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	1 MTH	1 YEAR	3 YEARS P.A.	5 YEARS P.A.	SINCE INCEPTION P.A.
WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund	3.3%	8.5%	1.2%	4.6%
Strategy (partial simulation – see below)					5.8%
MSCI World Total Return Index (net, AUD unhedged)	2.8%	28.7%	14.1%	13.7%	8.5%

A new home but an unchanged commitment to positive impact investing

SUMMARY

It has been quite a journey for WHEB Asset Management. WHEB is hugely grateful for the support that investors have shown them. WHEB has sought to develop a fresh approach to impact investing both in terms of the depth of research that they do and in the transparency and reporting that is provided to clients. As discussed in this month’s article, WHEB now looks forward with real energy and excitement to the next chapter within Foresight, where WHEB will remain committed to its original mission to advance sustainability and create prosperity through positive impact investments.

PORTFOLIO

Top Holdings (alphabetically)

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

United States

Health Care

Agilent Technologies is a specialist in the development and manufacture of bio-analytics for the life sciences and chemical analysis industries. The company's mission is to advance quality of life. Within healthcare, its analytical instruments are used in the development and testing of healthcare products. Agilent also has a chemical analysis business which makes equipment for monitoring levels of pollutants in the ambient environment and measuring contaminants in food and the human body.

AstraZeneca PLC

United Kingdom

Health Care

AstraZeneca is a high-quality pharma company with a strong portfolio of commercial products that lead to better overall health outcomes for patients, who are often suffering from life-threatening or debilitating illnesses. The company's products treat issues of high unmet need, particularly in the oncology and rare disease portfolios.

Autodesk, Inc.

United States

Information Technology

Autodesk is a global leader in 3D design and engineering software and services. Its products are used by architects, engineers and designers to design, develop and manufacture and operate a vast range of products, buildings and services. Autodesk tools are a critical component in the design and operation of more resource efficient products and buildings. The product brands include Autodesk 360 cloud services, AutoCAD civil 3D and LT, 3Ds Max, Maya, and Revit.

Ecolab Inc.

United States

Materials

Ecolab sells cleaning products and services to restaurants, hotels, hospitals, food and beverage producers and other businesses. The company has a particular focus on energy and water efficiency. Ecolab has developed a range of products and services that help to reduce, and in some cases even eliminate, the use of water in a wide range of industrial applications. In turn, this helps to lower costs through a reduction of energy and water impacts.

Keyence Corporation

Japan

Information Technology

The company's products include machine visions systems such as sensors and measuring instruments that are primarily used in the automation of factories. These components help customers achieve higher levels of efficiency, energy-savings, improved material utilisation and reduced wastage and quality management.

MSA Safety, Inc.

United States

Industrials

Founded in Pittsburgh in 1914, MSA originally stood for 'Mine Safety Appliances'. This was changed in 2014 to 'MSA Safety' to reflect the broader range of products the company has developed. Today, MSA still manufactures products such as fixed gas and flame detection systems which are used across industry. They are also a leading manufacturer of self-contained breathing apparatus and fire helmets for firefighters as well as fall protection equipment for working at height.

TE Connectivity plc

United States

Information Technology

TE Connectivity is a US-based manufacturer of electronic components and wireless systems. The company's main market is the automotive industry where its products are used to improve safety and fuel efficiency through increased levels of automation and electrification. The company does also sell products into industrial and telecommunications markets where they are often used in applications to help improve energy efficiency and safety and other types of electrical infrastructure.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

United States

Health Care

Thermo Fisher Scientific is one of the largest suppliers of analytical instrument, equipment, consumables and software for healthcare and environmental research, analysis, discovery and diagnostics. The company offers a very wide range of products and services including the equipment needed to analyse samples as well as the variety of containers and other consumables needed to handle them.

Trimble Inc.

United States

Information Technology

Trimble is the leading provider of location-based solutions which contribute to efficiency and productivity improvements. It operates predominantly in the construction, transport, and agriculture end-markets, where we expect the company to benefit from increasing demand for efficiency improvements. The company is listed in the US but derives around 50% of its sales from countries outside the US.

Xylem Inc.

United States

Industrials

Xylem manufactures a wide range of products and provides services to the water industry. The company's water infrastructure business provides a range of pumps, filtration and testing and treatment equipment to water utilities. The company also supplies commercial, residential markets with water and wastewater systems, and provides measurement and control solutions. Xylem's strategy is characterised by the application of intelligent technology to improve water efficiency, in products such as smart meters and intelligent monitoring equipment.

