Investing for a positive future

Since 2001, the Liontrust Sustainable Investment team has used the Sustainable Future investment process to seek companies that help to create a cleaner, safer and healthier world and generate attractive returns for investors through identifying the key structural growth trends that will shape the sustainable economy of the future.

Why the Liontrust Sustainable Investment team

  • Experienced team: The Sustainable Investment team has more than 200 years of combined experience. Peter Michaelis, Head of the team, has been managing sustainable global growth strategies since 2001. View the team page here
  • Pioneers: Key members of the team were among the pioneers of sustainable investing, being founder members of the PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment) while at Aviva and leading on issues that are now central to mainstream investing such as not owning companies exposed to diesel engines, coal and oil (in 2001) and moving to exclude natural gas (from 2016).  
  • Distinct, rigorous and repeatable process: The process seeks to generate strong returns from investing in companies aiming to deliver profits through positive social and environmental impacts. The managers look at the world through the prism of three mega trends – Better resource efficiency (cleaner), Improved health (healthier) and Greater safety and resilience (safer) – and then 22 themes within these. 
  • Selecting stocks: The managers identify well-run companies whose products and operations benefit from these transformative changes and which are helping to make the world cleaner, healthier and safer. Further analysis hones this list down to those companies that exhibit superior sustainability management, will deliver persistently high returns on equity and are attractively valued on a five-year view.
  • Integrating ESG: Each manager is an analyst and is responsible for conducting research on a given sustainability theme and the sustainability analysis of potential investments. As each manager is also responsible for the business fundamentals and valuation analysis, we believe it derives an information advantage that would be lost if these roles were separate.
  • Time arbitrage: By having a longer time horizon than most, the managers can patiently invest in businesses they believe have years of growth ahead, and take advantage of dislocations in the market when these businesses are trading considerably below what the managers believe they are worth. 
  • Engagement: This is an integral part of how the managers invest. Engaging on key ESG issues gives the managers greater insight, helps to identify leading companies and is used as a lever to encourage better business practices. 
  • Impact: The managers show how their funds’ themes and investments are contributing to the UN’s SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). The managers have for many years published all holdings for them. 
  • Mitigating CO2 exposure: Investments in the SF Managed Fund emit 77.0% less carbon (tCO2e) than the market it invests in as at 31 December 2022. This independent analysis includes direct emissions forming scope 1 and scope 2 emissions only. (Source: MSCI Carbon Analytics/Liontrust).
  • Advisory committee: The managers consult an external Advisory Committee, which comprises five experts in sustainability. The Committee’s role is to continually assess and challenge the team and offer guidance on evolving issues within sustainability. 


 

Sustainable Investment team

The team has been managing the Sustainable Future funds for more than 22 years. The team is headed by Peter Michaelis who has been managing the funds since launch. The fund managers all joined from Alliance Trust Investments (ATI) as part of its acquisition and were previously running the Sustainable Future fund range at Aviva Investors. 
Sustainable Investment team

Funds managed by the team

The Liontrust Sustainable Investment team manages a broad range of funds across equities, bonds, and managed funds.
Liontrust GF Sustainable Future US Growth Fund
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR applies the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in the US.
Monthly Income Bond
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund seeks to produce monthly income payments together with capital growth by investing at least 80% of the portfolio in corporate bonds.
SF Cautious Managed
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing between 40% to 60% of the portfolio in global equities and the rest in bonds, infrastructure and cash.
SF Corporate Bond
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund invests at least 80% of the portfolio in investment grade corporate bonds denominated in sterling or hedged back to sterling.
SF Defensive Managed
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing between 20% to 50% of the portfolio in global equities and the rest in bonds, infrastructure and cash.
SF European Growth
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund applies the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in continental Europe and up to 5% in UK-listed stocks.
SF Global Growth
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund invests between 90% to 100% in global equities, applying the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in developed markets.
SF Managed
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing between 60% to 85% of the portfolio in global equities and the rest in bonds and cash.
SF Managed Growth
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing between 60% to 100% of the portfolio in global equities and the rest in bonds and cash.
SF UK Growth
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund applies the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in UK-listed stocks.
UK Ethical
Sustainable Investment Team
The Fund uses a thematic approach to identify the key structural growth trends that will shape the global economy of the future and then seek to invest in well run UK-listed companies whose products and operations capitalise on these transformative changes.
GF SF European Corporate Bond
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR invests in euro denominated investment grade corporate bonds or non-euro denominated corporate bonds hedged back into euros.
GF SF Global Growth
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR invests between 90% to 100% in global equities, applying the Sustainable Future process to find the opportunities for sustainable investing in developed markets.
GF SF Multi-Asset Global
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR aims to deliver capital growth, as well as some level of income, over the long term (5 years or more) through investing in global equities, bonds and cash.
GF SF Pan-European Growth
Sustainable Investment Team
The Ireland-domiciled and Article 9 Fund under SFDR aims to generate capital growth by finding the opportunities for sustainable investing across Europe, including in UK-listed stocks.

