Tag: Top Stories

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Dividend Stocks

Travelers Commercial have profitable outlook on the commercial side with favourable pricing environment

Business Strategy and outlook

The coronavirus affected the company’s results last year. However, losses were very manageable and have stayed well within the range of historical events that the industry has successfully absorbed in the past. On the positive side, Travelers had some natural hedges against COVID-19, and the pandemic was a material positive for its personal auto business, due to a falloff in miles driven.

There outlook for profitability on the commercials side of the business looks relatively bright, in as per Morningstar analyst view. While investment yields are under pressure, the pricing environment has not been particularly favorable in recent years. However, in 2019, pricing momentum picked up in primary lines, and this positive trend accelerated in 2020 as the coronavirus appears to have acted as an additional spur to pricing.

Travels could also see some headwinds in personal lines going forward, which could partially offset favorable conditions in commercial lines. Pandemic tailwinds in personal auto have dissipated, and pricing has recently declined. Finally, insurers are absorbing a rise in claims costs due to factors beyond the impact of drivers returning to the road. All in all, it is  expected that  mean reversion will take place over time, auto insurers look set to endure a relatively difficult period in the near term. Travelers does enter this period with some compnay-specific question marks, as it appears to have not anticipated the recent rise in social inflation as well as peers and reported adverse reserve development in 2019. 

Financial Strength

 Travelers’ balance sheet structure is roughly in line with its peers’, with equity/assets at 25% at the end of 2020. The company has held this ratio between 22% and 25% in recent years. As per Morningstar analyst this level is adequate, given the nature of the company’s business and its exposure to occasionally large losses caused by catastrophes. From Morningstar analyst prespective, the company invests relatively conservatively. Of its fixed-income securities, 90% are rated A or higher, and the company avoided any major investment issues during the financial crisis, and during the recent turbulence in capital markets. As Travelers is not acquisitive and the inherent volatility of the insurance industry precludes a high dividend payout ratio, stock repurchases have been the predominant use of free cash flow for the company historically, with Travelers buying back about $1 billion-$3 billion annually in recent years. The company did take pause on this front in 2020 due to the uncertainty around the impact of the coronavirus, but we expect this to continue longer term.

Bulls Say 

  • We think Travelers is relatively conservative in its investing choices. 
  • diversification of Travelers’ business insulates it from issues in any specific lines. 
  • Pricing is improving in commercial lines.

Company Profile

Travelers  offers a broad product range and participates in both commercial and personal insurance lines. Its commercial operations offer a variety of coverage types for companies of any size but concentrate on serving midsize businesses. Its personal lines are roughly evenly split between auto and homeowners insurance. Policies are distributed via a network of more than 11,000 brokers and independent agents.

 (Source: MorningStar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Categories
LICs LICs

Carlton Investments Limited: A diversified portfolio

Carlton Investments Limited (CIN) is an investment company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). It is required to release its net tangible asset (NTA) backing per ordinary share to the ASX after each month end. At the end of each quarter the Company also releases, as part of its NTA announcement, a listing of its top twenty equity investments. Group companies also invest funds in term deposits. The Group has no debt. The investment strategy is to invest in established, well managed Australian listed entities that are anticipated to provide attractive levels of sustainable income and also long-term capital growth. The Group also invests in companies that enable a high portion of income to be received as fully franked dividends.  Investments are held for the long term and are generally only disposed of through takeover, mergers or other exceptional circumstances that may arise from time to time. Group entities do not act as share traders nor do they invest in speculative stocks.

Investment Team:

The Group has an experienced Board of Directors, consisting of Mr Alan G Rydge, Mr Murray E Bleach and Mr Anthony J Clark AM. It is an objective of the Board to maximise shareholder return through both the payment of fully franked dividends and longer-term capital growth in the value of the company’s shares whilst maintaining an investment portfolio with an acceptable level of investment risk.