Sector Breakdown

Capitalisation Breakdown

Region Breakdown

WHEB Sustainability Themes

PERFORMANCE

Performance Table

NET PERFORMANCE FOR PERIODS ENDING 31 Jan 2025¹

	1 MTH	1 YEAR	3 YEARS P.A.	5 YEARS P.A.	SINCE INCEPTION P.A.
WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund	3.3%	8.5%	1.2%	4.6%
Strategy (partial simulation – see below)					5.8%
MSCI World Total Return Index (net, AUD unhedged)	2.8%	28.7%	14.1%	13.7%	8.5%

Fund & Strategy Performance

COMMENTARY

Market Review

The fund’s benchmark MSCI World Index rose +2.8% in January. It was a strong start to 2025 for investors, with both equities and bonds broadly delivering positive returns.

The US economy continued to show signs of strength with a positive jobs market and healthy GDP growth in the fourth quarter. President Trump’s promise of deregulation and tax cuts fuelled further optimism for shareholder returns.

However, the US market’s heavy tech concentration weighed on performance towards the end of the month. Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek launched a surprisingly effective low-cost AI model, which raised doubts over the revenue prospects for AI models generally. The US tech sector is currently engaged in a very large investment programme to deliver AI, and this was suddenly called into question, negatively impacting many stocks in the sector.

Europe performed strongly as investors diversified from richly valued US tech in favour of European defensive and growth stocks. The region also benefited from tentative signs of improvement in eurozone macro data, and the eurozone composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged into expansionary territory during the month.

UK stocks, too, performed well with the FTSE All-Share up. With the majority of the Index’s revenue derived abroad, the sharp depreciation in sterling added a tailwind to the UK market.

Japanese equities lagged in January. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) hiked interest rates by 25bps, due to greater certainty regarding the outlook for wages and prices, which have been rising.

From a sector perspective, Communication Services was the top performer, followed by Financials and Healthcare, while Technology was the only sector to post a negative return.

Fund Review

The Fund delivered a positive performance of +3.3% over the month and outperformed the MSCI World Index.

NEXTracker, a leader in the solar tracker market, was the most significant positive contributor. The company reported strong 4Q24 results with a record backlog and a positive outlook despite macro headwinds. Uncertain prospects for the renewable energy sector under the new US administration remain a headwind for stocks in this sector, so NEXTracker valuation is very appealing.

Thermo Fisher, the life sciences tool company, performed well with strong 4Q24 results exceeding market expectations. The company emphasised a focus on profitability for 2025, boosting investor confidence and leading analysts to raise their price targets.

In contrast, however, Thermo’s life sciences peer Danaher was the largest detractor. The stock price fell in response to weaker-than-expected 4Q24 earnings and a cautious 2025 guide. One-off challenges in its Life Sciences and Diagnostics businesses are expected to weigh on early year sales.

Canadian company ATS Corp, a leading provider of automation equipment and services, was adversely affected by news of potential tariffs on Canadian imports imposed by the US government.

Overall, all themes contributed positively towards performance, with Health being the largest positive contributor.

Outlook

While the last few years have been difficult for WHEB and impact-led strategies in general, we believe we have good reasons to be optimistic regarding what’s to come.

Sentiment for impact investing is very low, matching the loss of political will to tackle these difficult challenges. We can see this clearly in the portfolio’s valuation relative to broader markets, which is now at historic lows.

At the same time, however, the urgency for climate action has never been greater, and the means have never been more economically attractive. 2024 had a series of extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida and storm floods in Valencia), while clean power costs (e.g., solar and onshore wind) are now well below fossil-fuel based alternatives. Electric vehicles also often beat their corresponding internal combustion engines option on a total cost of ownership analysis. This will enable an increasing number of environmental markets to grow independently of the political environment.

We are confident that most of the more strongly underperforming stocks in our portfolio have been hit by short-term issues the market is focusing on, that the fundamental, longer-term investment case is as sound as ever, and that valuations are more favourable.

Although President Trump does stand quite explicitly against much of the transition to a more sustainable economy, we observe that historically, the strong deregulatory agenda put forward by Republican administrations has tended to support the midcap stocks that our strategy is most exposed to.

