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Legal documents
About this fund
Shares of companies with their registered office and/or their principal activities in Europe.
Investment strategy:
The fund seeks to achieve capital growth by investing in the principal assets traded and to outperform the benchmark.
The investment process consists of two steps. Firstly, the eligible Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) universe is defined using Candriam’s ESG proprietary analysis. Secondly, based on this universe, a portfolio is constructed taking into account several dimensions such as financial company fundamentals, ESG factors and risk metrics (liquidity, volatility, correlation etc.) using a quantitative investment framework. This framework enables the portfolio management team to compute expected returns and risks using mathematical models based on financial company fundamentals, ESG factors and risk metrics and to construct a portfolio taking into account these expected returns and risks as well as other criteria.The fund’s sustainable investment objective is to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through specific targets as well as the integration of climate related indicators in issuer and securities analysis. The fund also aims to have long-term positive impact on environment and social objectives. More specifically the fund aims to achieve overall greenhouse gas emissions at least 30% lower than those of the benchmark.
To achieve these objectives the fund implements a combination of positive selection of the best issuers based ESG on criteria, exclusion of issuers detrimental to these objectives or deemed to prone to controversies.
Issuers are subject to a two-pronged analysis considering how issuers activities contribute to achieving sustainable objectives on the one hand, and how issuers’ operations and policies align with the interests of their key stakeholders on the other hand.
The result of this analysis forms the basis to define the investable universe and guide fund managers in their portfolio construction.
This analysis is enriched by the results of dialogs led with issuers.
This investment approach will cause the fund to avoid certain issuers due to their poor ESG quality or contribution to attaining sustainability objectives. Whilst the manager believes that such issuers are likely to lose out to more sustainable ones over the long term, market volatility and short term market trends could result in such issuers outperforming more sustainable ones over shorter periods.
For further information, please refer to Candriam’s website and/or the prospectus.
The fund may use derivative products both for investment and hedging purposes (hedging against unfavourable future financial events).
Benchmark: MSCI Europe Index (Net Return).
The fund is actively managed and the investment approach implies a reference to a benchmark.
Benchmark definition: The index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization equity segment across developed markets in Europe.
Use of the benchmark:
- as investment universe. In general, the majority of the fund’s financial instruments are part of the benchmark. This said, investments outside this benchmark are admitted,
- in the determination of risk levels/parameters,
- for performance comparison.
- for performance fees calculation for certain share classes if applicable.
Deviation level of the portfolio composition from the benchmark:
The fund being managed actively, its objective is not to invest in all constituents of the benchmark, nor to invest to the same extent in the constituents of the benchmark. Under normal market conditions, the tracking error of the fund will be moderate to important this is comprised between 2% and 6%.
This measure is an estimation of the deviation of the fund’s performance compared to the performance of the benchmark. The more the tracking error is important, the more deviations compared to the benchmark are important. The effective tracking error depends notably on the market conditions (volatility and correlations between financial instruments) and can deviate from the expected tracking error.
Investment Team





Other information
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the prospectus of the funds and to the key information document before making any investment decision. This marketing communication does not constitute an offer to buy or sell financial instruments, nor does it represent an investment recommendation or confirm any kind of transaction, except where expressly agreed. Although Candriam selects carefully the data and sources within this document, errors or omissions cannot be excluded a priori. Candriam cannot be held liable for any direct or indirect losses as a result of the use of this document. The intellectual property rights of Candriam must be respected at all times, contents of this document may not be reproduced without prior written approval.
Warning: Past performance of a given financial instrument or index or an investment service or strategy, or simulations of past performance, or forecasts of future performance does not predict future returns. Gross performances may be impacted by commissions, fees and other expenses. Performances expressed in a currency other than that of the investor's country of residence are subject to exchange rate fluctuations, with a negative or positive impact on gains. If the present document refers to a specific tax treatment, such information depends on the individual situation of each investor and may change.
In respect to money market funds, please be aware that an investment in a fund is different from an investment in deposits and that the investment’s principal is capable of fluctuation. The fund does not rely on external support for guaranteeing its liquidity or stabilizing its NAV per unit or share. The risk of loss of the principal is borne by the investor.
Candriam consistently recommends investors to consult via our website https://www.candriam.com the key information document, prospectus, and all other relevant information prior to investing in one of our funds, including the net asset value (“NAV) of the funds. Investor rights and complaints procedure, are accessible on Candriam’s dedicated regulatory webpages https://www.candriam.com/en/professional/legal-information/regulatory-information/. This information is available either in English or in local languages for each country where the fund’s marketing is approved.
According to the applicable laws and regulations, Candriam may decide to terminate the arrangements made for the marketing of a relevant fund at any time.
Information on sustainability-related aspects: the information on sustainability-related aspects contained in this communication are available on Candriam webpage https://www.candriam.com/en/professional/sfdr/. The decision to invest in the promoted product should take into account all the characteristics or objectives of the promoted product as described in its prospectus, or in the information documents which are to be disclosed to investors in accordance with the applicable law.
ESG Assessment
This fund has a sustainable investment objective. It invests in economic activities contributing to an environmental and/or social objective. To achieve this objective, the management team makes discretionary investment choices based on an economic/financial analysis process and an internal analysis of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
a. ESG selection criteria:
For corporates, the internal analysis of ESG criteria consists in selecting the issuers:
• that are the best positioned to meet the challenges of sustainable development;
• that comply with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact (i.e. human rights, labour law, the environment, anti-corruption), and which are therefore less exposed to the risks associated with these themes; and
• that are not engaged in controversial activities such as armament (securities of a company whose activity consists of manufacturing, the use or possession of anti-personnel mines, cluster bombs and/or depleted uranium weapons), tobacco, thermal coal.
For sovereign issuers, the internal analysis of ESG criteria consists in selecting:
• Countries that perform best across our four categories of sustainable development criteria: Human Capital, Natural Capital, Social Capital and Economic Capital;
• Countries that are not part of our highly Oppressive Regimes or dictatorships, based on the Freedom House Freedom in the World Index and the World Bank Voice & Accountability Index.
b. Selection methodology:
The companies selected by the management company are subject to a dual analysis:
• Analysis of their activity to assess their alignment with the major challenges of sustainable development. For example, regarding the transition to a circular economy, the management company will consider a company producing recycled steel to be more sustainable than a company producing steel exclusively from iron ore; and
• Analysis of how the company manages players interacting with the company: its employees, its customers, its shareholders, its suppliers and the environment. Here too, the management company will favour companies that adopt the most sustainable practices given their sector. For example, with regard to relations with its clients, the management company will favour pharmaceutical companies with balanced pricing practices and commercial policies. Similarly, with regard to relations with their employees, the management company attaches great importance to the fight against discrimination and compliance with social standards.
Our sovereign investible universe consists of those countries which perform best across our four categories of sustainable development criteria:
• Natural Capital: stock of naturel resources managed by the country;
• Social Capital: trust, norms and institutions which people can rely on to solve common problems and create social cohesion;
• Human Capital: human productivity to which the country participates through education and other initiatives;
• Economic Capital: assessing the level of economic activity viability.
c. A team of ESG analysts is responsible for assessing the selection criteria:
The analysis and selection of sustainable investments is carried out by a dedicated team of ESG analysts within Candriam. This team is made up of specialists whose mission is to analyse the exposure of companies and governments to the risks and opportunities associated with sustainable development.
Selection criteria are expected to evolve over time, based on advances in ESG research and changes in company practices.