The latest offerings in investments, such as funds and structured products, and other notable developments.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has launched the MS UK Sustainable Fixed Income Opportunities Fund to reduce exposure to material ESG risk through screening, tilting holdings in favour of the 80 per cent strongest sustainability performers across sovereigns and corporates, and focusing on low carbon investment themes.

The open-ended fund is available to UK investors and managed by MSIM’s global fixed income team. The investment arm manages around $715 billion for clients across 40 plus countries.

Managers will allocate across a variety of fixed income assets, including investment grade, high yield, emerging market, convertible, securitised and government bonds, in all markets. The fund is designed to be less carbon intensive than its index and will maintain a net positive alignment with the UN SDGs, while also investing in green, social and other sustainable bonds, the group said.

Leon Grenyer, UK sustainable fixed income manager at MSIM, said: “We utilise an active asset allocation process across the global fixed income opportunity set, and, as we are not tied to a benchmark, our investment decisions are not restricted by geographic and sector weightings. We believe that a benchmark-orientated approach to investing in fixed income can be sub-optimal as asset allocation driven by benchmark weightings can result in exposure to parts of the market, which offer lower potential returns or greater risk."

BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas Asset Management has launched two new debt infrastructure funds: BNP Paribas European Infrastructure Debt Fund II, which will target €500 million ($607.9 million); and BNP Paribas European Junior Infrastructure Debt Fund I, which will target €300 to 500 million
Both funds will be diversified across sectors and will adhere to a rigorous environmental, social and governance-related policy.

The BNP Paribas European Infrastructure Debt Fund II follows a first senior debt fund launched in late 2017, which raised assets of €474 million and is at the end of its investment period.

In the case of the BNP Paribas European Junior Infrastructure Debt Fund I, investments will be in European non-investment grade infrastructure debt offering stable and predictable cash flows.

Both funds will be managed by BNPP AM’s infrastructure debt team, part of its Private Debt and Real Assets investment division.