Value Partners Launches Asia’s First ESG-Focused Food and Nutrition Thematic Fund
Value Partners Launches Asia’s First ESG-Focused Food and Nutrition Thematic Fund
To capture opportunities from sustainable food and nutrition trends in Asia, asset manager Value Partners Group has launched the Asian Food and Nutrition Fund (Fund).
Value Partners said the Fund will seek to address environmental, sustainability and safety challenges surrounding the food value chain in Asia, while also delivering attractive long-term total returns for investors.
The Fund will invest across the entire food value chain from farm to fork, and employ a bottom-up stock selection approach to identify quality companies in the universe that benefit from three structural trends:
The growing demand on food and nutrition upgrades.
Increasing application of food and agriculture technology that improves sustainability and safety.
Increasing food services penetration.
The Fund is managed by lead portfolio manager Norman Ho, Senior Investment Director, and co-managed with Lilian Cao, Investment Director. The Fund targets 30-50 high-conviction holdings with strong financial fundamentals and is driven by screening and exclusion of controversial sectors, alignment of respective United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), and proprietary ESG assessment framework and financial models.
Frank Tsui, Managing Director and Head of ESG Investment at Value Partners Group, said: "The launch of the Fund marks a major milestone of Value Partner’s ESG franchise to leverage our robust proprietary ESG rating system to enhance and promote ESG practices in the region.”
“The combination of rising focus on ESG-related issues in the food value chain and the increasing demand for food upgrade leads to many unique and exciting investment opportunities that the Fund aims to capture."