Keep in mind that our commentary on the fund, as well as its past performance, is not a guarantee of what will happen in the future. It is also not financial advice, so you should consider advice if you’re not sure.
Like all investments, your money is at risk – investments can go down as well as up, currency fluctuations can affect the value of your investment and you may not get back what you put in.
Triodos Global Equity Impact Fund update
How the fund has performed
The Triodos Global Equities Impact Fund had a positive return, but a lower return than the benchmark. The fund includes a number of Japanese companies, and so was negatively impacted by the Yen. Aside from this, the main reason for the performance gap was down to the individual stock selection. The overall benchmark was raised by seven big tech stocks, but we only invest in one of them. So only the very strong performance of Nvidia mitigated somewhat the large effect of not owning the likes of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta. Due to our sustainability concerns about these companies we do not invest in them.
Triodos Global Equities Fund performance from April to June 2023
| Q2 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Triodos Global Equities Fund KR-cap | 0.37% |
| Triodos Global Equities Fund KR-dis | 0.40% |
| Benchmark (MSCI World Index) | 3.74% |
You can find more performance figures, including a cumulative performance chart, on the Triodos Global Equities Impact Fund webpage. Please remember that past performance isn't a guide to future returns.
Changes to the investment portfolio
National Grid Plc
The British utility company, National Grid, was added to the fund as it fits in well with our fits well with our ‘Sustainable Mobility and Infrastructure’ theme.
National Grid is one of the largest investor-owned utility companies in the world. In the United Kingdom, National Grid owns and operates electricity transmission and distribution networks. The company is also active in the United States (roughly split 50/50 asset-wise).
An upgraded and expanded electric grid serves as the backbone of the energy transition and the requirement of any realistic decarbonisation pathway. Energy from wind and solar leads to greater supply variability in the grids. In the coming decades, grid operators like National Grid must reinforce their infrastructure to face more extreme weather events, build new connections and repurpose their existing assets to handle more renewables generation. To this end the company has outlined “green capex” of £29bn that is aligned with EU Taxonomy (out of total capex of £40bn).
Adidas
After a tough 2022 we saw the stock rebound and we therefore decided to remove this investment from the fund portfolio. Under the new CEO, Adidas will have to deliver a strong turn-around. However, we believe a significant part of this upside was priced in after the rebound and decided to use the recovery as a moment to exit the stock in favour of other impactful companies.
Want to dig even deeper? Find out what the Global Equities Impact Fund invests in.
Triodos Pioneer Impact Fund update
How the fund has performed
The second quarter performance of the Pioneer Fund was negative, lagging behind the reference index. Several factors contributed to this result. Firstly, the almost 10% weakening of the Yen detracted from performance. In the materials and consumer discretionary sector where we have a higher weighting, a number of companies underperformed the benchmark this quarter. And finally, energy and financial sector companies contributed good returns to the benchmark this quarter, but as an impact investment fund most of these investments do not fit our investment strategy.
Triodos Pioneer Impact Fund performance from April to June 2023
| Q2 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Triodos Pioneer Impact Fund KR-cap | -1.76%% |
| Triodos Pioneer Impact Fund KR-dis | -1.78% |
| Benchmark (MSCI World Small & Mid Cap Index) | 0.19% |
You can find more performance figures, including a cumulative performance chart, on the Triodos Pioneer Impact Fund webpage. Please remember that past performance isn't a guide to future returns.
Changes to the investment portfolio
Nordex
We have added this company to the portfolio as it is a leading manufacturer and service provider of onshore wind. As a pure player in the wind energy industry, Nordex contributes to the increase of renewable power production capacity. The company therefore directly helps in the transition towards a net zero emission world, using clean energy and diverting away from fossil fuels.
United Utilities
As a manager of water resources, United Utilities fits in well with our ‘Renewable Resources’ theme and has been added to our portfolio. The company manages the regulated water and wastewater network in Northwest England: areas in which flood and drought have become more prevalent with the onset of climate change. But the company uses climate data to inform its strategy to help balance supply and demand across a number of scenarios.
United Utilities also contributes to climate change mitigation, aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 60% by 2035. In addition, the company pledged to a science-based emissions target of 100% reduction by 2050 (from its new 2019/20 baseline). United Utilities also aims to restore 1000 hectares of peat by 2030, plant 1 million trees to create 550 hectares of woodland by 2030 and set science-based scope 3 emission by 2021.
We're aware of the recent news stories relating to United Utilities, along with several other water companies, discharging untreated sewage into waterways. This is an industry-wide issue, but we've seen United Utilities make considerable process over the last two decades and they are working with the Environment Agency to make improvements. Please rest assured that we'll continue to monitor the situation and the actions taken by United Utilities.
Investments removed from the portfolio
East Japan Railway and Insulet were both sold to reduce the exposure to large companies within the fund which isn’t in line with our strategy. Both companies had market capitalisations of more than 20 billion Euros.
Want to dig even deeper? Find out what the Pioneer Impact Fund invests in
Triodos Sterling Bond Impact Fund update
How the fund has performed
The fund declined in the second quarter and underperformed its benchmark. Part of the reason for this is that we tend to invest in bonds which are less sensitive to interest rate movements, and this had a negative effect in the current environment where yields are rising. Also, some of the specific investments selected for this fund underperformed. The fund invests in more higher quality corporate and government-related bonds, which are less sought-after in the current environment where investors are becoming more positive about the future and prefer riskier investments. However, the proportion of the fund allocated to UK government bonds (also known as Gilts) had a positive effect on returns overall.
Triodos Sterling Bond Fund performance from April to June 2023
| Q2 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Triodos Sterling Bond Impact Fund KR-cap | -3.90% |
| Triodos Sterling Bond Impact Fund KR-dis | -3.91% |
| Benchmark | -3.20% |
You can find more performance figures, including a cumulative performance chart, on the Triodos Sterling Bond Impact Fund webpage. Please remember that past performance isn't a guide to future returns.
Changes to the investment portfolio
Reckitt Benckiser
We added a bond of Reckitt Benckiser. The company fits our theme of ‘Prosperous and Healthy People’ because of its efforts to create a more hygienic world and promote well-being by selling products for hygiene, self-care, safe sex, vitamins, minerals, and supplements.
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