The JSS Sustainable Equity - Green Planet Fund has seen strong growth in assets under management in its first three years of operation. The fund has also shown excellent returns compared to its industry peers.

Daniel Lurch

Private bank J. Safra Sarasin's Green Planet Fund focuses on biodiversity and the energy transition. In particular, it focuses on four key themes that benefit from the green transition: ecosystem protection, resource efficiency, smart mobility and renewable energy.

The fund was (re)launched in January 2021 following the implementation of a new strategy and has since seen its assets under management grow to more than EUR 380 million. "The fund has shown three strong performances over the past year," says portfolio manager Daniel Lurch. "It is in the first quartile of the Morningstar Ecology Category over three years. In 2023, the fund achieved a return of 13.8 per cent, outperforming its sector peers by more than 5 per cent."

Broader, thematic approach

The Green Planet Fund is managed by the investment arm J. Safra Sarasin Sustainable Asset Management. It has a long history: it was first launched in 2007 as a thematic fund focused on water. Since 2021, the strategy has evolved to a broader, thematic approach.

The equity team favours leading companies that offer key solutions with breakthrough technologies. Lurch cites Germany's Infineon as an example of such companies: "This specialised company is a leading manufacturer of power semiconductors. Sustainability is at the core of their business and this commitment translates into strong revenue exposure to sustainable solutions," explains the portfolio manager.

Investment approach

Lurch believes that semiconductors will become increasingly relevant during the energy transition due to their broad applications in electric vehicles, charging stations and solar and wind energy. To identify companies like Infineon , Lurch and the thematic equity team use an investment approach in the following steps: first, companies that do not meet the exclusion list or do not have a strong own sustainability rating of A or B at the ESG score are excluded.

From the remaining investment universe, the team then filters out companies that can demonstrate that their business models are focused on green solutions and that combine sustainable income exposure with strong fundamentals.

"We also aim for a balanced portfolio that is well spread across different regions and market capitalisations. The portfolio has significant exposure to small- and mid-cap stocks, which account for roughly half of the asset allocation. We have deep sector expertise and solutions insight to identify the best-positioned companies in green value chains. This gives us an edge over other funds," Lurch said