St. James’s Place (SJP) has awarded a £5.2bn sustainable investment mandate to Schroders.
Schroders is replacing Impax Asset Management at the helm of the St. James’s Place Sustainable and Responsible Equity fund, which has returned 52.4% over the past five years.
Under the terms of the new mandate, the fund will invest in a blend of Schroders’ Global Sustainable Value Equity and Global Sustainable Growth strategies. These strategies delivered 23.4% and 81.3% over the past five years, respectively; a bottom and top-quartile result in the IA Global sector.
Following this news, the St. James’s Place Sustainable and Responsible Equity fund and the two Schroders strategies will adopt the Financial Conduct Authority’s ‘sustainability focus’ label, in line with the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR). These changes are expected to come into play as of 24 February 2025.
Justin Onuekwusi, chief investment officer at St. James’s Place, praised the Schroders team for its diversified approach and “depth of experience across different equity investment strategies”, which he said would give the fund a more balanced blend of investment styles.
Alex Tedder, co-head of equities at Schroders, added that this partnership reflected the increased industry emphasis on investment solutions that can deliver “strong risk-adjusted returns together with a comprehensive commitment to sustainability”.
This follows the announcement in December that around 10 other Schroders funds will also adopt SDR labels, to make it easier for investors to identify investment strategies which meet their sustainability criteria.