes in the global economy could tip some sectors into low-carbon phases faster than incumbents expect, with important investment implications.
-
Charging up: Batteries and the fight against climate change
5 Jan 2023
Batteries are set to play a crucial role in helping to decarbonise the global transport and energy sectors. As capital floods into an industry experiencing exponential growth, we look at the key considerations for investors.
-
Confronting a permacrisis? The intersection between antimicrobial resistance, climate change and biodiversity loss
23 Nov 2022
Will a warmer and less biodiverse world give pathogens new opportunities, and do we have the tools to confront disease? This report discusses the complex intersection of three planetary crises and calls for urgent action to slow resistance to antimicrobial drugs – an obvious public health emergency.
-
Deep water: Ten threats to marine ecosystems
8 Jun 2022
Our air, weather, food, the health of diverse marine life and millions of jobs all depend on the ocean. But we have not done well as custodians of marine ecosystems. Here, we set out ten ways where human actions threaten the health of an essential environment.
-
Energy in focus: Part 2: The pivot to green
28 Mar 2022
How will the surge in the prices of oil, gas and coal impact the transition to low or zero carbon sources of fuel? In the second part of our Q&A on the energy sector, experts from our credit, equities and ESG teams contemplate the challenges and opportunities in the pivot to green.
-
Energy in focus: Part 1: The last hurrah for fossil fuels?
24 Mar 2022
The fallout from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has highlighted the fragility of energy markets, with significant implications for the global economy.
-
What does the data say? ESG in focus
25 Feb 2022
In this month’s instalment of our visual series on topical data themes, we look at some of the major ESG trends and metrics of the last few years.
-
Valuing nature: An interview with Elizabeth Maruma Mrema
17 Feb 2022
In this interview, AIQ catches up with Tanzanian biodiversity leader and lawyer Elizabeth Maruma Mrema about the threat of biodiversity loss, the recent Kunming Declaration and missed Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as well as the role of finance in protecting nature.
-
Nature’s domino effects: An interview with Sean B. Carroll on the biodiversity crisis
10 Feb 2022
In this interview, AIQ catches up with biologist and science writer Sean B. Carroll about nature’s hidden connections and why human beings must act to reverse biodiversity loss.
-
Powering up: How the drive to meet net zero targets will scale up electricity demand
26 Jan 2022
Decarbonising energy is leading to a raft of infrastructure challenges for the electric grid. So, what will this mean for investors?
-
Nature shock: Grappling with nature-based risk
19 Jan 2022
Could nature degradation prove a significant threat to corporate and financial stability? As climate change accelerates, oceans acidify, deforestation and soil erosion continue and species are lost, this important question is weighing on investors and financial regulators around the world.
-
Investing for climate action: Easy as SBTs?
11 Jan 2022
With governments struggling to turn words into action on climate change, investors can ensure the private sector plays its part by pushing firms to adopt science-based targets, argues Rick Stathers.
