A fund investing in companies that aim to improve the wellbeing and development of children worldwide has been launched by Triodos Bank UK.
The new Triodos Future Generations Fund invests in 34 small and medium-sized listed companies that fit into one of five themes: health and wellbeing, education, equal opportunity, access to basic services, or safety.
Current portfolio companies include US education services provider Stride; OrthoPediatrics, the world’s first company to produce orthopaedic devices specifically for children; and Sobi, a Swedish company focused on treatments for rare diseases.
Fund manager Sjoerd Rozing said: “An increasing number of companies are no longer just looking at shareholder value, but at the interests of all stakeholders. We believe future generations belong on that list of stakeholders, and this is why the fund has been set up to support that long-term vision.”
Suitable for a Stocks and Shares ISA
The Future Generations Fund, managed by Triodos Investment Management (the investment arm of Triodos Bank – a Good With Money ‘Good Egg’ firm), has been open to European investors and UK institutional investors since March 2022. Now it will be available to UK investors through investment platforms, or directly from Triodos Bank, where it can be included within a Stocks and Shares ISA.
Roger Hattam, director of retail banking at Triodos Bank UK, said: “Triodos impact investment funds have been recognised as some of the most ethical and impactful available to retail investors in the UK. Given the huge importance of creating a healthy and just future for our young people, the addition of the Triodos Future Generations Fund provides investors with another opportunity to increase the positive impact their money has.”
Investors can invest from as little as £25 per month. Triodos will charge 0.4 per cent on a balance of up to and including £250,000 per annum and 0.2 per cent on balances of £250,000.01 and over. There is an ongoing charge of 1.1 per cent.
This is the fourth Triodos fund to be made available to UK retail investors, joining its Global Equities Impact Fund, Pioneer Impact, and Sterling Bond Fund.
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Partnered with children’s charity UNICEF
The Triodos Future Generations Fund – which currently has assets under management of EUR 38 million (£32 million), will donate 0.1 per cent of the fund’s net asset value to support UNICEF’s ‘building bricks for the future’ programme in Côte d’Ivoire. This donation does not affect the results of the fund, says Triodos.
Sandra Visscher, executive director UNICEF Luxembourg, said: “While children account for nearly one-third of the world’s population, investors’ human rights policies seldom reflect the special considerations businesses need to make to respect children’s rights.
“We believe that this collaboration helps to put children’s rights more clearly on the investor agenda and encourage integration of children’s rights into ESG decision-making processes across the investor world. We believe that this collaboration helps to put children’s rights more clearly on the investor agenda and encourage integration of children’s rights into ESG decision-making processes across the investor world.”
Separate to the fund, Triodos IM says it will work with UNICEF to “amplify the voice of children and further their rights within the assets management world”.
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