WFAM extends ESG capabilities with new framework for assessing
U.S. municipal bonds
Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) today announced the launch
of the Wells Fargo Municipal Sustainability Fund, highlighting
WFAM’s commitment to provide clients innovative solutions and play
a leading role in sustainable investing.
The Municipal Sustainability Fund utilizes a municipal bond
assessment framework that WFAM developed in-house through the WFAM
ESG Impact Framework, a partnership involving municipal bond
professionals and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
professionals. The fund invests in securities that are assessed to
have positive environmental or social impact at the bond or issuer
level. The investment process also includes a top-down
macroeconomic assessment and a bottom-up fundamental security
analysis.
The fund is managed by WFAM’s Municipal Fixed Income team, a
28-member investment team with a long track record in national and
specialty state municipal bond portfolios.
“We are proud to launch the Municipal Sustainability Fund and to
assist our clients in their search for returns and sustainable
investment options,” said Nico Marais, CEO of WFAM. “We are
committed to being a leading player in sustainable investing, and
this fund offers a great combination of our investment expertise
and ESG capabilities.”
Hannah Skeates, global head of Sustainable Investing at WFAM,
said, “It’s important for us to play a role in building the new
constructs that the industry requires for robust sustainable
investing. The WFAM ESG Impact Framework is the result of detailed
work to take respected global principles and develop a process for
applying those principles to individual municipal securities. We
are excited to help lead the way in the evolution of this important
area of investing.”
The fund is managed by Wendy Casetta, Terry Goode and Robert
Miller, veteran senior portfolio managers with the WFAM Municipal
Fixed Income team. The Municipal Fixed Income team manages $40
billion (as of December 31, 2019) across 16 strategies. On average,
the team has 22 years of industry experience and 11 years with the
WFAM team.
For more information on the Municipal Sustainability Fund,
please visit WFAM.com.
About WFAM Sustainable Investing
WFAM’s dedicated Sustainable Investing team is made up of
experienced ESG professionals who provide a holistic vision for the
firm and partner on ESG and sustainability initiatives,
including:
- Supporting the development of methodologies for integrating
material ESG risk assessment into ongoing investment analysis and
portfolio management.
- Assessing the investment implications of climate change and the
design of portfolio decarbonization strategies.
- Developing frameworks to help allocate capital to positive and
impactful sustainability outcomes.
- Providing firm-level stewardship, with strategic and tactical
company engagement.
Portfolio Manager
Biographies
Wendy Casetta is a senior portfolio manager for the WFAM
Municipal Fixed Income team. She joined WFAM from Strong Capital
Management, where she held a similar position. Prior to joining
Strong, Wendy was a fixed-income trader and investment associate at
Barnett Capital Advisors in Jacksonville, FL. She began her
investment industry career in 1993 as a registered representative
at the Nicholas Company in Milwaukee, WI. Wendy earned a bachelor’s
degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, and a
master’s degree in business administration from the University of
North Florida, Jacksonville.
Terry Goode is a senior portfolio
manager for the WFAM Municipal Fixed Income team. Previously, Terry
served as the leader of the WFAM Tax-Exempt Research team, where he
managed a group of professionals who provide credit research for
the Municipal Fixed Income team. He also specialized in directly
covering a number of municipal sectors. Prior to joining WFAM in
2002, he performed similar research duties and provided bond
ratings as a director at Standard & Poor’s Credit Market
Services, focusing on health care, education and nonprofit sectors.
He began his investment industry career in 1995, when he held a
similar position with Wells Fargo Bank’s health care division,
analyzing the credit quality for a variety of nonprofit and
corporate health care organizations. He earned a bachelor’s degree
in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a
master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in
finance and investment strategy from the Haas School of Business at
the University of California, Berkeley. Terry is a member of the
California Society of Municipal Analysts, the National Federation
of Municipal Analysts and the Healthcare Financial Management
Association.