Performance:

Global Equity Fund1 month1 yr2 yrs3 yrsSince Inception
Total Return-0.16%13.94%19.00%–15.80%

About LIC:

Incorporated in 1928, Carlton Investments is the holding company for three subsidiaries whose principal activities are the acquisition and long term holding of shares and units in entities listed on the ASX. Investments have been made to create a diversified portfolio. At 30 June 2021 the Group held an investment portfolio with a total market value of $1,000,907 thousand, consisting of shares and units in over 85 entities. The Group has a significant holding in Event Hospitality & Entertainment (EVT) (formerly known as Amalgamated Holdings Limited), a group engaged in cinema exhibition (Event, Greater Union, BCC and Cinestar) in Australia, New Zealand and Germany, hotel operations and ownership (Rydges, Atura and QT), operation of the Thredbo Alpine Resort and investment property ownership.

(Source: www.carltoninvestments.com.au)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Categories
Shares Small Cap

Platinum Shares at discount as investors overlook its good traits

Business Strategy and Outlook

Platinum is an active manager founded in 1994, specialising in global equities. It concentrates on identifying unfashionable stocks with latent business and growth prospects. Platinum is not focused on asset allocation and pays little attention to its benchmarks. As a result, its portfolios often look little like–and returns often don’t resemble–their indexes. The firm manages about AUD 22 billion in FUM, and is one of the best known fund managers in Australia. 

Platinum eschews empire-building–such as special discounting to attract FUM, acquisitions or product proliferation–and prefers to spend most of its time managing money. Management is largely focused on minor product enhancements: clients can invest via unlisted funds, active ETFs, listed investment companies, mFunds, or investment bonds. Clients can also invest into performance fee class of funds. Moreover, the firm is making an effort to grow its client engagement and business development initiatives.

Financial Strength

Our fair value estimated to AUD 3.90 per share from AUD 4.25 after increasing the expected magnitude, and prolonging the duration, of net outflows to fiscal 2024. Platinum is in strong financial health, supported by a conservative balance sheet with no debt and a healthy cash balance. Platinum has maintained a very high dividend payout ratio since listing in 2007. An absence of debt, consistent earnings, strong cash flow conversion, and a durable balance sheet support the high dividend payout ratio target of close to 100%. High dividend payouts are a feature of the capital-light asset-management sector, delivering attractive shareholder returns while maintaining comfortable balance sheet settings.

Bulls Say’s 

  • Platinum is well known in Australian funds management. The firm may be able to take advantage of retail investors increasing allocation to global equities, if it improves medium-term performance. 
  • The long-term outlook is positive due to likely mandated increases in compulsory superannuation. However, fund underperformance, increasing competition and a trend to lower-cost passive investments are risks. 
  • Capital demands low, and free cash flow generation is strong. This supports a high dividend payout ratio and offers investors the opportunity of both growth and income returns.

Company Profile 

Platinum Asset Management is an Australian-based niche fund manager with a specialty in international equities founded in 1994. It offers region and industry-specific funds in addition to global portfolios. There is flexibility in the investment strategies at Platinum, with funds having the option to engage in short-selling, taking positions in foreign exchange markets, and derivative-based activities to manage risk and aid performance.

(Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Categories
Funds Funds

MFS Institutional International Equity Fund

Approach

The managers rely on broad and thorough bottom-up research and a disciplined focus on moderately growing established companies with shares trading at decent prices. That is not unique, but the process is bred in MFS’ bones and has delivered strong results elsewhere, including Gold-rated MFS Global Equity MWEIX. The managers look for firms growing faster than global GDP. That’s a lower hurdle than more-aggressive growth funds since global GDP historic growth is in the single digits.

Portfolio

This is a diversified yet distinctive portfolio. It spreads its bets over its nearly 80 stocks. Most holdings were less than 2% of assets, and the fund had less than 30% of its money in its top 10 stocks. The strategy’s preference for competitively advantaged, moderately growing, developed-markets companies helps it stand out, though. More than two thirds of its holdings have wide or narrow economic moat ratings, much more than its foreign large-cap peers and relevant indexes, like the MSCI ACWI ex USA. It also had a large slug of assets in developed Europe, including the 2021 purchase of tire maker Cie Generale des establisment Michelin. 

