Rui De Figueiredo
Co-Head and CIO of the Solutions & Multi-Asset Group
26 years industry experience
Ted Eliopoulos
CEO and President, Calvert Research and Management
26 years industry experience
Navindu Katugampola
Global Head of Sustainability, Investment Management
18 years industry experience
Sofia Nala Knightley
Head of Sustainability Strategy & Solutions
14 years industry experience
Zenabu Labri
Head of Sustainability Regulation and Policy
13 years industry experience
Robert Walker
Executive Director
21 years industry experience
Varun Mehta
Head of Sustainability Data & Technology
14 years industry experience
Gaby Cornejo
Quantitative Analyst
Gautam Kapoor
Executive Director, Global Stewardship
17 years industry experience
Anson Chan
Vice President, Global Stewardship
21 years industry experience
Mona Benisi
Executive Director, Head of Sustainability for Global Real Assets
16 years industry experience
Marte Borhaug
Head of Sustainable Outcomes
13 years industry experience
Barbara Calvi
Executive Director, EMEA Head of Fixed Income ESG Strategy
13 years industry experience
Eric Carlson
Head of Sustainability, Emerging Markets Equity Team
27 years industry experience
Emily Chew
Managing Director, Chief Responsible Investing Officer
12 years industry experience
Vladimir Demine
Head of ESG Research
21 years industry experience
Marc Fox
Managing Director, Global Opportunity Team
18 years industry experience
Thomas Kamei
Executive Director
11 years industry experience
Jade Huang
Managing Director, Applied Responsible Investment Solutions
18 years industry experience
Kate Marshall
Sustainable Investing Specialist
10 years industry experience
Helen Mbugua-Kahuki
Director of Research, Calvert Research & Management
14 years industry experience
Vikram Raju
Head of Climate Investing | Private Credit & Equity
27 years industry experience
John Streur
Chairman
36 years industry experience
John Wilson
Executive Director, Director of Engagement
26 years industry experience
Li Zhang
Head of ESG, Global Balanced Risk Control team
15 years industry experience

Headline Title

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Product Name Asset Class Product Category Description
Asian Property Fund Global Listed Real Assets We seek attractive long-term, risk-adjusted returns by investing in publicly traded real estate securities we believe offer the best value relative to their underlying assets and earnings. This dual focus for the identification of value allows us to appreciate the going concern valuation of the company as well as the liquidation value of the tangible property portfolio. We utilize proprietary research to assess both real estate specific factors and broader equity market factors, as well as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors to calculate appropriate valuation metrics. Top-down considerations are also incorporated into the portfolio construction process and the Team may integrate forecasted fundamental inflections, macroeconomic considerations, geopolitical and country risk assessments, among other factors.
Calvert Sustainable Climate Aligned Fund Equity Sustainable Objective & Impact The Calvert Sustainable Climate Aligned Fund’s investment objective is to provide long-term capital appreciation, measured in US Dollars, primarily investing in companies that are involved in economic activities that address climate transition and/or are aligned to the long term de-carbonisation objectives of the Paris Agreement. The Fund will maintain a carbon profile that follows the net zero objectives of the Paris Agreement, as reflected in the appropriate Paris-Aligned benchmark, or in the absence of an approved Paris-Aligned benchmark it will maintain a substantially lower carbon footprint, of at least 50% less than that of the underlying market benchmark, and taking into account the long-term carbon reduction objectives of the Paris Agreement which may warrant a revision of the targeted range of reduction over time. Carbon footprint shall be measured as weighted average carbon intensity, defined as tonnes of CO2 per $1million enterprise value including cash.
Calvert Sustainable Climate Transition Fund Global Listed Real Assets

The Fund seeks to achieve its climate change mitigation and adaptation objective by investing in companies whose business models either have a current, direct impact on lowering carbon emissions or are investing significant capital in Property, Plant, and Equipment (PP&E), technology, and processes that will help facilitate lower carbon emissions in the future and which qualify as Sustainable Investments.

