Sustainable fixed income investment strategies don’t grow on trees, even if they are friendly to them. While approaches that integrate sustainability into equity strategies are not uncommon, institutional investors have had limited if any opportunity to access U.S. core fixed income through a sustainable strategy that maintains a keen focus on return objectives. That state of play is in the process of being upended, however, due in large part to the muscular proprietary research capabilities at Aegon Asset Management US.
朝着寻求与传统投资回报并驾齐驱的可持续投资战略发展的趋势正在发生。机构投资的最终受益者明确表示，他们更希望全球经济能够满足当今和未来人们的需求和愿望，同时也减少对环境的影响，维护一个和谐的全球社会。通常，他们通过股票策略来表达这些观点，股票策略为投资者提供了资金投资的话语权。
这在固定收益领域是另一回事，但这丝毫没有削弱资产类别对实现投资者的财务和可持续目标的重要贡献——它只是强调了解决方案的必要性。
“Most investment strategies that focus exclusively on the impact essentially push investors’ need for a return to the side,” says James Rich, Chairperson of the Sustainable Investment Committee and Portfolio Manager, at Aegon AM US.“We’ve created a thematic fixed income strategy that uses sustainability as a way to address our clients’ financial goals over time. 我们相信，将可持续性的主题叠加在一起，不仅有可能产生长期绩效，而且对全球经济、环境和社会产生积极影响。”
Customized definition of sustainability by issuer type
Creating a thematic product that invests alongside sustainability trends starts with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 169 underlying targets to be achieved by 2030.
“The SDGs are a common language that we can use to help define sustainability for investors,” says Rich. “Within those are a series of sustainable megatrends. Some are obvious, such as alternative energy, but there are others that span across many different objectives and industries, including the promotion of energy efficiency, vehicle electrification, and sustainable agriculture. Each megatrend provides an opportunity for our clients to invest alongside sustainable initiatives. Ultimately, if you believe as we do that each of these megatrends is going to continue, then investing alongside them may provide the opportunity for improved outcomes for our clients relative to investing traditionally.”
U.S. core fixed income is a large universe that a diverse strategy that looks and feels like a traditional core product, but in fact, can be reduced to issuers that are more sustainable in the long term.
传统的美国核心固定收益产品与Aegon AM US的可持续固定收益投资战略之间的区别在于，可持续大趋势衍生出的主题叠加以及出现的子主题。该战略旨在投资于那些产品、服务或实践符合我们确定的可持续发展大趋势的债务发行人。里奇说：“这与你在传统美国核心固定收益产品中看到的资产类别和发行人类型相同，比如投资级公司、证券化信贷和主权债券，再加上对新兴市场、低于投资级公司和银行贷款的机会主义配置。”。
然而，至关重要的是，Aegon AM US拥有丰富的研究人才和资源，能够为每种发行人类型和资产类别提供定制的研究方法和可持续性定义。在广泛的核心固定收益战略中，这种能力无论怎样强调都不为过，投资将分配给不同的发行人类型和不同的资产类别。由于涉及发行人类型，这归结为一个专有和差异化的过程，以评估公司发行人、证券化信贷和主权发行人的可持续性和经济潜力。
Rich说：“虽然SDG可以作为一个路标，但它们不是为投资者设计的，因此你真的需要为每种发行人类型和资产类别定制可持续性的定义。”。“我们利用我们专有的内部研究作为制定和管理可持续固定收益战略的主要手段，并将其视为其未来成功的关键。我们的企业、结构化和新兴市场研究分析师是我们进行可持续性研究的主要手段。”
Pursuing better outcomes
All of this adds up to a differentiated core fixed income strategy that incorporates sustainability and seeks competitive financial returns – while also creating a positive impact on the global economy, environment, and society. Furthermore, even if fixed income investors don’t have the same voice as an equity shareholder, they do have control over their own capital and can engage with issuers to encourage advancement of sustainable initiatives.
Rich说：“我们认为，一种既能提高客户的潜在业绩，又能最终促进可持续发展的方法是，将他们的资本投向可持续发展的发行人。”。“如果你投资于一家可持续发展的发行商，基本上就是在降低其资本成本。另一方面，通过从一个不可持续的发行人那里截留投资，你提高了它的资本成本。虽然这种影响在一开始可能可以忽略不计，但随着可持续运动的增加，更广泛的影响有可能是有意义的。这是我们认为固定收益实际上会对您投资的公司产生重大影响的方式之一。”
Learn more about the sustainable fixed income strategy you’ve been waiting for.
AegonAsset Management US is a US-based SEC registered investment adviser and is also registered as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA). Aegon Asset Management US is part of Aegon Asset Management, the global investment management brand of the Aegon Group.
The information contained in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. The article contains the current opinions of the author and is accurate as of the date of the article. Such opinions are subject to change without notice. The author is under no obligation, expressed or implied, to update the material contained herein.
本文包含前瞻性陈述，这些陈述基于作者的信念，以及基于作者目前可获得的信息，关于未来事件的一些假设。这些陈述涉及某些难以预测的风险、不确定性和假设。因此，此类声明不能保证未来业绩，实际结果和回报可能与本文所述声明存在重大差异。
不能保证这些投资或投资组合策略在所有市场条件下都有效，或适合所有投资者，每个投资者都应评估其长期投资能力，尤其是在市场波动加剧的时期。所有的投资都有风险，可能会失去价值。投资者在作出投资决定前，应咨询其投资专业人士。