Portfolio .png

People

The firm’s sprawling, yet experienced analyst team supports the managers. MFS has dozens of U.S. and nonU.S. equity analysts who divide responsibilities across eight global sectors. In addition, the firm’s large credit analyst team provides insights across the capital structure, and a quantitative research squad offers riskmanagement support. The equity analysts average more than 15 years of industry experience and nearly eight years’ firm tenure, and team turnover has been low. The managers also collaborate with the firm’s other non-U.S. portfolio managers, including Roger Morley and Ryan McAllister of Gold-rated MFS Global Equity.

Performance 

The fund has done well in a variety of environments. Its performance in the early 2020 pandemic-induced market collapse was mixed, though. Its 31% loss hurt but was less than the nearly 34% plunge of broader non-U.S. stock indexes. The typical foreign large-growth fund and growth benchmarks, however, shed about 30%. Pandemic-ravaged businesses like food service company Compass hurt, so did not owning more tech stocks.

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(Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Categories
Dividend Stocks Expert Insights

Paychex Is Well Placed to Benefit From the Economic Recovery and a Complex Regulatory Landscape

Business Strategy and Outlook

Paychex’s offering appeals to businesses wishing to outsource mission-critical functions, manage and attract employees, and remain compliant with increasingly complex and evolving regulations. Paychex’s solutions span from do-it-yourself payroll with add-on human capital management modules to full-service HR outsourcing via an administrative services organization or professional employer organization model. The ASO and PEO solutions allow a business to outsource critical HR functions to Paychex, including payroll, compliance, and benefits administration, and access support from onsite HR professionals. The main difference between the two models is that under a PEO, Paychex enters a co-employment arrangement and acts as the employer of record for tax and insurance purposes. 

Financial Strength

Paychex is in a strong financial position. At the end of fiscal 2021, Paychex had a net cash position of over $300 million including restricted cash and total corporate investments. In fiscal 2019, the company issued $800 million of fixed-rate long-term debt to fund the $1.2 billion acquisition of PEO business Oasis. Paychex has returned nearly $7 billion of capital to shareholders during the eight years to fiscal 2021 primarily through dividends and to a lesser extent share repurchases. It is expected that  Paychex’s strong free cash flow generation will support an 80% dividend payout ratio over our forecast period. 

Paychex’s medium-term outlook due to resilient revenue retention and stronger demand for complementary HCM solutions than previously anticipated, underpinning our 4% fair value estimate increase to $110 per share. At current prices, Paychex’s shares screen as overvalued trading at a 21% premium to our updated fair value estimate. Management now expects fiscal 2022 adjusted EPS growth to be about 19%, from about 13% previously.

Bull Say’s

  • Paychex is well placed to benefit from increased regulatory complexity under a U.S. Democratic administration. 
  • Paychex benefits from high customer switching costs, a scale-based cost advantage, and strong brand assets and a referral network built over many decades. 
  • Paychex dominates the small-business outsourced payroll market with strong prospects of further market penetration.

Company Profile 

Paychex is a leading provider of payroll, human capital management, and insurance solutions servicing small and midsize clients primarily in the United States. The company, established in 1979, services over 710,000 clients and pays over 1 in 12 U.S. private-sector workers. Alongside its traditional payroll services, Paychex offers HCM solutions such as benefits administration and time and attendance software, as well as human resources outsourcing and insurance brokering.

(Source: BanyanTree)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Categories
LICs LICs

Metrics Master Income Trust Seeking to Raise $440m through Unit Purchase Plan

On 28 October 2021, MXT announced a Unit Purchase Plan (UPP) proposing to issue 220.8m new units at a price of $2.00 per unit. The Trust is targeting to raise ~$441.6m. While the Trust maintains the flexibility to accept applications in excess of the target raise amount, applications in excess of this amount may also be scaled back.

