Asian environmental
Targeting opportunities across Asia-Pacific’s environmental markets
The opportunity
Changing demographics, rising living standards, urbanisation, and depletion of limited natural resources are putting pressure on the global environment. This is particularly apparent in Asia, which is expected to host almost half of the world’s population by 2050.1
Addressing these issues will require significant capital investment in new technologies and services, in addition to greater policy support from regulators and governments. This, we think, could lead to long-term growth potential for companies providing environmental solutions, in particular those based in Asia.
Four supportive fundamentals of Asian environmental markets
Strategy highlights
Actively investing in Asian environmental markets
The strategy primarily targets companies based in the Asia-Pacific region that deliver solutions to environmental challenges and conduct a significant part of their business in environmental markets including, but not limited to, renewable energy, sustainable food, waste management, and water.
Flexible investment approach
Selectively invested across regions, end-markets and sectors, the strategy provides investors with broadly diversified exposure to Asian environmental markets. Such flexibility allows the investment team to build a balanced portfolio of both defensive and cyclical stocks.
Attractive growth potential
Companies that are set to benefit from the transition to a more sustainable global economy may offer attractive long-term growth prospects. The strategy seeks to capitalise on this relatively untapped and often mispriced area of growth.
Team and expertise
The strategy is actively managed by our long-term partner Impax Asset Management, with Oscar Yang and Manish Bishnoi serving as co-portfolio managers. Oscar has over 16 years of industry experience, specialising in environmental and sustainable equity themes, while Manish – also 16 years of industry experience – specialises in Asian equities.
Impax Asset Management is an award-winning, long-standing investor in environmental markets, with offices across the globe. Their investment teams are supported by the firm’s Portfolio Management & Research Analysts team, with 19 years average industry experience and extensive sector, regional and thematic expertise5, its Quantitative Research Group and Impax’s dedicated Sustainability Centre.
Thematic investing
Shaping tomorrow’s investment opportunities
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[1] Asia 2050: Realizing the Asian Century, Asian Development Bank
[2] China’s Urbanisation, Dragon Star, European Commission’s FP7 program, 2016
[3] Asian Development Bank, Water: 12 Things to Know, 24 August 2015.
[4] China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), December 2020.
[5] Impax Asset Management, as at 30 September 2024. Years of experience calculated as of most recent quarter end for Impax Asset Management employees who joined in 2024. In total, there are 55 portfolio managers and analysts, including 40 equity team members and 11 fixed income team members. Team member numbers include the individuals shown on the strategy’s investment team.
Important information
This material is issued by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Malaysia Sdn Bhd, an investment management company holding a Capital Markets Services Licence under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 of Malaysia, having its principal place of business at Vista Tower, Level 48D, The Intermark 348 Jalan Tun Razak 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This material has not been reviewed by the Securities Commission Malaysia.
This material is produced for information purposes only and does not constitute:
- an offer to buy nor a solicitation to sell, nor shall it form the basis of or be relied upon in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever or
- investment advice.
Opinions included in this material constitute the judgement of the investment management company at the time specified and may be subject to change without notice. The investment management company is not obliged to update or alter the information or opinions contained within this material. Investors should consult their own legal and tax advisors in respect of legal, accounting, domicile and tax advice prior to investing in the financial instrument(s) in order to make an independent determination of the suitability and consequences of an investment therein, if permitted. Please note that different types of investments, if contained within this material, involve varying degrees of risk and there can be no assurance that any specific investment may either be suitable, appropriate or profitable for an investor’s investment portfolio.
Given the economic and market risks, there can be no assurance that the financial instrument(s) will achieve its/their investment objectives. Returns may be affected by, amongst other things, investment strategies or objectives of the financial instrument(s) and material market and economic conditions, including interest rates, market terms and general market conditions. The different strategies applied to financial instruments may have a significant effect on the results presented in this material. Past performance is not a guide to future performance and the value of the investments in financial instrument(s) may go down as well as up. Investors may not get back the amount they originally invested.
Past performance or achievement is not indicative of current or future performance. Performance is calculated net of fees unless otherwise stated.
Any views expressed here are those of the author as of the date of publication, based on available information, and subject to change without notice. This material does not constitute investment advice.
Investments are subject to market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investments in securities. The value of investments and the income they generate may go down as well as up and it is possible that investors will not recover their initial outlay, the strategies described being in risk of capital loss. There is no guarantee that the performance objective will be achieved.
Investing in emerging markets, or specialised or restricted sectors is likely to be subject to a higher-than-average volatility due to a high degree of concentration, greater uncertainty because less information is available, there is less liquidity or due to greater sensitivity to changes in market conditions (social, political and economic conditions).
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment risk: The lack of common or harmonised definitions and labels integrating ESG and sustainability criteria at EU level may result in different approaches by managers when setting ESG objectives. This also means that it may be difficult to compare strategies integrating ESG and sustainability criteria to the extent that the selection and weightings applied to select investments may be based on metrics that may share the same name but have different underlying meanings. In evaluating a security based on the ESG and sustainability criteria, the Investment Manager may also use data sources provided by external ESG research providers. Given the evolving nature of ESG, these data sources may for the time being be incomplete, inaccurate or unavailable. Applying responsible business conduct standards in the investment process may lead to the exclusion of securities of certain issuers. Consequently, performance may at times be better or worse than the performance of relatable strategies that do not apply such standards.
This is not an exhaustive list of risks. For a complete description and definition of risks, please consult a client relationship manager or the global BNP Paribas Asset Management website: staging.bnpparibas-am.co.uk.