Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund Launches Kotak ESG Opportunities Fund

The New Fund Offering (NFO) opens for subscription on 20th Nov, 2020 and closes on 4th Dec, 2020, according to a release.

KMAMC is the first asset management company to sign the United Nation's Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), leading the narrative of responsible investing in India, the company said.

The Kotak ESG Opportunities Fund, which will be managed by Harsha Upadhyaya, will invest in companies based on financial parameters and non-financial factors such as Environmental, Social and Governance as a part of its research process to identify material risks and growth opportunities.

To assess ESG performance of an investee company, broadly, Kotak ESG Opportunities Fund will look at policies, practices and disclosures of each ESG pillar i.e. for environmental performance, it will be energy efficiency measures, waste management including e-waste management, carbon & greenhouse gas (GHG) emission footprint, and renewable energy use; for social performance it will be employee working conditions, welfare & training, and health & safety standards; and for assessing governance performance, in addition to corporate governance practices and disclosures as required under the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI’s (LODR) 2015, it will be whistle-blower and anti-corruption policy, no child labour policy, anti-sexual harassment policy, diversity and inclusivity policies and practices etc.

Harsha Upadhyaya, CIO – Equity & President, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Limited said, “Globally, investors are increasingly evaluating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance and disclosures. Put simply, performance of all three bottom-lines – Profit, Planet (environment) and People (social) are equally important as against looking at only the Profit bottom-lines few years back.

"ESG investment principles look even at ‘how companies make money’ and not just at ‘how much money the company makes’. Kotak ESG Opportunities Fund will focus on the ESG principles and disclosures of the investee company with the flexibility of investing across market capitalisation range with the aim to create sustainable wealth for our investors.”