Manulife Financial’s global wealth and asset management business Manulife Investment Management announced the launch The Manulife Global Fund – Global Climate Action Fund for European institutional investors.

According to Patrick Blais, head of Manulife Investment Management’s fundamental equity team, the launch comes amidst demand from European investors for investment solutions that measure and focus on climate action.

Blaid added:

“We believe businesses that are nimble and able to align policies and practices to lower their carbon emissions while also creating strong financial returns are set to be more attractive to investors, have a greater potential to outperform, and can represent less risk for investors over the long term.”

The European launch follows the introduction last year in Canada by Manulife of its Global Climate Action strategy, which utilizes a selection process based on the Paris Agreement and science-based targets to invest in companies that are making positive contributions to climate change. Each company is assessed by Manulife’s ESG team to assess their climate plan and environmental risks, which are integrated into the Fundamental Equity Team’s fundamental analysis and security selection process.

The fund is classified as Article 9 (products with a sustainable investment objective) under the SFDR regulation.

Marco Zanuso, head of distribution EMEA, at Manulife Investment Management, said:

“Manulife Investment Management offers products and services that can generate growth over the long term and support customers who want to make sustainable choices.”