Climate Change Fund Has Strong Growth Potential
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
Companies engaging in the fields of cleaner technology and energy efficiency hold strong growth potential amid intensifying global climate change, providing good opportunities to investors for portfolio diversification and higher returns, a Deutsche investment analyst said Thursday.
Nicolas Huber, senior portfolio manger at Deutsche Asset Management, told reporters that corporations, which face the climate change issue early and act constructively and creatively, will develop opportunities for themselves and their investors.
``For businesses and investors around the world, the climate change issue has shifted from the edges of deliberations over corporate and social responsibility to a significant force driving strategic and investment decisions. Companies are increasingly trying to adapt to the new business environment by reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption,'' Huber said.
He said restructuring the global economy according to the principles of climate change is presenting one of the greatest investment opportunities in history. ``Companies and investors will prosper if they recognize the importance of climate change and its impact, foresee the implications for their industry, and take appropriate steps in advance.''
``Recognizing such an opportunity, we have been offering global investors the Deutsche DWS Premier Climate Change Fund since February, which invests in companies whose products reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as those whose products or services assist in the adjustment to weather changes and its effects,'' Huber said.
The fund invests in listed companies around the world with profitable business models based on climate change, or which have made substantial progress in seeking environmentally friendly solutions and implementing them, he said.
It has realized returns of 11 percent with assets under management of 1.6 billion euro since inception in February. Deutsche Asset Management has been marketing the fund to Korean investors since July 18, attracting a rather small 3 billion won amid the volatile global market runs as a result of U.S. subprime mortgage default risks.
``Despite the ongoing global market turmoil, we think investors should invest in our fund because all firms included in our portfolio are fundamentally sound and profitable. Now is the right time to buy into those stocks and long-term investment will generate handsome returns,'' Huber said.
The fund holds stakes in up to 120 companies across the globe, including clean energy companies, water utilities, carmakers focusing on fuel-efficient vehicles such as hybrid electric cars, and carbon trading firms.
Deutsche Asset Management in Korea, founded in 2002, has grown steadily and built a reputation for product innovation and performance excellence with currently 3.9 trillion won under management.