Northern Trust Asset Management, a global investment firm managing £1.1 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in assets, has announced the launch of two actively managed UCITS funds. The investment strategies are designed to target market outperformance whilst managing risks and corporate opportunities associated with the climate transition.
The new offerings expand the firm’s quantitative and climate-related product range across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The product launch includes two distinct investment vehicles:
- The NT World Multifactor Focus Select Fund: Aims to generate excess returns over a full market cycle.
- The NT World Multifactor Select Fund: Focuses on delivering long-term capital growth.
Both funds utilize Northern Trust Asset Management’s proprietary quantitative architecture, which evaluates securities based on value, quality, momentum, and low-volatility signals. The investment process combines conventional financial reporting with alternative and sustainable datasets to construct risk-efficient portfolios.
In tandem with these factor exposures, the funds incorporate structured sustainability criteria into their security selection process. This includes mandatory targets for reducing the aggregate carbon footprint of the portfolio and the systematic assessment of industry-specific climate risks. The fund management teams will also use active corporate engagement and proxy voting to encourage portfolio companies to improve their environmental disclosures and governance practices.
Guido Baltussen, Global Head of Quant Strategies at Northern Trust Asset Management, commented, “These fund strategies combine the Northern Trust Asset Management quantitative investment team’s deep experience in factor-based investing, built over three decades, with our proprietary research into integration of meaningful decarbonisation and other climate-related criteria. In the Multifactor UCITS fund strategies we employ a multi-faceted approach to portfolio construction to actively manage alpha, investment risks, climate risks and costs.”
Pedro Guazo, Head of International and Global Head of Responsible Investing at Northern Trust Asset Management, added, “The climate transition remains a critical theme for investors, both in terms of seeking to mitigate associated portfolio risks, and considering the opportunities to support credible transition plans and climate solutions. We are pleased to further our range of climate-related solutions for clients across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific with these funds.”