The Offer closed on 30 November 2021 with an Issue Date of 3 December 2021. New units are expected to commence trading on 6 December 2021.

Capital raised will be invested in accordance with the investment mandate and target return of the Trust.

MXT targets a return of the RBA cash rate plus 3.25% p.a. (currently 3.35% p.a. net of fees) through the economic cycle, with income distributions intended to be paid monthly. Since listing on the ASX in October 2017, MXT has delivered a net return of 5.15% pa.

Net Asset Value of metrics Master Income Trust is $1,573,565,708. Current Unit Price is $2.07. 

Performance 

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Company Profile

The Investment Objective of the Metrics Master Income Trust is to provide monthly cash income, low risk of capital loss and portfolio diversification by actively managing diversified loan portfolios and participating in Australia’s bank‐dominated corporate loan market. The Manager seeks to implement active strategies designed to balance delivery of the Target Return, while seeking to preserve investor.

(Source: FN Arena, Bloomberg, MXT)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Categories
Technology Stocks

Visa Inc. FY21reported solid results driven by diversification of revenue and recovery of global economies

Investment Thesis 

  • Stands to benefit from the increased digitization of money with the global amount of payments made via card or digitally exceeding physical cash for the first time in 2016. 
  • Expansion of new flows and use cases. 
  • Visa stands to benefit from the improving momentum in Europe and India. 
  •  Strong partnerships with first class financial institutions including increased ease in working with fintech partners (as Visa opens up its APIs to fintechs). 
  •  Continued investment in technology and cyber security. 
  •  Strong management team. 
  • Solid fundamentals with recurring revenues, high incremental margins, low capital expenditure and high free cash flow.

Key Risks

  • Cyber security attacks. 
  • Increased regulatory environment and government-imposed restrictions on payment systems. Antitrust remains a hot topic in the market. 
  •  Margin deterioration due to intense competition from alternative payment processing providers. 
  • Higher expenses and incentives. 
  •  Deterioration in global growth or consumption.

FY21 Results Highlights

V’s FY21 results beat consensus estimates with net revenue of $24.1bn (vs $24bn), driven by the continuation of the recovery in many global economies and the increased diversification of revenue with new flows and VAS. Cashflow generation remained strong (FCF up +50% over pcp) and shareholder returns continued with the Board authorizing a +17% increase in the quarterly dividend in addition to conducting $8.7bn in repurchases (has $4.7bn of remaining authorized funds for share repurchase). Maintain Buy – solid top-line growth over the medium term amid buildout of new payment types – BNPL, cryptocurrency and B2B – with recovering credit and crossborder travel and new flows in VAS (amid strong demand for cybersecurity, marketing and data analytics) driving further acceleration. In the near-term, a faster than expected recovery in cross-border travel could represent upside to management (expected to reach 2019 levels by summer 2023) and consensus earnings estimates.

Outlook

Management expects: (1) 1Q22 net revenue growth in the high teens (will moderate through the year), client incentives as a percentage of gross revenue to be 26- 27% (in-line with 4Q21), operating expenses growth in the mid-teens amid sustained investment spending combined with low comparable in pcp, non-operating expense of $120- 130m, and tax rates of 19-19.5%. (2) FY22 value-added services growth of high teens and client incentives as a percent of gross revenues of 26-27% (consistent with 4Q21 levels, gradually reaching pre-Covid growth of +50-100bps each year due to the impact of new deals and renewals), which combined with the expected benefit from revenue mix improvement as cross-border travel continues to recover (cross-border travel is expected to recover steadily through FY22 and reach 2019 levels by the summer of 2023). Partially offset by the lapping of incentive reductions from FY21 due to the Covid impact, resulting in high end or mid-teens net revenue growth (including over 0.5% of exchange rate drag from the strengthening dollar). Operating expenses to grow in the low teens, with expense growth higher in 1H22 and moderate in 2H22 as the Company lap the resumption of investment spending in FY21, non-operating expense to be $120-130m each quarter and tax rate to be 19-19.5%. 

