CPR AM & CDP Launch Fund To Fight Global Warming

Building on combined commitment and action on environmental, social, and governance issues, French investment and asset manager CPR AM, a subsidiary of Amundi, is teaming up with CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) to launch a thematic equity fund which will be dedicated to fighting global warming.

CDP is best known for its Carbon Disclosure Project which boasts over 6,000 companies, cities, states, and regions disclosing their environmental practices and performance. Its new partnership with CPR AM, therefore, marks a first step outside of its traditional playground and is the first time the group has been involved in the design and creation of an investment fund.

The new fund — created between CPR AM and CDP and to be managed by global equities fund manager Alexandre Blein — will invest in global equities that best manage climate change-related risks and will have an investment universe of 700 stocks encompassing all geographies and sectors a priori. Investments will be made in companies striving to meet the Paris Agreement’s commitment to limiting global warming to under 2°C.

The CPR Invest – Climate Action fund will not only make use of CPR’s experience but will also benefit from CDP’s environmental data disclosure and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analysis to determine the investment universe. By incorporating CPR AM’s engagement with all companies to ensure future action on climate change and CDP’s data and analysis, the fund will be able to assess a company’s ability to generate economic value with positive environmental stewardship. The fund will be underpinned by three criteria:

• external climate ratings through CDP and science-based targets data
• an extensive ESG filter at different levels of granularity based on Amundi ratings
• an exclusion of high ESG controversies through a third filter

“This fund offers investors an innovative investment solution to address climate-related financial risks,” said Valérie Baudson, CEO of CPR AM. “Reducing global warming requires collective action across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Climate change affects all geographies and sectors and we believe companies play a crucial role in ensuring the objectives set in the Paris Agreement are achieved. We take our role as a responsible investor seriously and strive to influence companies’ behaviours to drive positive environmental change, and ultimately portfolio performance.”

“We are delighted to be working with CPR AM on this ground-breaking fund, especially at such a critical time for climate change globally,” added Laurent Babikian, Director of Investor Engagement at CDP Europe. “Corporate transparency on environmental issues is key but this information needs to be priced in and integrated by the market, in order to shift capital at the pace required. The launch of this fund demonstrates that information on corporate climate performance is not only being requested by the market but is being used in investment decision making, in this case through stock selection and screening.”