Robert Miller is a senior portfolio manager for the WFAM
Municipal Fixed Income team, where he manages both mutual funds and
separate accounts. Prior to joining WFAM in 2008, Robert worked for
American Century Investments for 10 years, where he was part of a
team managing the firm’s municipal bond portfolios. Robert had
direct responsibility for the firm’s national intermediate- and
long-term investment grade strategies. In addition, he managed
several other state-specific funds for the firm. Robert also served
as a member of its analytical team. Earlier, Robert spent eight
years in New York as a municipal bond analyst with Moody’s
Investors Service, where he served as an analyst in the States and
High Profile Ratings Group as well as the Airport Credit Group, the
Southeast Regional Ratings Group and the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Ratings Group. He also founded a small venture capital firm and
served as a consultant with Black and Veatch and KPMG Peat Marwick,
where he specialized in conducting financial feasibility studies in
support of large infrastructure projects. Robert earned a
bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration
in finance from San Jose State University and a master’s degree in
business administration from the Leonard N. Stern School of
Business at New York University.
About Wells Fargo Asset Management
At Wells Fargo Asset Management, we put the client at the center
of everything we do. Our commitment: Help clients achieve what
matters most to them on their path to financial well-being. We do
this by channeling the collective wisdom of our specialized
investment teams (backed by over 510 investment professionals) into
solutions designed to help meet clients' goals. We place a
relentless focus on pursuing consistent and positive risk-adjusted
returns, with the support of our independent risk management teams.
Together, we strive to help our clients build portfolios aimed at
generating successful outcomes and defending them against
uncertainty. With more than $509 billion in assets under
management1 and offices around the world, Wells Fargo Asset
Management has the resources and reach to help clients across the
globe—be it institutions or intermediaries whose focus on the
client is akin to our own.
- AUM is as of December 31, 2019 and includes $90.7 billion from
Galliard Capital Management, an investment advisor that is not part
of the WFAM trade name/GIPS firm.
Bond values fluctuate in response to the financial condition of
individual issuers, general market and economic conditions, and
changes in interest rates. Changes in market conditions and
government policies may lead to periods of heightened volatility in
the bond market and reduced liquidity for certain bonds held by the
fund. In general, when interest rates rise, bond values fall and
investors may lose principal value. Interest rate changes and their
impact on the fund and its share price can be sudden and
unpredictable. High-yield securities have a greater risk of default
and tend to be more volatile than higher-rated debt securities. The
use of derivatives may reduce returns and/or increase volatility.
Investing in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) carries
the risk that, under certain market conditions, the investments may
underperform products that invest in a broader array of
investments. In addition, some ESG investments may be dependent on
government tax incentives and subsidies and on political support
for certain environmental technologies and companies. The ESG
sector also may have challenges such as a limited number of issuers
and liquidity in the market, including a robust secondary market.
Investing primarily in responsible investments carries the risk
that, under certain market conditions, an investment may
underperform funds that do not use a responsible investment
strategy. This fund is exposed to municipal securities risk.
Consult the fund's prospectus for additional information on these
and other risks.
Carefully consider a fund's investment objectives, risks,
charges, and expenses before investing. For a current prospectus
and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this and other
information, visit wfam.com. Read it carefully before
investing.
Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) is the trade name for
certain investment advisory/management firms owned by Wells Fargo
& Company. These firms include but are not limited to Wells
Capital Management Incorporated and Wells Fargo Funds Management,
LLC. Certain products managed by WFAM entities are distributed by
Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC (a broker-dealer and Member
FINRA).
This material is for general informational and educational
purposes only and is NOT intended to provide investment advice or a
recommendation of any kind—including a recommendation for any
specific investment, strategy, or plan.
Some of the information contained herein may include
forward-looking statements about the expected investment activities
of the funds. These statements provide no assurance as to the
funds’ actual investment activities or results. Readers must make
their own assessment of the information contained herein and
consider such other factors as they may deem relevant to their
individual circumstances. PAR-0320-04848
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED ● NO
BANK GUARANTEE ● MAY LOSE VALUE
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200304005454/en/
Media Robert Julavits, 917-260-2448
robert.w.julavits@wellsfargo.com
Sarah Kerr, 917-260-1582 skerr@wellsfargo.com
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024