Calvert Sustainable Developed Europe Equity Select Fund Equity Sustainable Objective & Impact Calvert Sustainable Developed Europe Equity Select Fund's investment objective is to provide long-term capital appreciation, measured in Euro, primarily investing in companies that are involved in economic activities that address global environmental or societal challenges that relate to areas such as environmental sustainability and resource efficiency, diversity, equity and inclusion, respect for human rights, product responsibility, human capital management and accountable governance and transparent operations, or are leaders in managing financially material environmental or social risks and opportunities. This fund further takes into account the long-term carbon reduction objectives of the Paris Agreement and advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Calvert Sustainable Developed Markets Equity Select Fund Equity Sustainable Objective & Impact The Calvert Sustainable Developed Markets Equity Select Fund’s investment objective is to provide long-term capital appreciation, measured in US Dollars , primarily investing in companies that are involved in economic activities that address global environmental or societal challenges, such as environmental sustainability and resource efficiency, diversity, equity and inclusion, respect for human rights, product responsibility, human capital management and accountable governance and transparent operations, or are leaders in managing financially material environmental or social risks and opportunities. This fund further takes into account the long-term carbon reduction objectives of the Paris Agreement and advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Calvert Sustainable Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Fund Equity Sustainable Objective & Impact The Calvert Sustainable Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Fund’s investment objective is to provide long-term capital appreciation and advance diversity, equity and inclusion, measured in US Dollars, primarily investing in companies that demonstrate leadership or meaningful improvement in having a diverse workforce and an equal and inclusive work culture. The Fund will seek to maintain higher levels of workforce diversity at a portfolio level than the underlying market benchmark as measured by average percentage of women at the board level and average percentage of board members representing underrepresented ethnicities.
Calvert Sustainable US Equity Select Fund Equity Sustainable Objective & Impact The Calvert Sustainable US Equity Select Fund’s investment objective is to provide long-term capital appreciation, measured in US Dollars, primarily investing in companies that are involved in economic activities that address global environmental or societal challenges that relate to areas such as environmental sustainability and resource efficiency, diversity, equity and inclusion, respect for human rights, product responsibility, human capital management and accountable governance and transparent operations, or are leaders in managing financially material environmental or social risks and opportunities. This fund further takes into account the long-term carbon reduction objectives of the Paris Agreement and advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Emerging Leaders Equity Fund Emerging Markets Equity Sustainable Objective & Impact We focus on the future drivers of growth across the emerging markets in a way that is benchmark agnostic and seek the most compelling opportunities by building an actively managed, focused portfolio of companies positioned to benefit from these growth themes. The fund considers ESG criteria during the investment process to limit exposure to ESG risks.
European Property Fund Global Listed Real Assets We seek attractive long-term, risk-adjusted returns by investing in publicly traded real estate securities we believe offer the best value relative to their underlying assets and earnings. This dual focus for the identification of value allows us to appreciate the going concern valuation of the company as well as the liquidation value of the tangible property portfolio. We utilize proprietary research to assess both real estate specific factors and broader equity market factors, as well as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors to calculate appropriate valuation metrics. Top-down considerations are also incorporated into the portfolio construction process and the Team may integrate forecasted fundamental inflections, macroeconomic considerations, geopolitical and country risk assessments, among other factors.
Global Balanced Fund Multi-Asset Sustainable Core Seeks an attractive level of total return by managing a broad asset mix within a targeted risk range of 4-10%, which is subject to change. The fund invests primarily in equities, fixed income, commodity-linked investments and cash. Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) factors may be considered in assessing potential return and contribution to portfolio risk.
Global Balanced Sustainable Fund Multi-Asset Sustainable Objective & Impact Seeks an attractive level of total return by managing a broad asset mix within a targeted risk range of 4-10%, expressed in terms of annualised volatility. The fund invests primarily in equity securities, fixed income securities, money market instruments and cash. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are integrated into the investment process, through exclusions applied to the Fund’s equity and government bond investments, and by tilting the equity investments held directly by the Fund towards ESG and low carbon transition leaders. In addition, 5-30% of the fund’s assets will be invested with managers who explicitly aim to provide solutions across a number of positive environmental and social themes, alongside a financial return. The investment team engages with companies on ESG issues they deem material in terms of risk, return or impact.
Global Credit Fund Fixed Income Sustainable Objective & Impact Seeks to provide an attractive rate of relative return, measured in U.S. dollars, through investment primarily in high-quality issues of fixed income securities issued by corporations and other non-government issuers ('corporate bonds') organised or operating in both developed and emerging markets and denominated in global currencies.
Global Infrastructure Fund Global Listed Real Assets We apply a well-defined, value-oriented, bottom-up driven investment process that focuses on investing in equity securities of publicly listed infrastructure companies we believe offer the best value relative to their underlying infrastructure value and net asset value growth prospects, irrespective of short-term market trends.
Global Property Fund Global Listed Real Assets We seek attractive long-term, risk-adjusted returns by investing in publicly traded real estate securities we believe offer the best value relative to their underlying assets and earnings. This dual focus for the identification of value allows us to appreciate the going concern valuation of the company as well as the liquidation value of the tangible property portfolio. We utilize proprietary research to assess both real estate specific factors and broader equity market factors, as well as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors to calculate appropriate valuation metrics. Top-down considerations are also incorporated into the portfolio construction process and the Team may integrate forecasted fundamental inflections, macroeconomic considerations, geopolitical and country risk assessments, among other factors.
Global Sustain Fund Equity Sustainable Core The Fund typically invests in intrinsically carbon-light companies and has a significantly lower carbon footprint than the broader market, with a robust carbon-related exclusions policy and filtering process. In addition to its carbon exclusions, the Portfolio has a number of business activity** exclusions, including alcohol, gambling, tobacco and weapons. The investment team views long-term portfolio manager-led engagement as a critical underpinning to an active investment process.
Sustainable Asia Equity Fund Emerging Markets Equity Sustainable Objective & Impact A diversified, sustainable core fund which seeks to invest in quality companies in emerging markets, which are financially attractive while also supporting environmental and/or socially sustainable development. In our integrated process, we combine macro and bottom-up financial research with dedicated portfolio manager led engagements to arrive at a core portfolio of 60 – 80 stocks. The Fund aims to achieve a lower carbon footprint than the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Net Index in aggregate, is positively aligned with our sustainable development themes of: responsible energy transition; circular economy and sustainable production; improved access and affordability; and decent work and innovation, and includes ESG integration.
Sustainable Emerging Markets Equity Fund Emerging Markets Equity Sustainable Objective & Impact A diversified, sustainable core fund which seeks to invest in quality companies in emerging markets, which are financially attractive while also supporting environmental and/or socially sustainable development. In our integrated process, we combine macro and bottom-up financial research with dedicated portfolio manager led engagements to arrive at a core portfolio of 60 – 80 stocks. The Fund aims to achieve a lower carbon footprint than the MSCI EM Net Index in aggregate, is positively aligned with our sustainable development themes of: responsible energy transition; circular economy and sustainable production; improved access and affordability; and decent work and innovation, and includes ESG integration.
Sustainable Euro Corporate Bond Fund Fixed Income Sustainable Core

