F&C ASSET MANAGEMENT 
By
10 June 2014
F&C Investments, pioneers of Europe's first ethically-screened investment fund, is today announcing a re- launch of its market-leading Responsible Investment capability, bringing together the broad range of products and services that F&C has developed to meet increasing investor demand for responsible investment solutions.
In due course, and subject to regulatory approval, we will announce new names for our ethical and sustainable funds, in line with a consistent and recognisable F&C Responsible Funds brand, and appoint a new high-level Responsible Investment Advisory Council.
The news comes as F&C celebrates 30 years since launching Europe's first responsible investment fund in
1984, and follows an F&C survey conducted by YouGov last year which showed that 27 per cent of investors rate 'investing responsibly' as one of the most important factors when considering an investment, with 11 per cent specifically citing 'ethical or green areas'.
The Responsible Investment capability encompasses:
F&C's Responsible Funds - a broad range of investment options, from ethically-screened UK and global equity offerings through to thematic funds, screened fixed income and sustainability- orientated emerging market equities. Many of these funds will be renamed as part of the Responsible Funds rebrand, including those currently using the Stewardship name.
Active ownership - F&C has an active engagement programme, using its investor influence to encourage best practice in the management of environmental, social and governance issues. In
2013 this saw us engage with over 700 companies across 47 countries. As well as operating this on
its own assets, F&C also offers an engagement and voting service for third-party clients (reo®), which in total covers £90 billion* in assets under engagement.
Integration of environmental, social and governance issues into F&C's mainstream investment process, enriching the process of company analysis and helping to identify high-quality investments.
The F&C range is built on a substantial specialist in-house resource, including a team of 13 dedicated ESG experts conducting research, engagement and voting, and 17 fund managers involved in the management of the Responsible Funds range.
Vicki Bakhshi, Director at F&C Investments said:
"Demand for responsible investment solutions is growing all the time, but our research shows that in today's market, robust ethical and sustainable screening is just one element that clients are looking for. Our new 'responsible' fund positioning recognises how expectations in this area have grown over the years - today it's not just about what you own, it's also about how you own it. At F&C we
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have market leading capabilities across both elements, and so it makes perfect sense to bring this together in a consistent way across our product range"
The ethically-screened funds within F&C's Responsible Fund range will be supported by a new and independent F&C Responsible Investment Advisory Council, which will take on the oversight from the present Committee of Reference in due course. The council will focus on providing advice on ethical and sustainability criteria, helping F&C maintain the strict ethical standards by which the funds are run.
F&C will announce the Responsible Investment Advisory Council members in due course before the council assumes its responsibilities.
"These are exciting times for F&C, and today's announcement is just the first step in growing our already market-leading responsible investment business. Our new parent company BMO (Bank of Montreal) recognises our unparalleled expertise in this area, and envisages strong demand in a number of their key markets. We look forward to making further announcements in the coming months."
- ENDS- Notes to editors
F&C Investments was a founder signatory to UNPRI in 2006.
*As of 31 March 2014
F&C is focused exclusively on managing money for its clients. It manages assets for a combination of insurance clients, institutional investors, intermediaries and private individuals which collectively represent in excess of three million underlying savers. F&C invests across all major asset classes - equities, fixed income and property - and has specialist expertise in asset allocation, alternative investments, liability driven
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investments, multi-manager, private equity funds and ESG Investing. The F&C Group includes F&C REIT, a global real estate asset manager.
F&C has a strong footprint in the U.K. and the rest of Europe with assets under management of approximately £83 billion as at 31 March 2014. F&C has a rich heritage that dates back almost 150 years and can be traced back to the founding in 1868 of the Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust.
F&C is part of Bank of Montreal (BMO) Global Asset Management, a global investment manager with more than US$131 billion in assets under management. BMO Global Asset Management is a wholly owned subsidiary of BMO Financial Group (NYSE: BMO), a fully diversified financial services organisation with more than US$532 billion in assets and more than 45,000 employees as of 31 January 2014.
Disclaimer:
Past performance should not be seen as an indication of future performance. The value of investments and income derived from them can go down as well as up as a result of market or currency movements and investors may not get back the original amount invested. The information, opinions estimates or forecasts contained in this document were obtained from sources reasonably believed to be reliable and are subject to change at any time. F&C Group Companies may from time to time deal in investments mentioned herein on behalf of their clients. The source of information in all graphs is F&C unless otherwise stated. F&C Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN: 119230 F&C Management Limited is a member of the F&C Group. The F&C Group is wholly owned by BMO Global Asset Management (Europe) Limited, which is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Montreal. F&C, the F&C logo, REO and the 'reo' logo are registered trade marks of F&C Asset Management plc. F&C INVESTMENTS and the F&C INVESTMENTS logo are trade marks of F&C Management Limited. © Copyright F&C Management Limited 2014. All Rights Reserved. Neither this document nor any part of it may be reproduced by any party whether by photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means or otherwise without the prior approval of F&C Management Limited.
F&C Management Ltd accepts no liability in respect of the information or any views expressed herein which may be subject to change without notice at any time.
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