Company Profile

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments and one of the most recognized brands around the world, with a mission to connect the world through innovative, reliable and secure payment networks, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. The Company’s advanced global processing network, VisaNet, facilitates authorization, clearing and settlement of payment transactions, providing secure and reliable payments across borders and within countries. The Company operates in party models, which include card issuing financial institutions, acquirers and merchants. The Company’s products/services include core products, processing infrastructure, transaction processing services, digital products, merchant products, and risk products and payment security initiatives. Its relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere.

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Categories
Funds Funds

CFS Index Australian Bond: Simple and reasonably priced choice for diversified Australian bond exposure

Approach

FSI matches the risk factors of the benchmark, including duration, sector exposures, and credit quality by employing a full replication method. The strategy can hold securities that have been or are expected to be included in the index, and it can exclude those likely to drop in or out. On average, the cash holding would be in the vicinity of 0.5% because of the impact of daily flows and liquidity needs. The larger asset base gives the firm the benefit of scale and helps to keep a lid on overall transaction costs. FSI uses the BlackRock Aladdin portfolio management tool to manage the index-tracking process end to end, including trading and risk assessment and monitoring.

Portfolio

CFS Index Australian Bond replicates the Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+ Year Index fully. As of 30 September 2021, the fund is composed mainly of Treasury (56.6%) and government-related (semigovernment and supranational) debt (36.4%). Corporate credit constitutes most of the remaining portion of the fund. A major portion of the credits in the index are issued by banks, followed by diversified financials and real estate trusts. . The concentrated credit exposure to banks and financials means Australian property fundamentals play a role in the portfolio’s performance in the long run.

People

FSI has a long history of managing passive strategies. FSI’s institutional passive funds under management is substantial. As of August 2021, FSI had around $5.1 billion in active funds and $12.2 billion in passive strategies. The Australian fixed-income team headed by Stephen Cooper within FSI is responsible for the CFS Index Australia Bond Fund. Cooper is an industry veteran. He is supported by four portfolio managers in the team, with Darja Milosevic and Alex Nikolovski dedicated to passive vehicles.

Performance 

As a core bond holding, CFS Index Australia Bond has served investors well over time by bringing broader portfolio volatility down and protecting capital when equity market slides. On the other hand, it has lagged when yields rose and when credit markets have been strong. This was evident in 2013 when the fund’s 1.7% gain trailed over half of its category peers or when yields rose toward the second half of 2020 through the end of the first quarter of 2021 (November 2020–March 2021). Encouragingly, the fund had done well when equity markets were weak. Its relatively long duration and high-quality exposure have been a boon during such occasions. 

CFS Performance.png

About the Fund

CFS Wholesale Indexed Australian Bond Fund is a unit trust incorporated in Australia. The objective of the Fund is to closely track the UBS Warburg Australian Composite Bond Index, All Maturities. The Fund invests in securities issued or guaranteed by governments, statutory authorities, banks, and corporations of a high credit standing, with some cash for liquidity.

(Source: Morningstar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Categories
Shares Technology Stocks

ResMed witnesses strong revenue growth of 10%

Investment Thesis:

  • Global leader in a significantly under-penetrated sleep apnea market
  • High barriers to entry in establishing global distribution channels
  • Strong R&D program ensuring RMD remains ahead of competitors
  • Momentum in new masks releases
  • Bolt-on acquisitions to supplement organic growth 
  • Leveraged to a falling Australian dollar

Key Risks:

  • Disruptive technology leading to better patient compliance 
  • Product recall leading to reputational damage 
  • Competitive threats leading to market share loss
  • Disappointing growth (company and industry specific)
  • Adverse currency movements (AUD, EUR, USD)
  • RMD needs to grow to maintain its high PE trading multiple. Therefore, any impact on growth may put pressure on RMD’s valuation

Key highlights:

