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For its single-minded commitment to delivering attractive long-term financial returns while having a positive impact on society and the planet as a whole. the Biodiversity Equity Fund by Federated Hermes has been named Best New Fund – Equity.

The team invests in a concentrated portfolio of companies that are best-in-class and provide solutions to avert loss of and support restoration of biodiversity. It has extensively researched the major regional and global threats to biodiversity and has defined six investible themes: land pollution; marine pollution and exploitation; unsustainable living; climate change; unsustainable farming; and deforestation. For each company the team analyse company financials and ESG factors, and complete a biodiversity assessment.In the biodiversity assessment the team look for company impacts and dependencies on biodiversity.

For the investment process, it excludes companies involved in fossil fuels, weapons, nuclear power, tobacco, gambling, adult entertainment, alcohol, genetically modified crop production and companies in contravention of the United Nations Global Compact principles, covering such areas as labour rights and the environment.

The Biodiversity Equity Fund sits within a family of impact funds dedicated to generating a positive societal or environmental impact. Since 1983, Federated Hermes has used its unique investment process to generate sustainable returns for investors.
This approach combines the integration of ESG considerations into the investment process with active stewardship of our investee companies that supplements our teams’ research and decision making.

The lead portfolio manager for the Biodiversity Equity Fund is Ingrid Kukuljan, head of impact & sustainable investing. She joined in February 2020 and has extensive experience in impact aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Another senior portfolio manager on the team is Martin Todd, who joined the firm in March 2013. The team was strengthened with the hiring of Jordan Patel as senior investment analyst in July 2020.

Federated Hermes is committed to providing clients with standout customer service. It has a dedicated sales team based in Singapore solely to service private banks (both global and regional) in Asia.

Since the Biodiversity Equity Fund launched in March 2022, full year performance is not currently available. In terms of asset growth, the Fund had US$ 28.5 million in AUM as of 31 August 2022.

Federated Hermes wins Best New Fund – Equity in Asian Private Banker’s 2023 Asset Management Awards for Excellence.