Don Hamson

In a first for the Australian funds management industry, Plato Investment Management has launched a global equities fund, managed with a net zero carbon footprint without the use of costly carbon credits.

The Plato Global Net Zero Hedge Fund aims to outperform the MSCI World Index, while maintaining a net zero carbon exposure using the calculation methodology recommended by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

The Fund is an active extension long/short strategy that targets high carbon emitting listed companies via short positions, while taking long positions in companies with better than average carbon footprints.

Dr Don Hamson, Managing Director of Plato Investment Management, said the Fund has been launched to offer a ‘net zero now’ option for investment portfolios.

“We believe the race to net zero emissions will be the most important investment thematic over the next 30 years, and we think this unique strategy provides a way for investors to achieve net zero now, while gaining exposure to the greatest economic transition we’ll likely see in our lifetimes.

“Climate change is an issue that our team and many of our clients feel strongly about and through the Plato Global Net Zero Fund we will be able to actively play a bigger part in driving corporate change while having the ability to starve polluters of capital by shorting the most egregious emitters.

The Plato Global Net Zero Hedge Fund’s Co-Portfolio Managers are Dr David Allen Plato and Charles Lowe.

Dr Allen, who is also Plato Investment Management’s Head of Long/Short Strategies, said the strategy gains a unique edge from Plato’s established propriety quantitative systems, along with the integration of hundreds of new ESG data points.

“We know an average sized SMSF invested in the ASX 200 requires 3135 trees to get to net zero, so I think this new Fund is a game-changer for those who want a simple solution to help them generate alpha while maintaining a net zero carbon footprint.

“Importantly the strategy is underpinned by Plato’s proprietary quantitative systems which have been delivering strong outcomes for more than 15 years for investors ranging from self-funded retirees to superannuation funds.

“For example, Plato’s Red Flags Model which incorporates more than 100 ESG red flags, including some 60 environmental inputs, plays a major role in portfolio construction. We check companies for a whole range of different signals using multiple data sources, which alone aren’t that powerful, but when they emerge together in numbers, we know we have a very valuable indicator.”

Since its inception on 1st of September, 2021, the Plato Global Net Zero strategy has delivered returns of 8.29%, compared to 4.38% for the MSCI World benchmark.

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