JPMorgan Announces the Launch of a Worldwide Equity Fund Emphasizing Sustainability
The financial world is abuzz with the launch of the J.P. Morgan Mansart iCubed Global Equity Select Fund, an Irish-domiciled UCITS Common Contractual Fund that offers institutional investors a unique opportunity to invest in developed market large- and mid-cap equities with significantly enhanced sustainability characteristics [1][2][3].
At the heart of this new fund lies the Solactive iCubed Global Sustainability Index, a benchmark co-developed by Impact Cubed and Solactive. This index is designed to balance ambitious sustainability targets with low tracking error relative to its parent universe [1][2][3].
A Balance of Sustainability and Low Tracking Error
The fund achieves this balance through several key features. Firstly, it aims for an 80% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, a 50% reduction in Scope 3 emissions, and a 90% reduction in water consumption and waste generation intensity compared to its parent index [2][3].
Secondly, the index maintains a diversified portfolio of developed market equities, ensuring proper diversification to avoid concentration risk or unintended factor tilts. It also integrates improved alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), enhanced governance metrics such as board independence and gender diversity, and applies stringent exclusion criteria [2][3].
Thirdly, Impact Cubed’s proprietary factor investing methodology underpins the index construction, allowing the fund to maintain low ex-ante tracking error and closely track its parent benchmark even during volatile market periods [1][3]. This methodology has been instrumental in the index outperforming many climate and PAB indices that have underperformed in 2025 [1][3].
Institutional-Grade Management and Expertise
The fund benefits from institutional-grade management by J.P. Morgan Mansart, combined with Impact Cubed’s sustainability analytics and Solactive’s independent index expertise. This collaborative management approach optimizes the trade-off between sustainability improvements and portfolio efficiency [3].
A Robust Choice for Institutional Investors
In a statement, Aston Chan, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Investment Solutions at Impact Cubed, highlighted the potential advantage of the Solactive iCubed index for institutional investors seeking sustainable equity investing options with controlled active risk. He noted that many existing sustainability indices under-deliver for institutional investors, providing a poor trade-off between sustainability and tracking error [1][2][3].
The Solactive iCubed index's performance during market volatility suggests its resilience and reliability. During the elevated market volatility of early 2025, the index demonstrated its ability to track its parent benchmark effectively [1].
Climate and PAB indices from major providers have lagged compared to the Solactive iCubed index during the same market volatility period. This observation by Aston Chan validates the factor-investing methodology and robust risk controls used by the Solactive iCubed index [1].
In summary, the J.P. Morgan Mansart iCubed Global Equity Select Fund achieves meaningful and measurable sustainability improvements while ensuring minimal deviation (tracking error) from the parent developed market equity benchmark. This makes it a suitable choice for institutional investors seeking advanced sustainable investing solutions without sacrificing benchmark-relative performance stability [1][2][3].
- The Solactive iCubed Global Sustainability Index, at the core of the new J.P. Morgan Mansart iCubed Global Equity Select Fund, incorporates data-and-cloud-computing techniques to balance ambitious sustainability targets with low tracking error.
- The fund's unique feature of integrating technology, such as Impact Cubed’s proprietary factor investing methodology, allows it to maintain low ex-ante tracking error and closely follow its parent benchmark during volatile market periods.
- By offering environmental-science-focused investing opportunities through the Solactive iCubed Global Sustainability Index, this fund attracts the attention of investors who are not only interested in finance but also committed to climate-change mitigation efforts.
