Desjardins Global Asset Management chooses Mirova for delegated management of a green bond fund

The Desjardins SocieTerra Environmental Bond Fund puts the Global Green Bond strategy managed by Mirova into action. This fund will receive the recognized expertise of Mirova’s bond specialist teams, which are leaders in the area of green bonds.

Like Mirova’s Global Green Bond strategy, the Desjardins SocieTerra Environmental Bond Fund will be steered with active management and conviction management. The fund’s main performance driver will be investment in debt securities that support the environmental and energy transition, described as green bonds by Mirova’s responsible investment research team. As such, the management approach will combine financial and non-financial tactics: specific analysis of each project financed, ESG analysis of the issuer, and fundamental analysis to determine the bond’s financial attractiveness. The fund will try to benefit from different international economic cycles by diversifying in terms of geography, economic sector, and credit rating.

The Desjardins SocieTerra Environmental Bond fund will be managed by Christopher Wigley, with Marc Briand, co-manager and head of Fixed-income at Mirova who will particularly rely on Mirova’s responsible investment research team of 12 analysts.

Philippe Zaouati, CEO of Mirova, commented on the announcement: "We are proud to have received this management mandate from Desjardins Global Asset Management. It is proof that our expertise in green bond management is recognized on the market. Additionally, this mandate is part of our international growth strategy at Mirova, a strategy that is clearly beginning to pay off."

Michel Lessard, Vice President of Desjardins Global Asset Management added: "By financing tangible assets, green bonds fill direct, concrete needs: they enable issuers to diversify their investor base and investors to actively participate in financing the energy transition. We are delighted, alongside Mirova, to commit to this energy transition by launching the Desjardins SocieTerra Environmental Bond Fund, the first green bond fund on the Canadian market."