Smart Pension has announced its first green bonds investment with the Mirova Global Green Bond Fund.

It is thought to be among one of the first master trusts to invest its default growth fund in green bonds, which aim to improve outcomes for savers in both financial and environmental terms.

Indeed, Mirova’s Global Green Bond Fund directly funds projects searching for high environmental and social positive impact, aiming to make a real difference to the people and planet.

The investment therefore aims to build on the group's commitment to ensure that its default growth fund will be net zero by 2040, with Smart Pension having previously confirmed that it is on track to have cut the fund’s emissions by 50 per cent between 2019 and 2025.

Smart Pension also recently announced a biodiversity partnership with AXA Investment Managers in October 2022, and previously signed up to the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change in October 2021.

Commenting on the news, Smart Pension chief investment officer (CIO), Paul Bucksey, stated: “We are focused on achieving great outcomes for our members. We want to help them secure not just long-term financial growth but also a safer, healthier world in which they can retire.

"The pension industry has a golden opportunity to drive faster decarbonisation, by investing in businesses that are serious about cutting their carbon emissions.

"Over 70 per cent of our flagship growth fund has been invested in sustainable funds for a while now, and this investment coupled with other recent changes bring us to 100 per cent. We expect these investments will play a key role in achieving our 2040 net zero target.”

Mirova CIO of equities, fixed income and social impact management, Hervé Guez, added: “We are grateful to Smart Pension for their trust in our expertise in fixed income and sustainable investing.

"For 10 years now, we have developed a strong knowledge of the green bond segment, and we are eager to maximize our environmental impact and deliver returns, while helping to safeguard the integrity of this fast-growing market”.

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