ASB Investment Funds Positive Impact Fund

We have decided to close and wind-up the ASB Positive Impact Fund (PIF) available within ASB Investment Funds. This follows BlackRock (UK) announcing it will wind up its Global Impact Fund in January, which makes up more than half of the PIF’s underlying investments.

We considered the future of the Positive Impact Fund in light of this development and its impact on the fund's management, alongside declining customer demand, and deemed it appropriate to wind-up the Positive Impact Fund.

With the upcoming closure, we are contacting those currently invested in the Positive Impact Fund with guidance on what you need to do. This includes reviewing your ASB Investment Funds investment and considering whether to choose another fund or withdraw your balance in the Positive Impact Fund. Please let us know in advance of 15 January 2025 to ensure any instructions are processed before that date.

Visit our compare funds page to see if one of our other ASB Investment Funds suits your goal and investment timeframe. If you find a suitable option or need help, please call our ASB Wealth Advisory Service on 0800 108 084 between 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday, to make the switch.

Any investors still invested in ASB Investment Funds Positive Impact Fund on 15 January 2025 will no longer be able to make a switch or withdrawal from the fund. The assets of the Positive Impact Fund remaining at that date will be sold, and the proceeds (minus any expenses or liabilities) will be distributed to investors who remain invested at that time.

Any ASB investment Funds accounts that only hold the Positive Impact Fund will be closed following the final payment of proceeds to investors.

From now until 15 January 2025, the Positive Impact Fund may experience higher volumes of withdrawal or fund switch requests. As a result, we may be required to sell down investments in the third-party underlying funds to meet those requests.

Due to notice requirements to withdraw from the iShares Green Bond Index Fund (which the Positive Impact Fund invests in for global bond exposure), instructions to sell units will not be processed until the day after they are received. This means withdrawals or switches from the Positive Impact Fund will be complete before the sale of units in the iShares Green Bond Index Fund. As a result, the proportion of the Positive Impact Fund’s total assets invested in bonds (and therefore, exposure to bond price movements) will increase for remaining investors until the instruction to sell units is complete.

The Positive Impact Fund is the only fund in ASB Investment Funds impacted by the closure of the underlying Global Impact Fund. You can view our other ASB Investment Funds here.

The Positive Impact Fund has an impact objective and a conventional investment objective. While the other funds in the ASB Investment Funds do not have an impact objective and are not a direct replacement, we continue to integrate responsible investment considerations into our investment decision-making process.

All our ASB Investment Funds are certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia according to the strict operational and disclosure practices required under the Responsible Investment Certification Program (see www.responsiblereturns.com.au for details). We’re committed to responsible investing and continuing to better understand the responsible investment needs of our customers. For more details, visit asb.co.nz/responsible-investment

ASB Investment Funds investors can call our specialist team on 0800 108 084. Alternatively, they can email invest@asb.co.nz