Pictet's Diana: Holdings must be more than 'good citizens'

Companies must make good on ESG promises, manager argues

It is not enough for portfolio holdings to simply be "good citizens" to be considered for inclusion in the £1.6bn Pictet Global Environmental Opportunities fund, according to its manager Luciano Diana, who said they must offer a technology-driven solution before an investment is made.

The strategy, which has been in place since October 2014, sees the manager invest in companies with business models that provide a solution for one of two types of issues: either natural resource efficiency, or environmental quality and pollution control. The manager said: "It is not enough to be good citizens, it is not enough to have a good ESG profile, so to speak. These companies also need to offer something and that is why we operate from a relatively narrow investment universe." Goldman Sachs AM launches environmental impact equity fund In the past quarter, Diana made one add...