The $140 million Abrdn Emerging Markets SDG Corporate Bond fund secured the global ESG fixed income fund of the year award after being praised by one judge for its "thoughtful framework".

Launched in December 2021, the fund has distilled the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into eight 'impact pillars' which each represent clear, investable themes. Each issuer is assessed against Abrdn's Theory of Change framework to ensure a consistent and robust approach. Therefore, each issuer is aligned to one of the 17 SDGs.

A Sustainable Investment Awards judge was impressed by the "strong threshold for inclusion" demonstrated by the peer-reviewed 'white list' process undertaken by Abrdn which ensures each investable company in its universe demonstrates it addresses an unmet SDG need as well as delivering an impact that is material to the business, preferably shows intentionality, and is measurable through at least three impact metrics.

Abrdn EM debt investment director Samuel Bevan told Environmental Finance the fund was a "unique proposition" as one of only a handful of emerging markets debt-focused 'Article 9' funds under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Abrdn ESG fixed income investment manager Kate McGrath added that the performance of the fund since launch – outperforming its benchmark – "adds credibility to our mantra around delivering profit with purpose in this asset class".

Since late 2023, the fund is also increasingly focusing on enhancing its transition financing focus.

"We enhanced our SDG process to include a specific carve-out for investing in 'SDG Transition' bonds," Bevan and McGrath said. "The idea is to promote investment in companies who are early stage in terms of transitioning their business to being SDG-aligned and have issued ringfenced use-of-proceed bonds (either green, social or sustainability bonds) to demonstrate this transition."