  • The net result was strong revenue growth of 10% for our ResMed business in the June quarter
  • In 4Q21, Revenue in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America (excluding Software as a Service), grew +18%, over the pcp, on demand for sleep devices and masks, including recovery of core sleep patient flow that was previously impacted by Covid-19 and increased demand following a recent product recall by one of RMD’s competitors, partially offset by lower Covid-19 related demand for RMD’s ventilators
  • Revenue in Europe, Asia, and other markets grew by 2% on a constant currency (CC) basis, on strong sales across RMD’s mask product portfolio, partially offset by weaker device sales due to the incremental Covid-19 respiratory care revenue in the pcp
  • Excluding the impact of the incremental respiratory care revenue associated with Covid19, revenue increased by 35% on a constant currency basis
  • Software as a Service revenue was +5% higher than the pcp, on continued growth in resupply service offerings and stabilising patient flow in out-of-hospital care settings

Company Description: 

ResMed Inc (RMD) develops, manufactures, and markets medical equipment for the treatment of sleep disordered breathing. The company sells diagnostic and treatment devices in various countries through its subsidiaries and independent distributors. RMD reports two main segments – Americas and Rest of the World (RoW) – with US its largest market. The company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) via CDIs (10:1 ratio).

(Source: Banyantree)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

Categories
ETFs ETFs

Betashares Global Sustainability Leaders ETF: ESG – Oriented global equities exposure with a distinctive returns Profile

Approach

ETHI tracks the Nasdaq Future Global Sustainable Leaders Index, a benchmark co-developed with BetaShares in November 2016. ETHI comprises 200 stocks that have above-average ESG characteristics. It uses a float-adjusted market-cap-weighted approach, starting with a universe of 6,000 stocks listed in North America, Europe, or Asia (ex-Australia). By adding ESG considerations, the index differs markedly from other passive and ESG indexes. A carbon screen identifies companies that lead in terms of carbon efficiency; these tend to be in the top one third of their industry for carbon efficiency. A minimum of five Scope 4 leaders is required in the index. A market cap and developed markets screen cuts the investable list to under 500. Analysts then perform negative screens until the 200-name portfolio is left.

Portfolio

A change in April 2020 has led to the portfolio providing exposure to the largest 200 global ex-AUS stocks by capitalisation that are considered climate change leaders. Further they must not be materially engaged in activities deemed inconsistent with responsible investment considerations. Stocks must have a market cap of more than USD 3 billion and three month trading volume of over USD 1 million. The index differs largely from other passive and active indexes with sector skews to healthcare, consumer cyclicals, financials and technology.

Top 10 Holdings

CompanyWeighting (%)
NIVDIA Crop 6.0%
Apple Inc. 4.3%
Home Depot3.8%
Visa Inc.3.4%
Adobe Inc.2.8%
Mastercard Inc.2.8%
ASML Holding NV2.7%
PayPal Holdings 2.6%
Toyota Motor Corp.2.3%
Cisco Systems Inc.2.3%
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People

Nguyen was an equity analyst at Three Pillars Portfolio Managers, where his responsibilities included systems development, risk management, and securities analysis. The committee comprises Betashares co-founder David Nathanson and Adam Verwey, a managing director of large investor Future Super. In September 2020, Simon Sheikh stood down and was replaced with Kylie Charlton, managing director of Australian Impact Investments.

Performance

However, from its Feb. 21, 2020, peak the strategy actually fell 22.74% to March 23, 2020. Since then, the strategy has made a remarkable turnaround. ETHI closed the calendar year 2020 with a n absolute return of 24.94%. The rally continued into 2021 and as of Sept. 30, 2021, the fund’s returns for the calendar year are 20.85%.The fund has remained within the 15-basis-point tracking error and the bid/offer spread was indicated to have remained below 30 basis points, averaging around 20 basis points.

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About the Fund

ETHI aims to track the performance of an index (before fees and expenses) that includes a portfolio of large global stocks identified as “Climate Leaders” that have also passed screens to exclude companies with direct or significant exposure to fossil fuels or engaged in activities deemed inconsistent with responsible investment considerations.

(Source: MorningStar)

General Advice Warning

Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.