Asset manager Jupiter has launched a Global Ecology Bond fund as it expands its ESG range.

The SICAV-structured fund will be managed by Rhys Petheram, Jupiter’s head of environmental solutions.

The fund will be made up of a portfolio of global corporate bonds issued by companies that focus on making a positive impact towards environmental and sustainable objectives.

It will target companies addressing global environmental sustainability, with a particular focus on climate change mitigation and natural capital and biodiversity restoration.

The fund will have the flexibility to invest in both labelled and unlabelled bonds, including green, sustainability, social, or sustainability-linked/sustainability awareness bonds and conventional bonds.

It is expected that the fund will comprise 60 to 90 bond issuers.

It will have the flexibility to invest across the credit spectrum but its overall average rating is expected to be investment grade.

It will be classified as Article 9 under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Mr Petheram said: “2021 was a record-setting year for green finance with issuance of labelled sustainability bonds topping $1 trillion (£735bn) for the first time. The scale of change required to reverse global warming is creating significant opportunities to support companies which provide products and services critical to achieving sustainability targets, and the growing environmental solutions universe is now setting the pace for policy and regulation.

“Amid increasing global collaboration, we expect these solutions will spread widely to as-yet 'un-penetrated' sectors of the global economy, creating a multi-decade investment opportunity that we believe we are well-positioned to identify and capture in this new fund.”

Mr Petheram has managed the corporate bond segment of the mixed-asset Jupiter Global Ecology Diversified Fund since inception in 2016.

He has also been a key contributor to CFA Society UK’s new Certificate in Climate & Investing, as part of the authoring team for the chapter on listed investment instruments.