UBS and Rockefeller AM Launch Ocean Engagement Fund for Blue Economy

UBS Global Wealth Management (GWM) and Rockefeller Asset Management have introduced the UBS Rockefeller Ocean Engagement Fund, a new initiative focused on the blue economy. This fund aims to engage with companies addressing ocean health issues, aiming for both financial returns and positive environmental impact.

The blue economy, as defined by the World Bank, involves the sustainable use of ocean resources to enhance livelihoods, jobs, and ocean ecosystem health. Activities in this sector include renewable energy, fisheries, maritime transport, tourism, and waste management.

This fund launch follows UBS’s new long-term blue economy investment theme, which focuses on creating a sustainable relationship with the ocean. UBS has identified investible markets worth over $1.1 trillion in areas such as wastewater treatment, waste management, plastic recycling, and sustainable aquaculture. According to OECD estimates, the blue economy is projected to reach $3 trillion by 2030.

Andrew Lee, Head of Sustainable & Impact Investing at UBS GWM, emphasized the importance of shareholder engagement: “We continue to be strong supporters of shareholder engagement, and think it has the potential to deliver positive change and improve profitability of companies. The new strategy allows us to have deeper impact on one of the key resources of our planet and bring a stronger investment focus on the ocean, which remains relatively underfunded by investors.”

The fund will include approximately 50 high-conviction stocks, focusing on small and mid-cap companies with a value tilt. Its objective is to achieve long-term real returns through a thematic strategy, while promoting ocean health via consistent investment and shareholder engagement.

Rockefeller Asset Management will manage the fund and lead active investor engagement. They will collaborate with The Ocean Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to conserving ocean environments globally, to identify trends in the ocean-climate nexus.

Casey Clark, President and Chief Investment Officer at Rockefeller Asset Management, highlighted the fund’s potential: “Leveraging Rockefeller’s 30-plus years of investment experience and distinctive network to bridge the gap between science and investing, we believe the UBS Rockefeller Ocean Engagement Fund is a compelling opportunity for investors seeking uncorrelated returns and ocean health impact via shareholder engagement.”

Bruno Marxer, Head of Global Investment Management at UBS GWM, added: “We are pleased that through our close collaboration with Rockefeller Asset Management we can offer our clients access to this major structural growth theme, using our innovative engagement framework. Not only does it enable portfolio diversification in times of market uncertainty, but it offers exposure to multiyear growth prospects as the world seeks to transition toward more nature-aligned and equitable economic systems.”