Seeks to provide an attractive rate of relative return, measured in Euros, through investment in Euro denominated fixed income securities issued by corporations. The investment process of the Fund promotes ESG considerations, and incorporates active engagement with company management regarding ESG related issues.

Securities are selected to adhere with a strict set of sustainability criteria. The Fund excludes certain issuers and sectors to reduce exposure to sustainability risks, and adheres to minimum safeguards and global norms. In addition, it focuses on best-in-class issuers, prohibiting investments in issuers that fall in the bottom 20% of each sector, based on a proprietary scoring methodology, and aims to achieve portfolio-level net zero emissions by 2050.

Please refer to the Restriction Screening Policy and the MSIM Fixed Income Net Zero Methodology paper for more information.

Sustainable Euro Strategic Bond Fund Fixed Income Sustainable Core

Seeks to provide an attractive rate of relative return, measured in Euros, through investment in Euro denominated fixed income securities issued by corporations, governments or government guaranteed issuers. The investment process of the Fund promotes ESG considerations, and incorporates active engagement with company management regarding ESG related issues.

Securities are selected to adhere with a strict set of sustainability criteria. The Fund excludes certain issuers and sectors to reduce exposure to sustainability risks, and adheres to minimum safeguards and global norms. In addition, it focuses on best-in-class issuers, prohibiting investments in issuers that fall in the bottom 20% of each sector, based on a proprietary scoring methodology, and aims to achieve portfolio-level net zero emissions by 2050.

