Performance and Portfolio Update
- The Pax Global Environmental Markets Fund outperformed the MSCI ACWI benchmark during the second quarter. The Fund’s positive relative performance was driven by stock selection and a rebound in share prices in more cyclically sensitive sectors.
- Technology holdings, particularly within the Energy Efficiency sector, led returns. Autodesk (Buildings Energy Efficiency, U.S.) benefited from a general recovery in design software markets, underpinned by solid results and a better than expected outlook. More broadly, the company continues to benefit from the accelerating trend toward cloud-based offerings to allow customers the flexibility to work remotely.
- Food holdings and the portfolio’s European exposure were other notable areas of strength. The adjustments made in the first quarter, in order to take advantage of opportunities that were presented during the market volatility, proved advantageous. Trimble (Sustainable & Efficient Agriculture, U.S.), announced better than expected results, which showed recurring revenues and clear articulation of both liquidity and balance sheet strength. Trimble is a market leading pioneer in GPS data collection and manipulation for sustainable agriculture, irrigation and engineering applications.
- Rail and public transport related holdings suffered as passengers remain wary of infection risk. East Japan Railway Company (Pollution Control Solutions, Japan) was impacted by this trend. Zhuzhou CRRC (Transport Energy Efficiency, China), a leading manufacturer of rail electronic control equipment, also suffered from these concerns and as a result of low visibility on new orders from China Rail Corporation. The Chinese government is still formulating its rail infrastructure investment plans.
- At this moment of major disruption due to the global pandemic, the investment team continues to re-examine portfolio positioning and risk, and also identify areas of new opportunities going forward. For active managers, times of market volatility often present opportunities to buy resilient and high-quality companies at lower valuations.
- Impax has been focused on the transition to a more sustainable economy for over twenty years. Not by coincidence, emerging lessons, consequences and thus investment opportunities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have many overlaps with thematic and sectoral areas of focus in Impax’s portfolios. Some examples of tangible opportunities are in the areas of industrial automation, digitization, and health, safety and well-being. Importantly, unexpected disruptive events with dramatic consequences for companies also reinforce the importance, and value-add, of Impax’s ESG integration and company-level ESG research, including many individual engagements with portfolio investee companies.
Performance(as of 6/30/20) | 1-Month | Quarter | YTD | 1 Year | 3 Year | 5 Year | 10 Year | Since Inception1 |
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Pax Global Environmental Markets Fund - Investor Class | 3.04 | 21.90 | -4.36 | 1.76 | 4.75 | 6.42 | 9.39 | 5.55 |
Pax Global Environmental Markets Fund - Class A | 3.04 | 21.93 | -4.37 | 1.82 | 4.75 | 6.42 | 9.40 | 5.55 |
Pax Global Environmental Markets Fund - Institutional Class | 3.00 | 21.95 | -4.28 | 2.05 | 5.00 | 6.68 | 9.66 | 5.81 |
MSCI ACWI (Net) Index | 3.20 | 19.22 | -6.25 | 2.11 | 6.14 | 6.46 | 9.16 | 5.19 |
FTSE Environmental Opportunities Index Series | 3.84 | 23.30 | -2.58 | 7.16 | 8.07 | 9.01 | 10.65 | - |
Performance data quoted represent past performance, which does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. To obtain performance for the most recent month-end call 800.767.1729 or visit impaxam.com
Figures include reinvested dividends, capital gains distributions and changes in principal value.
Performance (as of 6/30/20) | 1-Month | Quarter | YTD | 1 Year | 3 Year | 5 Year | 10 Year | Since Inception1 |
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Pax Global Environmental Markets Fund - Class A (Load) | -2.63 | 15.21 | -9.63 | -3.78 | 2.79 | 5.23 | 8.78 | 5.07 |
1The inception date for the Pax Global Environmental Markets Fund Institutional Class and the Investor Class is March 27, 2008. The Class A shares inception date is May 1, 2013.
Total annual Global Environmental Markets Fund operating expenses, gross of any fee waivers or reimbursements, for Institutional Class, Investor Class and Class A shares are 0.97%, 1.22%, and 1.22%, respectively, as of 5/1/2020 prospectus. Total annual Global Environmental Markets Fund operating expenses, net of any fee waivers, reimbursements and acquired fund fees and expenses, for Institutional Class, Investor Class, and Class A shares were 0.97%, 1.22% and 1.22%, respectively.
The performance information shown for Class A represents the performance of the Investor Class shares for the period prior to Class A inception. Expenses have not been adjusted to reflect the expenses allocable to Class A shares. Class A inception date return since May 1, 2013 is 7.71% (annualized). A 1.00% CDSC (contingent deferred sales charge) may be charged on any shares sold within 18 months of purchase over $1 million. POP (public offering price) reflects the maximum sales load for the Fund’s Class A Shares of 5.50%.
Performance AttributionGlobal Industry Classification Standard† Sectors(for quarter ended 6/30/20) Average Active Weights (%) | Total Relative Contribution (%) |
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†The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) is a standardized classification system for equities developed jointly by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) and Standard & Poor’s. The GICS methodology is used by the MSCI indexes, which include domestic and international stocks, as well as by a large portion of the professional investment management community.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Performance AttributionEnvironmental Markets Classification | Total Relative Contribution (%) |
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XThe Environmental Markets Classification System (EMCS) is a comprehensive global classification system for environmental markets. Environmental market companies are defined as providing products and services that deliver solutions to environmental challenges, and include environmental technology. Relative results of the Fund compared to the FTSE Environmental Opportunities All Shares Index. Source: FTSE.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Portfolio Characteristics(as of 6/30/20) | Fund | MSCI ACWI |
---|---|---|
Market Cap (weighted avg.)∱ | $34,723M | $246,851M |
Forward Price/Earnings∼ | 26.98 | 20.78 |
ROE∘ | 17.74 | 19.88 |
Beta∞ | 1.05 | 1.00 |
Number of Securities | 50 | 2985 |
Top 10 Holdings
(as of 6/30/20)
Linde PLC 3.5%, Waste Management, Inc. 3.5%, IDEX Corp. 3.4%, Schneider Electric SE 3.3%, American Water Works Co., Inc. 3.2%, Autodesk, Inc. 3.2%, Agilent Technologies, Inc. 3.2%, Suez 2.9%, Koninklijke DSM N.V. 2.9% and Siemens AG 2.7%. Holdings are subject to change.
Definitions
ƒWeighted Average is an average in which each quantity to be averaged is assigned a weight. These weightings determine the relative importance of each quantity on the average.
∼Forward Price-Earnings Ratio or P/E FY1 ratio is a ratio for valuing a company that measures its current share price relative to its per-share earnings over the next 12 months.
∘Return on Equity: The amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders’ equity. Return on equity measures a corporation’s profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested.
∞A historical Beta is used for Funds with greater than two years of performance history under the same mandate. Five year Beta is used. Beta reflects the sensitivity of a Fund’s return to fluctuations in its benchmark; A beta for a benchmark is 1.00: A beta greater than 1.00 indicates above-average volatility and risk.
The statements and opinions expressed are those of the author as of the date of this report. All information is historical and not indicative of future results and subject to change. This information is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
PAX009319 (10/20)