Change of name

Fidelity has changed the name of the Fidelity MoneyBuilder Income fund to Fidelity Sustainable MoneyBuilder Income and it has become part of Fidelity’s Sustainable Fund Family.  The fund continues to feature on our Recommended list.

Why has Fidelity made this change?

In making this change, Fidelity highlighted that sustainable investing is increasingly important to its clients and the firm alike.  The managers, Sajiv Vaid and Kris Atkinson, are experienced in managing other funds in the Sustainable Fund Family and are confident that the key philosophical tenets of this long-standing fund will be maintained, whilst investing with sustainability at the front of mind.  They also highlighted that, given that this is a large fund within the IA Sterling Corporate Bond sector, the firm can play a role in broadening the industry’s engagement with bond issuers.

As a reminder, the investment philosophy is built upon the core pillars of bond investing.  Specifically, the managers aim to strike a balance between delivering an attractive level of income, providing downside protection and offering diversification away from equities.

Further detail on the sustainability framework

From a sustainability viewpoint, at least 70% of the portfolio will be composed of issuers deemed to maintain sustainable characteristics.  The remaining portion of the portfolio will be exposed to issuers that they believe demonstrate improving sustainability characteristics.  Such holdings are subjected to Fidelity’s “enhanced engagement” framework, whereby the firm seeks to influence change and agree upon milestones, which are monitored actively.

Fidelity has identified additional areas of exclusion, over and above the usual firm-wide exclusions.  These are: weapons, tobacco, Arctic oil and gas, oil sands, gambling, adult entertainment and certain sovereigns.

Are there any material changes to the risk/return expectations for the fund?

In short, no.  ESG considerations were already integrated into the analytical approach and this change of framework formalises much of what was already occurring within the process.  There have been no major changes to portfolio composition as a result and the managers’ opportunity set is only marginally diminished.  However, we will follow the fund’s progress closely via our usual monitoring processes.

To view our full factsheet, please visit the fund page.