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Guinness Global Investors
Guinness Global Investors has launched the Guinness Global Environment Fund, co-managed by Jordan Patel and Jamie Melrose.

The fund invests in companies that benefit from rising demand for five environmental resources: food, water, climate, waste, and land. It has a concentrated portfolio of 30 positions, each broadly equally weighted, the firm said in a statement.

The fund uses the quality-focused equity investing approach that Guinness applies across its fund range and benefits from the firm’s thematic fund management expertise.

Patel, who joined Guinness in 2024, has 12 years of equity investing experience. Prior to joining Guinness, Patel worked at Federated Hermes, where he served as deputy fund manager on the Biodiversity Equity strategy and as a senior equity analyst on the Impact Opportunities Fund.

Melrose joined Guinness in 2019. Before launching the Guinness Global Environment Fund, he was the senior investment analyst for the firm’s sustainable energy strategy. Previously, he worked on the sell side at Berenberg as a thematic equity research analyst, specialising in battery technology, and at Railpen as an investment manager in sustainable ownership, where he developed expertise in ESG analysis, stewardship, and impact investing. He is a board member of the UK Sustainable Investment & Finance Association (UKSIF).

Will Riley and Jonathan Waghorn, portfolio managers with 18 and 25 years of experience respectively in thematic investing, will serve as advisors to the fund.

“Environment is an attractive growth theme, with many mature, high quality businesses helping address rising demand for environmental resources,” Patel said.

“We feel well placed to invest in the environment theme, leveraging our combined 23 years of experience covering sustainable industrials and the energy transition,” Melrose added. “We plan to focus on mature companies offering above-average returns on capital, repeatable business models, and long-term thematic growth.”

“The Guinness Global Environment Fund provides clients with access to an undervalued thematic asset class that has a strong case for long-term growth,” Edward Guinness, CEO of Guinness Global Investors, said. “We believe that it is a great time to launch our Global Environment Fund. Valuations are low, and we have applied what we have learnt from the cycles in the environment sector to build a robust strategy that can identify companies benefiting from the long-term trend towards more efficient use of resources. Despite wavering government support for environmental initiatives in the short term, this is a long-term investable theme for the next 20 years and beyond."