Nanuk Asset Management (NAM) and Equity Trustees have announced a partnership to deliver an exchange-traded managed fund (ETMF) to provide investors with access to global equity indices and companies that prioritise sustainable solutions.
The Nanuk New World Fund, established in 2015 as an unlisted fund and managed by NAM, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on 21 March with Equity Trustees acting as responsible entity. The fund is also available via direct application and investor-directed portfolio service platforms.
“We established the Nanuk New World Fund over six years ago with access for investors only available via a conventional unlisted unit trust, but are excited to announce that the fund is now additionally, and more easily, accessible for Australian financial advisers and their clients as a result of the launch of this active ETMF,” Nanuk managing director Paul Chadwick said.
“The fund aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation and outperformance of traditional global equity indices while reducing volatility of returns and risk of capital loss through appropriate diversification and risk management strategies.”
Nanuk chief investment officer Tom King noted the fund has selected companies that operate in clean energy, energy efficiency, agriculture, waste management, water, recycling, advanced manufacturing and sustainable materials.
“All of these areas are undergoing significant changes as the world seeks to reconcile economic growth with longer-term sustainability and provide us with a potentially rich and continued source of investment opportunities,” King said.
“The significant escalation of environmental commitments around the world over the past two years will support ongoing growth in many of these areas – and not just in prominent technologies such as solar, wind, batteries and electric vehicles, but across the entire economy.
“The fund has outperformed over the last year despite the significant underperformance of many clean technology stocks during this period. The diverse nature of sustainability-related investment opportunities available to the fund allows us to maintain broad exposure to the sustainability theme whilst avoiding areas that we feel have been overvalued by the market.”
Equity Trustees corporate trustee services executive general manager Russell Beasley said the expertise from each firm has been leveraged to provide a better outcome.
“We’re seeing more funds becoming available in listed and unlisted structures, giving flexibility to investment managers and investors. Equity Trustees’ years of experience in funds governance, markets and varying fund structures means we can continue to partner with clients as a responsible entity if or when they choose to list on an exchange like the ASX,” Beasley noted.
