The Altius Sustainable Bond Fund has won the Lonsec Innovation Award 2016, which recognises the major innovators and industry leaders who are shaping the future of Australia’s wealth creation sector.
The Lonsec Awards go beyond the pure quantitative, looking at the people behind the investment decisions, the rigour of the investment process and philosophy, and the new thought and innovations that create real value for investors.
Bill Bovingdon, chief investment officer at Altius Asset Management, says the Fund was developed in response to customer demand given a lack of sustainable investment options in the fixed interest asset class.
“Historically there has been a dearth of options available for sustainable fixed interest allocations. This Fund was one of the first in the Australian market to apply a sustainable screening to fixed interest.
“This screening ensures that the Fund invests in companies that not only meet Altius’ investment return criteria, but also conduct their business and capital responsibly, giving full consideration to a range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
“The Fund’s approach is to employ two levels of sustainability screening to ensure it invests only in companies which both conduct their business, and apply capital responsibly, in ESG terms.”
The Lonsec Innovation Award win follows strong investor interest in the Altius Sustainable Bond Fund, with the fund being added to five new platforms so far this year. They are Asgard; IOOF Portfolio Service; IOOF Pursuit; IOOF Employer Super; and the Macquarie Acquire platform.
“The interest in the Fund from a range of platforms is encouraging, and is a strong indication of the interest by advisers and their clients in fixed income investments with the benefits of a sustainable ESG option.
The Altius Sustainable Bond Fund has a “Recommended” rating from Research house Lonsec.
