Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund

We buy predominantly sterling bonds issued by companies, charities, the UK government and non-governmental organisations. We aim to deliver a better return than the average UK-based sterling corporate bond fund, after fees, over any five-year period. At the same time, we refuse to invest in any activity that is making the planet or its inhabitants worse off, and actively support those projects that are doing good in the world. You can read our ethical screening criteria in depth here.

Greenbank, an independently run ethical research division of Rathbones , assesses all our investments on these positive and negative social and environmental criteria. Greenbank has a veto over all our investments to ensure profits never override sustainability. Our fund managers then compare prices to determine the best value bonds to include in our fund. You can view our latest case studies document here.

When picking UK corporate bonds, there are three assessments we make. First, we look at the economic environment to determine which industries we want to own and the duration, or sensitivity to interest rates, of our investments. Then we use the Four Cs Plus approach to evaluate creditworthiness. We assess: 

• Character: Whether a company's managers have integrity and competence
• Capacity: Ensuring a company isn't over-borrowing and has the cash to pay its debts
• Collateral: Are there assets backing the loan, which reduces the risk of a loan
• Covenants: These loan agreements set out the terms of the bond and restrictions on the company
• The Plus: We think differently to the market; sometimes contrarian, sometimes sceptical of orthodox thinking, but always opinionated

These twin processes mean all our investments have a sound investment case and a solid sustainability record. Click here for the latest assessment of our performance.