MAPFRE AM Good Governance, a 5-star investment fund

Socially responsible investing does not mean you have to sacrifice financial returns, and the MAPFRE AM Good Governance fund is the perfect example of this. So much so that Morningstar has decided to award it five stars, the highest rating given by the analysis firm.

Specifically, this index measures the risk-adjusted return of a given fund compared to its category, based on data from the previous three years. Launched in 2017 by MAPFRE Asset Management, this global equity fund focuses primarily on good corporate governance, although it also accounts for environmental and social criteria. Precisely for this reason, it is expected to be incorporated as an article 8 product in the coming months. This governance is measured according to different variables, such as the composition of the management body, independence, and diversity, among others.

So far this year, the fund has already gained 7.19%, although returns reached 28.5% in 2020 and 22.37% in 2021. The vehicle invests at least 75% of its net value in shares of listed companies with good corporate governance practices and maintains no geographic restrictions. Currently, 23.87% is invested in the technology sector, 21.78% in defensive assets, and 15.56% in health care. The financial sector represents 15.07% of the portfolio, while industry represents 7.48%.

“ESG criteria are now part of our investment methodology. To put it simply and straightforwardly, companies that meet the sustainable challenges will survive; those that do not will have a more uncertain future and will tend to disappear,” remarks fund manager Manuel Rodríguez López de Coca.

Born in Madrid in 1975, he is an industrial engineer from the Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Technical University of Madrid) and a Certified International Investment Analyst, CIIA®. He joined MAPFRE AM in June 2006 as a fund manager in its International Equity Department.

The fund management team is rounded off by Thomas Nugent. A graduate in finance and Certified ESG Analyst by EFFAS, Thomas joined as a manager in 2018, although he had already worked at the firm between 1997 and 2006.

This is the second MAPFRE AM fund to receive such an award so far this year. In February, another prestigious financial consulting firm, Quantalys, gave all five stars to the MAPFRE AM Capital Responsable fund.