Shares in specialist environmental, social and governance (ESG) money manager Impax Asset Management (IPX:AIM) climbed 10% to 332p early on Tuesday after its second-quarter trading update showed significant inflows of new money.

Although assets under management (AUM) for the three months to 31 March were lower than at the start of the quarter, totaling £14.4bn against £16.1bn, this was due to the sharp sell-off in stock markets which had a negative impact of £2.8bn across the funds.

Much more encouraging was the news that net inflows were £1.1bn in the quarter, including positive net inflows of no less than £6bn in March alone.

Chief executive Ian Simm was suitably upbeat: ‘Although conversion time-frames may lengthen, our new business pipeline remains strong and we anticipate that post the current crisis there will be increased interest among asset owners in the investment strategies that Impax offers, particularly those that provide exposure to mitigating and adapting to climate change, reducing pollution and navigating a path towards a more sustainable economy.’

When Impax was founded over 20 years ago it was one of the first dedicated ESG investment firms, looking for companies which could benefit from the transition to sustainability including the need to reduce environmental pollution.

The coronavirus crisis has put pressure on asset managers to avoid what Simm calls ‘the permanent destruction of value’ by making sure that their portfolios are robust enough to weather current volatility.

‘The companies that we invest in are generally well established with experienced management teams, diversified business models and strong balance sheets. Consequently, over recent months we have had almost no financial exposure to distressed companies’, he adds.

READ MORE ABOUT IMPAX ASSET MANAGEMENT HERE

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Issue Date: 07 Apr 2020