KBI Global Investors launches two new strategies, defying ESG retrenchment trend
15 JUL, 2026
By Joanna Piwko from RankiaPro Europe
Dublin-based KBI Global Investors (KBIGI) has announced the launch of two new investment strategies, moving against a broader trend of asset managers pulling back from responsible investing.
The firm — which has built a 25-year track record around boutique, conviction-driven strategies — is introducing an Article 9 'Global Core Sustainable Strategy' and a 'Global Health & Wellbeing Strategy'.
A contrarian bet on Article 9
According to KBIGI CEO Geoff Blake, the responsible investing landscape has seen "a clear divergence in ambition, execution, and conviction" in recent years, with some peers exiting the space or diluting their commitments. He attributed the underperformance of most Article 9 strategies to two factors: the concentration of equity market returns in US mega-cap tech stocks that align poorly with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and regulatory pushback against ESG investing, particularly in the US.
Despite this backdrop, Blake said the firm's conviction "remains absolute."
The new Global Core Sustainable Strategy will hold 100–150 stocks following a two-year incubation period. It targets:
KBIGI argues the strategy fills a gap between overly concentrated active A9 funds and passive options that offer investors little diversification benefit.
A more diversified approach to healthcare
The sixth strategy from KBIGI's fundamental investment team, the Global Health & Wellbeing Strategy, extends the firm's 25-year experience in Water, Food and Energy Transition investing into a broader sustainability theme.
The strategy will invest across three segments:
Relative to healthcare peers, KBIGI says the strategy will tilt toward quality-growth and small/mid-cap names, favour med-tech and life sciences over biotech and pharma, and hold greater exposure to consumer, industrial and technology sectors.
Using its proprietary RASS (Revenue Aligned Sustainability Score) methodology, the firm reports a 95.1% correlation between the strategy's holdings and UN SDG-aligned revenue.
The strategy will be managed by Craig Bonthron, who rejoined KBIGI as Senior Portfolio Manager at the end of 2024 after previous roles at Artemis Investment Management, Kames Capital and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. Bonthron brings more than two decades of experience as a global equity investor with a focus on positive-impact strategies.
Blake noted that valuations in the sector are "at decade lows relative to the market," calling it "an attractive long-term investment opportunity, underpinned by multiple tailwinds."
