- Principal Asset Management has launched its Global Sustainable Food and Biodiversity Fund.

The new fund will be classified as an Article 9 fund under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, with Principal stating that it would bolster its commitment to providing sustainable and thematic products that meet the market's demands. The fund is aimed at institutional investors, such as pension schemes, and retail investors globally. Companies the fund invests in will be alighted to target Sustainable Development Goals, including ‘zero hunger’, ‘good health and wellbeing’, ‘clean water and sanitisation’, and ‘responsible consumption and production’.

- Institutional investors have “rushed back” to cash as political risk mounts, according to State Street.

Its Risk Appetite Index fell back to -0.09 in June, indicating a “modest risk off bias” during the month. State Street Global Markets head of macro strategy, Michael Metcalfe, noted that while equity markets had made “new highs”, long-term investors were getting more cautious. Following an increase in risk appetites in Q2, institutional investors had “rushed back” to cash as a combination of positioning, political risk and cyclical doubts challenged views in both equity and bond markets. The State Street Holdings Indicators showed cash holdings rose by 88 basis points to 19.3 per cent in June.

- Robeco has launched new equity and fixed-income strategies that seek to help investors “tap into the growth potential” of the green transition.

It has launched two new equity strategies: The Emerging Markets Climate Transition Equities strategy focuses specifically on the transition toward a low-carbon economy, aligning with the goals of the Paris Agreement, while the broader Transition Asian Equities strategy also focuses on climate transition, but takes into consideration other environmental and social objectives. Robeco also ‘repositioned’ two existing fixed-income strategies: The Transition Emerging Credits strategy (formerly Sustainable Emerging Credits) and the Transition Asian Bonds strategy (formerly Sustainable Asian Bonds).

---