Stockholm (NordSIP) – According to Global Fund Search (GFS), a platform that connects institutional investors with the leading asset managers across the globe and within all asset classes, a Nordic institution has published a Request for Proposals (RFP) for an ESG equity strategy with a focus on climate transition. The mandate is expected to be in the range €20-35 million and the RFP submission deadline is April 19th.
The mandate specifically targets global listed equity managers (within the MSCI ACWI universe) that are looking for climate turnaround cases. According to the announcement, “the preferred investment strategy will focus on selecting companies with improvement potential and/or ability to contribute to Global climate sustainability.” The positions shouldn’t necessarily be considered best-in-class today, but instead, the RFP specifies, they should have the greatest improvement potential or have underappreciated sustainability potential. Both fundamental and quant investment styles are acceptable.
This represents an interesting opportunity for new managers that can show a strong track record, as the investor will consider seeding. The mandate is directed at a concentrated portfolio (less than 50 positions) with excellent performance (min. 250 bps over MSCI ACWI) with a tracking error of 5-7.5% over a full market cycle. The mandate also specifies that the fee level represents an important selection criterion that will also be used for selecting the shortlist.
From a regulatory perspective, the preferred strategy should be a UCITS fund and categorised (or become categorised) as article 8 or 9 according to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR). The asset manager should also be a UN PRI signatory.
In a separate post, GFS also announced that a Nordic pension is looking for a manager of systemic European equities with quant process and strong ESG credentials to manage €40 million.
More information on both opportunities is available on GFS‘s platform for submissions.