Global asset manager Allspring Global Investments has expanded its climate transition (CT) suite with the addition of its Climate Transition Global Equity Fund, which provides investors with a well-diversified global equity portfolio with the dual objective of targeting excess returns versus the MSCI ACWI and reaching net zero by 2050. 

The fund, which is managed by the company’s systematic edge equity team, is its first equity fund within the CT suite, which currently includes the following fixed-income CT Global strategies – Buy and Maintain, High Yield, and Investment Grade Credit.

Previously, the fund operated as the Allspring 2 Degree Global Equity Fund, launched in July 2021. By joining the CT suite, the investment strategy has evolved to introduce a formal net-zero 2050 target.

The target is intended to be achieved by setting a cap on the weighted average carbon intensity for the fund that is lower than that of the MSCI All Country World Index, with the cap reducing along a trajectory aiming to decarbonize the fund by 2050. 

The fund is classified as SFDR Article 8 and is registered for distribution in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland – and for professional investors only in Hong Kong.

The company’s CT suite, it notes, “focuses on balancing climate and financial objectives [and] provides investors with climate transition solutions under one roof, offering a choice of asset classes and approaches catering to the individual needs of investors seeking to align their portfolios with climate goals.”

Andy Sowerby, the company’s head of its international client group, adds: “We have now expanded our ability to provide CT solutions for both fixed-income and equity investors seeking to invest in the transition to a decarbonized economy.”