We, therefore, remain excited about the future and convinced that the opportunity has never been greater.

A new home but an unchanged commitment to positive impact investing

By Seb Beloe

At the end of January, we announced that WHEB will be joining Foresight Capital Management. While WHEB will no longer be a fully independent business, the investment team, the investment strategy, and the brand will live on as part of a much larger group.

While there are aspects of being independent that we will miss (and we will sadly be leaving our lovely offices in Cavendish Square), we are also tremendously excited about the opportunities that joining Foresight will bring. We believe that as the market for sustainable and impact investing evolves, clients will want access to a broader range of products and asset classes backed by firms with established distribution, risk management and institutional backing. Within Foresight, we will be able to provide a more complete offering to clients in a way that would have taken us many years to build ourselves within WHEB.

Why Foresight?

In fact, WHEB has been looking for a strategic partner that can provide this broader platform for some time. We believe that Foresight is a superb partner for WHEB. First and most importantly, Foresight has a significant focus on impact investments. This includes renewable energy infrastructure, place-based private equity, and the nascent Foresight Capital Management (FCM), which focuses on liquid investment strategies of which WHEB will become a part.

As a well-funded bigger business with AUM of over £12 bn, the company has the ability to think long-term and invest counter-cyclically in impact investing. The acquisition of WHEB is a clear example of this.

On the business development side, Foresight has real strength. They have deep relationships in the independent financial advice (IFA) market as well as with local government pension schemes (LGPS). FCM itself has a distribution team of four, and we will also benefit from sales support across the wider Foresight business, which is ten times the size.

What does this mean for WHEB’s culture and brand?

Over the 16 years since its foundation, WHEB Asset Management has built a powerful reputation for authentic impact investing combined with radical levels of transparency. This approach will not change once we are part of Foresight. The investment strategy and personnel will not change, and our ambition to be leaders in impact investing in listed markets remains undimmed. Our hope is that by joining forces with FCM, we will be even better placed to deliver world-class strategies for our clients.

What practical changes will there be?

Our expectation is that clients will see very little change. The Pengana WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund and WHEB’s overseas-domiciled funds will not change their names, and the underlying strategies and investment teams that implement them will not change either. There will also be no change in investment focus. The WHEB team will be fully integrated into FCM. The WHEB partners will all be made Managing Directors who remain deeply committed to WHEB and heavily incentivised to lead the next phase of growth.

A final word

It has been quite a journey for WHEB Asset Management. We are hugely grateful for the support that our investors have shown us. We have sought to develop a fresh approach to impact investing both in terms of the depth of research that we do and in the transparency and reporting that we provide to clients. We hope that notwithstanding the vicissitudes of the stock markets, we have provided clients with investment products that have aligned with their values and met their needs.

The business launched in 2009 with no assets to manage and just three people, but also a new vision for what could be achieved. At the end of 2024, the WHEB team had grown to 20, and assets under management were just shy of £1bn. We have won pretty much every industry award available and were particularly pleased to be the first listed equity strategy to use the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s ‘sustainability impact’ label at the end of last year.

We are tremendously proud of what the team has done and the contribution that we have made over the past 16 years. We now look forward with real energy and excitement to the next chapter within Foresight, where, within a larger organisation, we will remain committed to WHEB’s original mission to advance sustainability and create prosperity through positive impact investments.

PROFILE

Platform Availability

AMP North
ANZ Grow Wrap
Asgard eWrap
BT Panorama
BT Wrap
Centric
CFS FirstWrap
FNZ
HUB24
IOOF
MLC Wrap
Netwealth
Macquarie Wrap – IDPS
Mason Stevens
OneVue
Praemium
Powerwrap
uXchange

STATISTICAL DATA

PORTFOLIO SUMMARY

VOLATILITY³

13.7%

NUMBER OF STOCKS

FEATURES

APIR CODE HHA0007AU
REDEMPTION PRICEA$ 1.6056
FEES * Management Fee: 1.35%
Minimum initial investment $10,000
FUM AT MONTH END A$ 238.34m
FUND INCEPTION DATE 31 October 2007 Relaunched on 1 August 2017.*

Fund Managers

Ted Franks

Managing Director, Fund Manager

Seb Beloe

Managing Director, Head of Impact Research

Description

The Pengana WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund invests in companies with activities providing solutions to sustainability challenges. WHEB have identified critical environmental and social challenges facing the global population over coming decades including a growing and ageing population, increasing resource scarcity, urbanisation and globalisation. The Fund invests in companies providing solutions to these sustainability challenges via nine sustainable investment themes – five of these are environmental (cleaner energy, environmental services, resource efficiency, sustainable transport and water management) and four are social (education, health, safety and well-being). WHEB’s mission is ‘to advance sustainability and create prosperity through positive impact investments.’

