Economy
Alliance Trust surges on in SRI after completing Aviva transfer
Alliance Trust Investments has become one of the world’s largest sustainable investment houses, after completing the transfer of the Aviva Investors SRI fund range.
Aviva’s team moved to Alliance Trust in August last year, after the organisation decided to close its socially responsible investment (SRI) arm 12 months ago.
CEO Paul Abberley said last February that Aviva would be looking “for a new institutional home for the SRI funds, the clients and the majority of the team”, before striking a deal with Alliance Trust.
The 2,300 investors in Aviva’s Sustainable Futures Fund will be transferred to Alliance Trust – along with the bulk of its team.
“Greater investor awareness of environmental and social issues combined with political efforts to promote change are just two of a whole host of factors that have pushed the potential of SRI funds through the roof”, said Peter Michaelis, head of SRI at Alliance Trust Investments, who previously headed Aviva’s team.
“Add into the mix that the advent of the retail distribution review (RDR) has forced advisers to sit up and take a lot more notice of the specific investment aims of their clients, many of whom will express a desire for ethical investments, and you realise just how big the opportunities are.”
Michaelis and his team’s move to Alliance Trust has been welcomed by their new colleagues. Managing director Ed Troughton said the transfer “demonstrates our underlying commitment to providing quality funds demanded by investors in today’s economic climate.”
Further reading:
‘Better growth opportunities’ elsewhere, as Aviva closes SRI arm