Please refer to the Restriction Screening Policy and the MSIM Fixed Income Net Zero Methodology paper for more information.

US Property Fund Global Listed Real Assets We seek attractive long-term, risk-adjusted returns by investing in publicly traded real estate securities we believe offer the best value relative to their underlying assets and earnings. This dual focus for the identification of value allows us to appreciate the going concern valuation of the company as well as the liquidation value of the tangible property portfolio. We utilize proprietary research to assess both real estate specific factors and broader equity market factors, as well as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors to calculate appropriate valuation metrics. Top-down considerations are also incorporated into the portfolio construction process and the Team may integrate forecasted fundamental inflections, macroeconomic considerations, geopolitical and country risk assessments, among other factors.

Sustainable Investing

Our Philosophy

MSIM's sustainable investing philosophy is anchored on the belief that there is a spectrum of approaches to utilize material environmental, social and governance (ESG) information and criteria to deliver strong returns for clients.

We are committed to ESG-informed investment decision making and we seek to leverage our influence to drive better investment performance alongside improved sustainability practices and outcomes through thoughtful, value-added investee engagement. MSIM offers a variety of sustainable investing options, from funds that integrate ESG factors as an intrinsic part of the investment process, to thematic Sustainable Funds that seek to achieve attractive financial returns alongside positive impact.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS AREAS

MSIM has identified four focus areas that are of strategic importance to our thematic research and company engagement/asset stewardship work that are both potentially material to our investment goals and vitally important from a systemic perspective. These themes touch all our investment teams to varying degrees depending on asset class, geography, and investment style and strategy.

DECARBONIZATION &
CLIMATE RISK

Supporting the transition to a low carbon economy and net zero alignment

CIRCULAR ECONOMY &
WASTE REDUCTION

Supporting business models that reduce impact on natural resources and that reduce waste generation

DIVERSE & INCLUSIVE
BUSINESS

Supporting businesses and business practices that create a more just, equitable and inclusive society

DECENT WORK &
RESILIENT JOBS

Supporting decent work across the entire value chain and helping to create resilient workforces in the face of innovation and change

MSIM Sustainable Investing Approach Overview

Our investment teams are committed to ESG integration as a tool to deliver strong returns and manage risk. Their efforts are supported by world-class specialist resources, and guided by the MSIM-wide Sustainable Investing Policy.

HIGHLIGHTS

Our PRI** Score

A+

in Strategy & Governance; Listed Equity Incorporation and Active Ownership; Corporate Fixed Income; and Securitized Fixed Income

A

in Property, Infrastructure, and Sovereign Fixed Income

GRESB Score

Green Star recognition for Core and Value-add/Opportunistic Real Estate funds

Our Partnerships

Signatory of:

As active managers and long-term investors, we believe we have both a duty and an opportunity to steward the capital we manage. Our investment teams embrace this opportunity by engaging directly with their portfolio companies and by effectively exercising our proxy voting and other rights as shareholders.

HIGHLIGHTS*

670

company engagements covering sustainability topics

7,000+

meetings voted across 74 different markets

73%

percentage of shareholder proposals for enhanced climate change reporting from companies supported

55%

percentage of proposals urging companies to adopt GHG emission reduction targets supported

23%

votes against say-on-pay proposals

9%

votes against management

Our sustainable investing expertise is delivered through flexible solutions designed to help clients achieve their sustainable investing and impact goals. Please refer to our capabilities section below.

HIGHLIGHT

8

Investment strategies which strive to align with the Paris Agreement on climate change

Leadership in Sustainability

Investment Management Sustainability Council

MSIM's Sustainability Council comprises senior, cross-functional business and investment leaders who oversee and guide MSIM's support for the sustainable investment strategies of each business. This includes promoting definitions and frameworks for Sustainable Investing; supporting the continued innovation of ESG products and solutions; championing Sustainable Investing across MSIM's staff and culture; and ensuring business readiness for evolving client/regulator demands.

Investment Management Sustainability Team

The Sustainability Team is responsible for developing MSIM's ESG investment integration standards, helping to launch thematic Sustainable Funds, advising clients on sustainability matters, and producing sustainability data, tools and research in support of our investment teams. The Sustainability Team also comprises the Global Stewardship function, which coordinates our stewardship and investee engagement agenda.

