Sugar the next target for responsible funds

InvestorDaily

Speaking in Sydney, Martin Currie Australia portfolio manager Will Baylis said while sugar was not being negatively screened in their income strategies at present, it could escalate as an issue in years to come. “I would suspect, down the track, that sugar may well become quite topical,” Mr Baylis said. In March 2017 AMP Capital released a report that found sugar was emerging as an investment risk for the global food and beverage industry.

“UNPRI (the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment) are starting to raise the issue of sugar. So that is something that we would have to consider down the track, but we don’t today,” Mr Baylis said. Extending further, Mr Baylis said junk food could similarly become negatively screened, but that it was harder to screen for junk food than it was for sugar. “To my mind it may well be someone who manufactures and distributes junk food, but how do you define junk food?” he asked. According to Mr Baylis, sugar was more easily defined.

The rest of this article can be found at investordaily.com.au.