Latest insights

View all insights

Key Fund Literature

Select all
Liontrust GF Sustainable Future European Corporate Bond Fund - Sustainability Report
IconI1269Download
Liontrust GF Sustainable Future Global Growth Fund - Sustainability Report
IconI1269Download
Liontrust GF Sustainable Future Multi-Asset Global Fund - Sustainability Report
IconI1269Download
Liontrust GF Sustainable Future Pan-European Growth Fund - Sustainability Report
IconI1269Download
Liontrust GF Sustainable Future US Growth Fund - Sustainability Report
IconI1269Download
Liontrust Sustainable Annual Review 2023
IconI1269Download
Liontrust Sustainable Investment - How We Invest
IconI1269Download
Liontrust Sustainable Investment - How We Invest
IconI1269Download
SF Managed Funds Sales Aid
IconI1269Download

International Sales

Jessica Ironside
Jessica IronsideHead of International and Institutional Client Service

Contact us

Vanessa Lawley
Vanessa LawleyHead of UK Client Service
Sagar Mehta
Sagar MehtaUK Client Service – London
Jemima Kenworthy
Jemima KenworthyUK Client Service – Midlands and the North
Sam Norton
Sam NortonUK Client Service – South
Key Risks 

Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of an investment and the income generated from it can fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. You may get back less than you originally invested. The issue of units/shares in Liontrust Funds may be subject to an initial charge, which will have an impact on the realisable value of the investment, particularly in the short term. Investments should always be considered as long term.
 
Investment in Funds managed by the Sustainable Future team involves foreign currencies and may be subject to fluctuations in value due to movements in exchange rates. The value of fixed income securities will fall if the issuer is unable to repay its debt or has its credit rating reduced. Generally, the higher the perceived credit risk of the issuer, the higher the rate of interest. Some Funds may invest in derivatives. The use of derivatives may create leverage or gearing. A relatively small movement in the value of a derivative's underlying investment may have a larger impact, positive or negative, on the value of a fund than if the underlying investment was held instead.

Disclaimer

This is a marketing communication. Before making an investment, you should read the relevant Prospectus and the Key Investor Information Document (KIID), which provide full product details including investment charges and risks. These documents can be obtained, free of charge, from www.liontrust.co.uk or direct from Liontrust. Always research your own investments. If you are not a professional investor please consult a regulated financial adviser regarding the suitability of such an investment for you and your personal circumstances.

This should not be construed as advice for investment in any product or security mentioned, an offer to buy or sell units/shares of Funds mentioned, or a solicitation to purchase securities in any company or investment product. Examples of stocks are provided for general information only to demonstrate our investment philosophy. The investment being promoted is for units in a fund, not directly in the underlying assets. It contains information and analysis that is believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but is subject to change without notice. Whilst care has been taken in compiling the content of this document, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Liontrust as to its accuracy or completeness, including for external sources (which may have been used) which have not been verified. It should not be copied, forwarded, reproduced, divulged or otherwise distributed in any form whether by way of fax, email, oral or otherwise, in whole or in part without the express and prior written consent of Liontrust.