Our Approach to Sustainability

Aubrey invests its clients’ money in a responsible manner, in assets which we believe will provide long-term sustainable returns. Aubrey supports the UK Stewardship code and is a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (“PRI”). Aubrey’s European domiciled fund is registered under Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) Article 8 as a fund which promotes “environmental or social characteristics, or a combination of those characteristics, provided that the companies in which the investments are made follow good governance practices.”

Since 2006, our company research has integrated an internally developed assessment on sustainability, focussing on environmental, social and governance factors, long before (“ESG”) became an acronym. This analysis is today based on the United Nations Global Compact and we focus on four key themes: Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption. We also recognise that there is a no standardised approach to ESG disclosure and reporting. We currently retain Integrum as an external database to complement our internal processes but we do not rely on third-party scoring methodologies. Companies scoring poorly are not automatically excluded from investment.

Ongoing dialogue provides a level of reassurance that a business is being run responsibly and we aim to build relationships with company management, encouraging transparency and potential improvements.

Aubrey’s ESG framework for equity investments

Visiting and speaking with companies directly allows the investment team to form a better understanding of their sustainability position. Additionally, as part of our continued monitoring of the portfolio, we revisit each investment regularly to track progress on several matters, ESG being one of them.

The companies we invest in are analysed through our own bespoke in-house ESG framework and toolkit, including a which highlights the key performance indicators below, ensuring a targeted evaluation of each of our holding’s ESG standing. This enables us to delve into specific aspects of our portfolio companies’ environmental impact, social responsibility, and governance practices.