Hedge funds, in the eyes of the general public, seem to be nothing but vehicles of cutthroat greed, tools for untold and unfair riches, or to quote former UK Prime Minister Edward Heath, “the unacceptable face of capitalism.” With investors pushing for more ethical investments however, that image might actually change.
The Financial News reports that Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management has just sealed a deal with an unnamed hedge fund to create a product that will “invest only in stocks screened using ethical, social and governance guidelines,” adding that it plans to create more of these vehicles in the near future.
This isn’t the first time a fund decided to integrate ESG principles though, Jersey-based Auriel Capital has been doing so since 2009, and Lansdowne Partners have been running a version of its $10 billion Developed Markets fund using ethical guidelines for quite some time already.
However, they’re quite miniscule compared to their unconstrained brethren. Lansdowne’s ESG fund runs a mere $212 million compared to its 11-figure big brother, while Auriel Capital’s ESG strategies seem to be a non-dominant slice of its total AUM.
Still, Deutsche’s signing could mean a lot for the space in the longer term, and as their competitor Lyxor says, demand for such products have been growing at “a very fast pace” the past years. That, coupled with the industry’s current scramble to repackage itself, could mean that we might see friendlier, more socially and environmentally conscious hedge funds within the decade. Stay tuned.
Photo: Julija Rauluševičiūtė