The latest developments in the ESG space.

Baillie Gifford
Edinburgh-headquartered investment manager Baillie Gifford's Sustainable Growth Fund has just been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for its Sustainability Focus label under the new Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime. The label recognises the fund’s alignment to sustainability and helps consumers to navigate the market for sustainable investment products, the firm said in a statement.

Launched in January 2023, the Baillie Gifford Sustainable Growth Fund, which has assets under management £515 million ($666.6 million), is managed by Toby Ross and Katherine Davidson. The fund targets companies that are sustainable in both senses of the word, aiming to deliver growth and lasting benefits for society. It typically holds between 55 and 80 stocks.

The Sustainability Focus label, which is part of the FCA's Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime, is given to funds that invest in assets which aim to achieve sustainability for people or the planet. To qualify for the Sustainability Focus label, a fund manager must ensure that at least 70 per cent of the gross value of the sustainability products' assets are invested in accordance with the sustainability objective.

“Our Sustainable Growth Fund is one of only around 100 UK funds with an FCA sustainability label, which demonstrates the high bar the regulator has set. It happily complements the Baillie Gifford Positive Change Fund which recently received the FCA’s Impact label,” James Budden, head of global marketing at Baillie Gifford, said.

Baillie Gifford, which manages assets under management of £218 billion, has offices in Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, New York, Shanghai, Toronto, and Zurich.