BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calvert Investments today announced its newest sustainable and responsible investment strategy, the Calvert-Osmosis MoRESM (Model of Resource Efficiency) World Strategy. The Strategy is the result of an exclusive relationship between Calvert Investments and Osmosis Investment Management LLP based in the United Kingdom.
Evaluating corporate management of environmental resources has always been a key component of Calvert’s sustainable and responsible investment approach. This Strategy employs a cutting-edge, quantitative methodology that is distinct from and complementary to Calvert’s other investment offerings.
“For 30 years, Calvert Investments has demonstrated that by using the lens of sustainability, we can create value for investors,” said Lynne Ford, Executive Vice President of Calvert Investment Distributors, Inc. “All of our portfolios incorporate sustainable investment criteria in some way, and this innovative strategy demonstrates that we continue to be a pioneering force in the investment industry.”
The investment process for the Calvert-Osmosis MoRESM World Strategy analyzes observed amounts of energy consumption, water usage, and waste across a universe of global large cap peer companies. Stocks are then selected using a “best of breed approach” that objectively compares efficient use of resources to revenues.
“We believe we have found an objective way to demonstrate that a company’s ability to create greater value from resource inputs correlates to that company’s ability to generate better shareholder returns,” said Saad Rashid, Investment Director of Osmosis Investment Management. “The Strategy seeks to capture uncorrelated alpha through determining how much the market has fully priced in this resource efficiency advantage.”
The Calvert-Osmosis MoRESM World Strategy continues to meet the growing investor interest in sustainable investing, especially among institutional investors. In response to increasing investor demand for strategies that align with their values, Merrill Lynch last year officially launched a new program which includes more than 100 investment opportunities themed around key topics, including environmental stewardship, human capital and corporate governance. The Strategy will initially be available on Merrill Lynch’s platform.
This discretionary strategy is available for use by U.S. investment advisors in connection with their clients’ separately managed accounts and requires the execution of an investment manager advisory agreement with Calvert Investment Management, Inc.
About Calvert Investment Management:
Calvert Investments is a leading investment management company using sustainability as a platform to create value for investors. Serving financial advisors and their clients, retirement plans and insurance carriers, and institutional investors, the company offers a broad array of equity, bond, and asset allocation strategies, featuring integrated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and corporate engagement. Strategies are available through mutual funds, sub-advisory services, and separate account management. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Calvert Investments had more than $13 billion in assets under management as of February 28, 2014. www.Calvert.com
About Osmosis Investment Management:
Osmosis is an award-winning investment manager that utilizes a unique and distinguishable research process to generate excess returns in global equity markets. Osmosis is a fundamental, bottom up manager using in-depth primary research and objective analysis using sustainability data to identify high quality listed companies. Osmosis believes that markets have always valued the characteristics that accompany sustainable behaviors. The Osmosis process analyses underutilized and largely ignored material corporate data to quantitatively determine true sustainable behaviors in listed corporations.
Investment Risks
There is no assurance that a separately managed account will achieve its investment objective. Investment in a separately managed account involves risk, including the possible loss of principal invested. You could lose money on an investment in a separately managed account, or the separately managed account could underperform, for the following reasons: a) the market prices of stocks held in the separately managed account may fall, b) the individual investments held in the separately managed account may not perform as expected, c) the management practices used by the advisor in connection with the separately managed account may not achieve the desired result, and (d) the allocation of assets among the various market sectors and geographical regions may cause the separately managed account to underperform. In addition, large-cap companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Investing in foreign securities involves additional risks relating to political, social, and economic developments abroad, differences between the regulations that apply to U.S. and foreign issuers and markets, the potential for foreign markets to be less liquid and more volatile than U.S. markets, and currency risk associated with securities that trade or are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will work under all market conditions, and each investor should have the financial resources necessary to invest for the long-term, especially through periods of market downturns. A separately managed account may not be suitable for all investors. Please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, fees and expenses of the strategy carefully before investing. A minimum asset level is required. For important information about the investment manager, please refer to Form ADV Part II of Calvert Investment Management, Inc.
Separate accounts managed according to the Calvert-Osmosis MoRESM World Strategy include a number of securities and will not necessarily track the performance of any index. This press release does not constitute an offer to buy or sell any financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy.
Osmosis is a financial consultant to Calvert Investment Management, Inc. and is authorized and regulated by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. Osmosis is not registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more information on the Calvert-Osmosis MoRESM World Strategy, qualified institutional investors should call Calvert’s sales desk at 800-368-2750.
Calvert Investment Management, Inc., 4550 Montgomery Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814.