Launch of a UCITS III-compliant environmental fund

Pictet has identified these areas as subject to persistent, secular change capable of generating rich investment themes. Pictet believes that changing demographics as well as growing scarcity of water, arable land and timber combined with a shift of energy production to environmental friendly resources offer a remarkable potential for long-term growth. 

The Pictet-Environmental Megatrend Selection fund applies widely accepted environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria. Using the expertise of Ethos, the Swiss Foundation for sustainable development, the fund will also engage companies actively in a dialogue where Pictet, as responsible shareholder, would like to see improvements.

Dominique Biedermann, Managing Director of the Ethos Foundation, comments, "From an environmental, societal and governance point of view, it makes sense to engage a company in dialogue. But it also gives economic and financial added value. For example, a company active in an environmentally controversial field may ultimately run into serious problems due to long term, unforeseen risks. This can have important financial consequences."

The underlying investment universe covers about 1,000 publicly-quoted companies with a small-to-mid capitalization bias, combining solid firms from developed markets with fast-growing companies in emerging markets. While the underlying funds are individually managed, the new fund will employ a strategic allocation process with monthly rebalancing. 

Laurent Ramsey, CEO of Pictet Funds, adds, "This fund is supported by solid long term fundamentals with excellent growth perspectives. We've focused our expertise in this field to provide investors a diversified, structured and socially responsible exposure to environmental megatrends."