This fund focuses on our future infrastructure and society
The way we live and work together as a society will change dramatically in the coming decades. The main trends are:
- Climate change and the necessary transition to a low-carbon society
- Growing pressure on our scarce natural resources
- Increasing urbanisation
- Demographic ageing and consequently a shrinking active labour force
- Demand for new skills
- Changing lifestyles due to trends such as an increasing focus on responsible choices.
- Strategic independence: companies are looking for solutions to create more independence in terms of resources such as raw and basic materials, energy, and technology.
The UN expects that there will be 9.7 billion people living on Earth by 2050 and that almost 70% of them will live in cities.
Alex Martens, Fund Manager at KBC Asset Management
The fund invests primarily in shares of companies that help shape our future infrastructure and society
These companies are active in areas such as:
- Robotics and automation: production robots, sensors, etc.
- Energy transition: wind turbines, electric vehicles, home batteries, etc.
- Efficient land and forest management: drip irrigation, use of drones, etc.
- Clean water, air and soil: industrial air filters, water treatment, biodegradable plastics, etc.
- Circular economy: recycling of materials, etc.
- Clean transport: charging stations, railway lines, hydrogen vehicles, etc.
- Smart logistics: automated storage solutions, distribution centres close to customers, etc.
- Construction materials and equipment
- Lending to businesses and governments
- Basic materials, industrial equipment and freight transport
Invested in a responsible manner
By opting for this responsible fund, you exert a positive influence on the world we live in. In this regard, the fund invests in companies and/or countries that contribute towards:
- achieving specific targets relating to the environment, social issues and corporate governance (ESG) and a reduction in greenhouse gas intensity (CO2),
- achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Companies that specialise in controversial activities (such as tobacco, gambling and weapons) are excluded.
When deciding to invest in this fund, you should also consider all the other features and objectives of the fund.
What can you expect from this product?
- Actively managed equity fund
- Socially responsible investment
- In euros
- No maturity date, no capital protection, no guaranteed return
- Redeemable on a daily basis
Risks
- The Risk indicator is 4 on a scale of 1 (lower risk) to 7 (higher risk).The summary risk indicator is a guide to the level of risk of this product compared to other products. It shows how likely it is that the product will lose money because of movements in the markets or because we are not able to pay you.4 is typical for an equity fund and indicates that the fund is highly sensitive to the markets. Indeed shares do not provide a guaranteed return and their value can fluctuate sharply.This product does not include any protection from future market performance so you could lose some or all of your investment.The risk indicator assumes you keep the product for 8 years. The actual risk can vary significantly if you cash in at an early stage and you may get back less.
- High exchange rate risk: Since investments are made in securities that are denominated in currencies other than the euro, there is a significant chance that the value of an investment could be affected by exchange rate fluctuations.
Charges
- Entry charge: 3%
- Exit charge: None (5% but only if you sell units within a month of purchase)
- Ongoing charges: 2.07% (factored into the net asset value)
- Anti-dilution levy: In exceptional situations*
* If net entries and exits involve exceptionally large amounts, KBC Asset Management may decide to levy additional charges on the investors concerned (those buying or selling fund units on that day) to mitigate the negative impact on the net asset value. The size of this levy is based on the transaction charges incurred by the fund manager. Applied in very exceptional situations, this levy is in the interests of those investors remaining in the fund.
Taxes
- Withholding tax on dividends: 30% (only for distribution units)
- Withholding tax upon exit: None
- Stock market tax upon exit: 1.32%, with a maximum charge of 4 000 euros (only for capitalisation units)
This tax treatment applies to individual investors subject to Belgian personal income tax and may change in the future.
Investment policy
KBC Equity Fund We Shape Responsible Investing Classic Shares aims to generate a return by investing primarily in shares of companies that are shaping the society of the future through their products and services, such as:
- Automation and robotisation
- Solutions for energy transition and storage
- Infrastructure and installations for transport and freight vehicles
- Facilities needed in a circular economy
- Water purification, soil decontamination and air quality improvement
- Machines and installations for more efficient agriculture and forestry
- Industrial plants and machines
- Building materials and construction activities
- Materials
- Logistical solutions
- Credit facilities and financial services to companies and governments
- Etc.
A current overview can be found at www.kbc.be/thematic-funds.
The fund pursues responsible investing objectives based on a dualistic approach: a negative screening and a positive selection methodology.
The negative screening entails that the fund may not invest in assets of issuers that are excluded based on exclusion criteria (including tobacco, gambling activities and weapons). More information on the exclusion policy can be found at www.kbc.be/investment-legal-documents > Exclusion policy for Responsible Investing funds.
The positive selection methodology is a combination of portfolio targets and supporting sustainable development. Portfolio targets are based on a reduction in greenhouse gas intensity and an improvement in ESG characteristics versus its benchmark. Supporting sustainable development is done by investing in green, social and sustainability bonds and in issuers contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
More information on the positive selection methodology and the concrete goals of the fund can be found at www.kbc.be/investment-legal-documents > Investment policy for Responsible Investing funds and in the annex to the prospectus for this fund.
More sustainability-related disclosures can be found at www.kbc.be/en/SRD.
KBC Equity Fund We Shape Responsible Investing Classic Sharesis actively managed with reference to the following benchmark: 20% MSCI All Countries World Materials - Net Return Index, 55% MSCI All Countries World Industrials - Net Return Index, 25% MSCI All Countries World Financials - Net Return Index (www.MSCI.com).
However, it is not the aim of the fund to replicate the benchmark. The composition of the benchmark is taken into account when compiling the portfolio. In line with its investment policy, the fund may not invest in all the instruments included in the benchmark. When compiling the portfolio, the manager may also decide to invest in instruments that are not included in the benchmark, or indeed not to invest in instruments that are included. Due to the above responsible investing methodology, the portfolio's composition may differ from the benchmark's.
The benchmark is also used to determine the fund's risk limitation mechanism. This limits the extent to which the fund's return may deviate from the benchmark. The long term expected tracking error for this fund is higher than 4.00%. The tracking error measures the volatility of the fund's return relative to that of the benchmark. The higher the tracking error, the more the fund's return fluctuates relative to the benchmark. Market conditions may cause the actual tracking error to differ from the expected tracking error.
KBC Equity Fund We Shape Responsible Investing Classic Shares may make limited use of derivatives*. This means that derivatives can be used either to help achieve the investment objectives (for instance, to increase or decrease the exposure to one or more market segments in line with the investment strategy), or to neutralise the portfolio’s sensitivity to market factors (by hedging an exchange rate risk, for example).
The fund is denominated in Euro.
The above objectives and investment policy have been taken in their entirety from the Key Information Document (KID). Neither the capital nor the return is guaranteed or protected.
More things you need to know
This information is governed by the laws of Belgium. Please read the Key Information Document and the prospectus before subscribing. Both documents are available free of charge in Dutch and English (and in French for the key information document) from your KBC or CBC branch or at www.kbc.be/investment-legal-documents or www.cbc.be/documentation-investissements. You will also find a summary of your rights as an investor there in Dutch, English, French and German.
The net asset value can be found on www.beama.be, in KBC Mobile or CBC Mobile.
If you have a complaint, the contact details for KBC are complaints@kbc.be, tel. 016 43 25 94 or ombudsman@ombudsfin.be and the contact details for CBC are gestiondesplaintes@cbc.be, + 32 81 803 163 or ombudsman@ombudsfin.be for CBC.
* For the complete overview of financial and economic terms, go to www.kbc.be/lexicon of www.cbc.be/lexique.