Hold or Fold? CIS Sustainable Leaders Trust vs Jupiter Environmental Income

CIS Sustainable Leaders Trust

What Citywire says

CIS Sustainable Leaders Trust  was launched in 1990 and is managed by Michael Fox. It aims to provide capital growth from a diverse portfolio of equities, mainly in the UK. Funds total £193 million.

What CIS says

‘The long-term performance of the fund is proof that socially responsible investment (SRI) funds can deliver consistent returns through different market cycles,’ says Fox. ‘The trust has outperformed the UK market by applying a focused, long-term investment approach to the three core areas of the environment, human welfare and sustainability.

‘A poor outlook for the UK and US won’t stop efforts to tackle environmental and human welfare issues. Companies operating in these areas will continue to grow even through a downturn.

‘The trust offers investors exposure to emerging markets through infrastructure development, especially water and electricity, due to the strong social benefits. We remain positive on emerging markets but are keeping an eye on inflation.

‘The trust is underweight in consumer-related stocks such as retailers. Instead we have been buying public transport companies as high petrol prices lead to increased passenger numbers.’

What the advisers say

Jon Cobb, director, Trinity Wealth Management

The primary intent of the fund is to see social/environmental change rather than getting the punter to part with his money. Fox is an experienced manager and CIS has an ethical value system that permeates through the company.

It has an interesting mixture of positive and negative screening, which satisfies the moralist as well as the environmentalist. However, I believe many ‘ethical’ investors are one or the other, and this fund may fail to satisfy either.