The Aegon Global Sustainable Equity Fund has won an award at the inaugural UNCTAD Sustainable Fund Awards. The ceremony took place during the 7th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development World Investment Forum.
The awards, announced at the virtual ceremony held on October 20, 2021, recognize outstanding funds that demonstrate the highest standards of sustainability and impact, while outperforming their respective financial performance benchmarks.
The Aegon Global Sustainable Equity Fund, managed by Aegon Asset Management, invests in innovative and disruptive companies that are providing solutions to today's sustainability challenges.
The Aegon fund was amongst just three others to win in the prestigious UNCTAD Sustainable Global Fund Award category, which is dedicated to sustainable equity funds. Equity funds represent the largest share of the sustainable fund universe by both number of funds and assets under management.
The four joint winners in the Global Sustainable Fund category were cited as having 'exceptionally high sustainability and ESG ratings, a significant exposure to SDG sectors and low or zero exposure to fossil fuels and controversial sectors'.
"We have a passionate belief in sustainability and that investing in transformational companies will help the world grapple with long-term sustainable issues."
Malcolm McPartlin, co-manager of the Aegon Global Sustainable Equity Fund
Overall, just six fund winners were decided on at the awards, from over 780 sustainable funds that met multidimensional sustainability criteria while outperforming their respective financial benchmarks. The final selection was voted on by an international committee comprising sustainable finance experts from international organizations, industry associations and academia, and chaired by UNCTAD.
A passionate belief in sustainability
Malcolm McPartlin, co-manager of the Aegon Global Sustainable Equity Fund said: "We have a passionate belief in sustainability and that investing in transformational companies will help the world grapple with long term sustainable issues.
"We're absolutely thrilled that the fund and our ethos has been recognized by UNCTAD in receiving this award. Huge thanks to colleagues across both our ESG and equities teams who have been instrumental to this success."
Aegon Asset Management
Aegon Asset Management is an active global investor. Our 370 investment professionals manage and advise on assets of EUR 391.1 (USD 463.8/ GBP 336.1) billion (as of June 30, 2021) for a global client-base of pension plans, public funds, insurance companies, banks, wealth managers, family offices and foundations.