The arrival of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) unleashed a latent demand from investors for investment that promotes environmental and social characteristics (Article 8) or sustainable investment (Article 9). At the end of 2023, these two categories remarkably represented almost 60% (EUR5 trillion) of European assets with Article 8 funds at 55.5% and Article 9 at 3.5%1. At Carmignac we think that this represents an unequivocal investor expression for sustainability matters to be more thoughtfully considered in investment processes.
Although many Article 9 funds have a thematic tilt to them (for instance a climate or healthcare fund), the funds which received the most inflows during 2023 were generalist Article 9 equity funds1; more specifically, multi-sector equity orientated funds which seek to invest in companies that are having a positive impact on the world.
At Carmignac, our core Article 9 strategies deliver a combination of both positive financial and non-financial performance.
If the sustainable investment approach is well-designed, we don’t believe that it necessitates a performance trade off. While across the broader industry Article 9 funds have suffered as they contain a considerable number of clean energy and water thematic funds that were impacted by higher interest rates, inflation and quality issues, our funds have historically provided more resilient returns. For instance, from a peak in 2020, low carbon energy indices have dropped around 50% to date2. The key to this has been avoiding the common pitfalls of sustainable investment that rely too heavily on specific sector exposures and exclusions that make funds overly vulnerable to changing macroeconomic conditions and a crowding effect.
Carmignac has three Article 9 core strategies to meet our clients’ sustainable investment needs.
We have the following four convictions regarding Article 9 funds over the coming years:
While we expect the above evolution of sustainable investment to emerge over the coming years, we are convinced that our Article 9 range as it stands can reliably meet our clients sustainable investment expectations.
1SFDR Article 8 and Article 9 Funds: Q4 2023 in Review: Morningstar 25 January 2024.
2Vaneck Low Carbon Energy EFT.
*Risk Scale from the KID (Key Information Document). Risk 1 does not mean a risk-free investment. This indicator may change over time. **The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) 2019/2088 is a European regulation that requires asset managers to classify their funds as either 'Article 8' funds, which promote environmental and social characteristics, 'Article 9' funds, which make sustainable investments with measurable objectives, or 'Article 6' funds, which do not necessarily have a sustainability objective. For more information please refer to https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/2088/oj.
Carmignac Emergents | 1.4 | 18.8 | -18.6 | 24.7 | 44.7 | -10.7 | -15.6 | 9.5 | 4.6 | 6.5 |
Reference Indicator | 14.5 | 20.6 | -10.3 | 20.6 | 8.5 | 4.9 | -14.9 | 6.1 | 14.7 | 6.3 |
Carmignac Emergents | + 4.7 % | + 3.6 % | + 4.5 % |
Reference Indicator | + 6.3 % | + 6.1 % | + 5.4 % |
Source: Carmignac at Jul 31, 2025.
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Performances are net of fees (excluding possible entrance fees charged by the distributor).
Reference Indicator: MSCI EM NR index
*Risk Scale from the KID (Key Information Document). Risk 1 does not mean a risk-free investment. This indicator may change over time. **The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) 2019/2088 is a European regulation that requires asset managers to classify their funds as either 'Article 8' funds, which promote environmental and social characteristics, 'Article 9' funds, which make sustainable investments with measurable objectives, or 'Article 6' funds, which do not necessarily have a sustainability objective. For more information please refer to https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/2088/oj.
Carmignac Portfolio Grandchildren | 15.5 | 20.3 | 28.4 | -24.2 | 23.0 | 21.9 | -3.0 |
Reference Indicator | 15.5 | 6.3 | 31.1 | -12.8 | 19.6 | 26.6 | 0.3 |
Carmignac Portfolio Grandchildren | + 8.5 % | + 10.3 % | + 11.6 % |
Reference Indicator | + 11.4 % | + 14.5 % | + 13.1 % |
Source: Carmignac at Jul 31, 2025.
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Performances are net of fees (excluding possible entrance fees charged by the distributor).
Reference Indicator: MSCI World NR index
*Risk Scale from the KID (Key Information Document). Risk 1 does not mean a risk-free investment. This indicator may change over time. **The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) 2019/2088 is a European regulation that requires asset managers to classify their funds as either 'Article 8' funds, which promote environmental and social characteristics, 'Article 9' funds, which make sustainable investments with measurable objectives, or 'Article 6' funds, which do not necessarily have a sustainability objective. For more information please refer to https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/2088/oj.
Carmignac Portfolio Grande Europe | 5.1 | 10.4 | -9.6 | 34.8 | 14.5 | 21.7 | -21.1 | 14.8 | 11.3 | -3.2 |
Reference Indicator | 1.7 | 10.6 | -10.8 | 26.8 | -2.0 | 24.9 | -10.6 | 15.8 | 8.8 | 9.3 |
Carmignac Portfolio Grande Europe | + 5.2 % | + 6.2 % | + 5.5 % |
Reference Indicator | + 10.3 % | + 11.6 % | + 5.9 % |
Source: Carmignac at Jul 31, 2025.
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Performances are net of fees (excluding possible entrance fees charged by the distributor).
Reference Indicator: MSCI Europe NR index