AGF Global Sustainable Equity ADR Strategy
Approach
Blend of thematic and bottom up approach
Cap
All-Cap
Benchmark
MSCI World Net Index
Inception Date
December 2018
Key Reasons to Invest
1
Invest in the thematic opportunities that are arising from the ongoing shift to a sustainable economy.
2
Differentiated positioning - a concentrated global portfolio with high active share.
3
Contribute to a more sustainable economy while minimizing environmental footprint.
Overview
Strategy
Our dedicated Sustainable Investment Team combines thematic analysis with a disciplined, fundamental bottom-up approach. Our objective is to outperform broad global equity markets by providing differentiated positioning focused on sustainable themes. We invest in companies developing solutions to key sustainability challenges, and by measuring both financial and non-financial performance.
Philosophy
We believe that a shift to a more sustainable economy is underway and is gaining velocity. Drivers include policy and regulation, changing corporate objectives, societal pressure, and technological advances. Our view is that investing in the thematic opportunities related to this shift forms a compelling and enduring strategy to contribute to a more sustainable economy and deliver opportunity for superior returns.
Process
Our investment process combines thematic analysis with fundamental stock selection. We map 1,000 companies to four proprietary sustainable themes (energy transition, circular economy & pollution abatement, water services & climate adaptation and food & health). We then identify accelerating sub-themes by examining societal trends, demand, cyclicality, growth, margin potential, regulatory drivers, pricing power, competition, and barriers to entry. We further examine sub-themes across GICS sectors to identify which segments of the Value Chain (materials, suppliers, producers) contain the most attractive investment opportunities.
Our fundamental analysis seeks to identify companies with revenues accelerating in line with our sub-themes. Our Stage Appropriate Analysis allows us to consider stocks across the maturity spectrum and assesses fundamentals such as revenue and earnings growth, margins, management, free cash flow, valuation, and sustainability of competitive position. ESG analysis examines risks and opportunities related to climate, diversity, and human capital, and our active ownership stance governs our proxy voting and corporate engagements.
Our objective is to outperform broad global equity markets by constructing a differentiated portfolio of 25 to 40 holdings from all capitalization ranges, each providing solutions to key sustainability challenges.
Investment Process
- Map 1,000 companies providing sustainable solutions to four broad themes and 14 sub-themes.
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1. Thematic Analysis
- Identify attractive sub-themes based on demand, regulatory drivers, and new products and technologies.
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2. Value Chain Assessment
- Determine most attractive segment of value chain (material, suppliers, and producers.)
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3. Fundamental Analysis
- Assess companies with ESG attributes, accelerating revenues, and clear catalysts in line with our sustainable themes.
- 25 – 40 names.
Investment Team
Martin Grosskopf manages AGF Investments’ sustainable investing strategies and provides input on sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues across the firm’s investment teams. He is a thought leader and a frequent public speaker on ESG and Green Finance issues. He serves as Vice-Chair of the CSA Group technical committee on Green and Transition Finance and is a past member of the Responsible Investment Association (RIA)’s Board of Directors.
Martin has more than 30 years of experience in financial and environmental analysis. He previously served as Director, Sustainability Research and Portfolio Manager with Acuity Investment Management Inc., which was acquired by AGF Management Limited in 2011. Before joining the financial industry, Martin worked in a diverse range of industries in the areas of environmental management, assessment and mitigation. He was a project manager with CSA International from 1997 to 2000 and, prior to that, served as an environmental scientist with Acres International Limited.
In 2023 Martin was a recipient of the Canada Clean16 Award for his work furthering sustainability in the financial sector. Martin obtained a B.A. from the University of Toronto and an MES from York University, and earned an MBA from the Schulich School of Business.
Vishal Bané serves as a Portfolio Manager for the AGF Global Sustainable Equity Strategy, leveraging his extensive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) analysis experience to evaluate the strategy’s ESG risks and opportunities. In May 2025, he expanded his responsibilities becoming a portfolio manager for AGF U.S. Small-Mid Cap Strategy.
Vishal joined AGF in 2017 as an Analyst. Prior to that, he worked in ESG Research at MSCI Inc. and gained additional industry experience at the National Stock Exchange of India.
Vishal is a Chartered Accountant (national merit-holder) with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and holds a Master of Science in Finance from the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. He is also a CFA® charterholder.
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
Abhishek Ashok
M.A., MFE, CFA
Rasib Bhanji
MBA, CFA
Ling Han
M.Sc., MBA, CFA
Grace Huang
MBA, CFA
Marko Kais
CFA
John Kratochwil
MBA, P.Eng.
Henry Kwok
MBA
Renato Monzon
MBA
Aria Samarzadeh
MFin, CFA
Pulkit Sabharwal
MBA
Wai Tong
MBA, P.Eng., CFA
Wyeth Wright
CFA
Lillian Zhang
MBA, CFA
Damola Adesoye
CFA, MBA
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.