Catriona Marshall at Paris-based Comgest, a growth investor, discusses her top stock picks with this news service and the importance of factoring in ESG criteria into investments.

ESG investing has been buffeted in recent years. Although the term doesn't appear to be as widely used now, it still retains plenty of traction for Paris-based Comgest.

Catriona Marshall, head of sustainable investment at the firm, recently spoke to WealthBriefing at Comgest's offices in the French capital. She described its commitment to bottom-up, quality growth investing, and the recent addition to their ESG plus fund range.

Factoring in ESG criteria into investments is important for Comgest because most of its funds come under Article 8 of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) which is up for review, with results expected next year. Like Jean-Philippe Desmartin at Paris-based Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, she hopes the rules will become clearer. 

Marshall has led the responsible investment and responsible development teams at Comgest since 2024. 

She was previously head of sustainable finance at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Financial Markets division, where she led a team of expert analysts advising countries on sustainable finance. This included developing policy guidance for the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group on best practices to strengthen ESG investing and to finance a climate transition.

Comgest’s investment philosophy is based on investing in a few high-quality long-term growth firms that can generate consistent returns in the long term, and which are insulated from macroeconomic trends because they are plugged into structural growth trends, and have strong fundamentals.

The firm has a number of sub-funds in its ESG plus range, including Comgest Growth America ESG Plus, an Irish-domiciled Article 8 fund under the EU’s SFDR. The fund, which avoids exposure to companies with proven or probable fossil fuel-related reserves, applies other exclusions and environmental, social and governance-related criteria in its investment selection. It also invests at least two-thirds of its assets in securities issued by companies that have their headquarters in, or principally carry out their activities in America, or, in securities issued or guaranteed by the US Government.

Top five holdings include US tech multinational Microsoft which is a big purchaser of renewable and carbon-free energy, aiming to match 100 per cent of its electricity consumption with 100 per cent zero-carbon energy by 2030. They achieve this through large-scale Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for wind, solar, and nuclear energy, and by investinhg in grid-scale, carbon-free projects. Top holdings also include tech multinationals Oracle, Alphabet A and Apple.

Another sub-fund is Comgest Global ESG Plus, an Irish-domiciled Article 8 fund under the EU’s SFDR, which also avoids exposure to companies with proven or probable fossil fuel-related reserves. Top five holdings include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Microsoft, multinational chemical firm Linde and EssilorLuxottica, which produces optical lenses for glasses and sunglasses.

Marshall said they are overweight in Europe and have been growing their strategy in the US. Although she recognises the geopolitical tensions in the US and risks, she sees long-term investment opportunities in the country and tries to cut out short-term noise.

She also sees investment opportunities in the European luxury goods industry, citing luxury goods company Hermès – a firm also favoured by Paris-based asset manager Carmignac and Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management which likes its sustainable stance.

Marshall cited L’Oréal as another example, the French powerhouse which is still growing, and whose market share has increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent in the last 20 years. L’Oréal is a top holding in the Comgest’s Growth Europe ex UK Fund. It concentrates on healthcare, consumer discretionary, IT, industrials and consumer staples, and is heavily weighted in France, followed by Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain and Denmark.