Labour Union Co-operative Retirement Fund (LUCRF) has appointed Northern Trust Asset Management's international business to manage a $220 million World ex-Australia index mandate.
It has appointed Northern Trust Global Investments Limited for the mandate, which includes Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) screens into Northern Trust's portfolio construction process.
The mandate will exclude tobacco companies and cluster munitions manufacturers, in line with the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investments.
This involves including custom environmental, social and corporate governance screens into investment analysis.
This comes in an effort to achieve similar benchmark risk and return characteristics with lower transactions costs compared to a fully replicated strategy.
"ESG screening is a core component of our investment decision-making process," head of investment at LUCRF Roger McIntosh said.
"Northern Trust's extensive experience managing ESG portfolios, coupled with their ability to provide a customized investment solution, were key factors in our decision."