Sustainable Investing Team Leads

Our portfolio management teams are ultimately responsible for evaluating the ESG risks and opportunities of each investment decision or asset, and the portfolio as a whole. In doing so, they leverage ESG information and insights in a way that is aligned with their existing investment philosophy and strategy. Our largest teams or asset class platforms have appointed at least one dedicated ESG research specialist to lead this work for the relevant group.

Morgan Stanley Institute1 for Sustainable Investing

The Institute is dedicated to accelerating the adoption of sustainable investing by partnering across the firm to foster innovation, help develop the next generation of sustainable investing leaders and generate insights that inform and empower investors.

OUR SUSTAINABLE INVESTING FRAMEWORK

ESG Strategies that incorporate impact investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. As a result, there is no assurance ESG strategies could result in more favorable investment performance.

Capabilities

MSIM offers a range of customized and dedicated sustainable investing capabilities spanning multi-asset and private markets. For example, within customized multi-asset portfolios, we may customize a basket of securities or funds according to the particular sustainability preferences of the client. On the private markets side, we offer thematic impact investing opportunities across a range of focus areas, including climate and social impact.

Insights

View all Sustainable Insights

Questions & Answers

ESG (environmental, social and governance), SRI (socially responsible investing) and sustainable investing are all different terms used to describe the general concept of the use of sustainability factors or information to either define or inform investment decision making. Historically ‘SRI’ has been used to describe values and ethics based approach to investing, typically focused on exclusionary screens. The acronym ‘ESG’ later emerged around the same time as the launch of the Principles for Responsible Investment, as a shorthand way to refer to the universe of environmental, social and corporate governance issues faced by companies that are not easily captured in traditional financial statements. As the field has grown, and more financially oriented ways of using sustainability information in investing have developed along with the proliferation of ESG data, we find that these terms are often used interchangeably. MSIM prefers the term sustainable investing as we believe this is becoming a catch-all term for the range of approaches deployed across the investment industry today. The graphic above, ‘Our Sustainable Investing Framework’, best describes how we view and implement the spectrum of approaches across our investment vehicles or products.
We believe that material ESG factors are an important driver of long-term financial returns from both an opportunity and risk mitigation perspective and have developed an internal framework to implement sustainable investing. In 2019, Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing conducted a a study of the performance of nearly 11,000 mutual funds between 2004 and 2018 and found that there was no financial trade-off in the returns of sustainable funds compared to traditional funds and sustainable funds demonstrated lower downside risk. In 2020, the Institute released an update to this study, which found that sustainable equity and taxable bond funds outperformed traditional peers during the 2019 market boom and weathered the unprecedented global shock triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020 better than traditional funds. Specifically, U.S.-based sustainable equity funds outperformed their traditional peers by a median of 2.8% in 2019 and 3.9% in the first half of 2020. Sustainable taxable bond funds outperformed traditional peers by a median of 0.8% in 2019 and 2.3% in the first half of 2020.

The performance is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not meant to depict the performance of a specific investment. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

We believe that macro sustainability trends, such as climate change, pollution and waste and human capital development, pose a growing set of risks and opportunities to all investors, and leveraging ESG information can assist to better identify the materiality of those risks and opportunities. While the macro trends are universal and often science-based, their implementation in investing needs to be done thoughtfully as the materiality of these factors will depend on asset class, investment strategy, geography, industry, and time horizon. Accordingly, our investors adopt a bottom-up approach to ESG integration, actively seeking to identify the most material sustainability risks and opportunities relevant to their investment universe, and incorporating those considerations into buy/sell decisions, portfolio construction, and ongoing investment monitoring.

As described in our Sustainable Investing Framework above, MSIM’s Sustainable Objective and Impact funds seek to achieve positive social and/or environmental objectives alongside a market-rate financial return.

In addition to dedicated impact investing solutions many of our Sustainable Core funds have adopted or are moving towards adoption of net zero emissions targets in line with the 1.5°C goal of economic decarbonization by 2050. By investing in net zero aligned funds, investors have the opportunity to contribute to positive impact by supporting the transition to a low carbon economy.

Have another question for us? Please email msim_sustainability@morganstanley.com

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