EXPLORE OUR FUNDS

Harding Loevner International Fund

Axiom International Fund

Axiom International Fund (Hedged)

Australian Equities Fund

High Conviction Property Securities Fund

Global Small Companies Fund

WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund

Emerging Companies Fund

High Conviction Equities Fund

Pengana International Equities Limited (ASX: PIA)

Private Equity Trust (ASX: PE1)

Pengana Global Private Credit Trust (ASX:PCX)

Pengana Global Private Income Fund

Alpha Israel Fund

Pengana Diversified Private Credit Fund

CONTACT INVESTOR SERVICES

INVEST NOW

1. From August 2017, performance figures are those of the Pengana WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund’s class A units (net of fees and including reinvestment of distributions). The strategy’s AUD performance between January 2006 and July 2017 (shown in the shaded area in the chart) has been simulated by Pengana from the monthly net GBP returns of the Henderson Industries of the Future Fund (from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2011) and the FP WHEB Sustainability Impact Fund (from 30 April 2012 to 31 July 2017). This was done by: 1) converting the GBP denominated net returns to AUD using FactSet’s month-end FX rates (London 4PM); 2) adding back the relevant fund’s monthly ongoing charge figure; then 3) deducting the Pengana WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund’s management fee of 1.35% p.a. The WHEB Listed Equity strategy did not operate between 1 January 2012 and 29 April 2012 – during this period returns are nulled. The Henderson Industries of the Future Fund’s and the FP WHEB Sustainability Impact Fund’s GBP net track record data is historical. Performance figures are calculated using net asset values after all fees and expenses, and assume reinvestment of distributions. No allowance has been made for buy/sell spreads. Please refer to the PDS for information regarding risks. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The value of the investment can go up or down.
2. The Fund incepted on 31 October 2007 as the Hunter Hall Global Deep Green Trust. The Fund was relaunched on 1 August 2017 as the Pengana WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund employing the WHEB Listed Equity strategy. This strategy was first employed on 1 January 2006 by the Henderson Industries of the Future Fund and currently by the FP WHEB Sustainability Impact Fund.
3. Annualised standard deviation since inception.
4. Relative to MSCI World Total Return Index (net, AUD unhedged)
* For further information regarding fees please see the PDS available on our website.

OUR FUNDS

CORE FUNDS

SMALL CAP FUNDS

SPECIALTY FUNDS

WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund

January 2025 - Monthly REPORT

A new home but an unchanged commitment to positive impact investing

SUMMARY

PORTFOLIO

Top Holdings (alphabetically)

Sector Breakdown

Capitalisation Breakdown

Region Breakdown

WHEB Sustainability Themes

PERFORMANCE

Performance Table

NET PERFORMANCE FOR PERIODS ENDING 31 Jan 2025¹

Fund & Strategy Performance

COMMENTARY

A new home but an unchanged commitment to positive impact investing

PROFILE

Platform Availability

STATISTICAL DATA

PORTFOLIO SUMMARY

FEATURES

Fund Managers

Ted Franks

Seb Beloe

Description

EXPLORE OUR FUNDS

OUR FUNDS

CORE FUNDS

SMALL CAP FUNDS

SPECIALTY FUNDS

WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund

January 2025 - Monthly REPORT

A new home but an unchanged commitment to positive impact investing

SUMMARY

PORTFOLIO

Top Holdings (alphabetically)

Sector Breakdown

Capitalisation Breakdown

Region Breakdown

WHEB Sustainability Themes

PERFORMANCE

Performance Table

NET PERFORMANCE FOR PERIODS ENDING 31 Jan 2025 1

Fund & Strategy Performance

COMMENTARY

A new home but an unchanged commitment to positive impact investing

PROFILE

Platform Availability

STATISTICAL DATA

PORTFOLIO SUMMARY

FEATURES

Fund Managers

Ted Franks

Seb Beloe

Description

EXPLORE OUR FUNDS

NET PERFORMANCE FOR PERIODS ENDING 31 Jan 2025¹