Sun Life Malaysia Takaful has launched the first Shariah-compliant, investment-linked Takaful Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Fund for the Malaysian takaful market, as a continued efforts to promote sustainability.
The new fund, Sun Life Malaysia Islamic Global Sustainable Fund, which is managed by Nomura Asset Management Malaysia, aims to provide an affordable and accessible avenue for Malaysians to include ESG factors in their investments whilst simultaneously achieving potential long-term capital appreciation and protection gains.
“This newly introduced Takaful ESG fund, which is the second in our sustainability fund series, aims to accelerate our ambition to make sustainable investing more accesible to our Clients. Being a trusted lifetime Takaful partner, we believe this new fund addresses the needs and aspirations of our Clients to grow their wealth without comprising on their faith and values,” Raymond Lew, CEO and President/Country Head of Sun Life Malaysia (Sun Life Malaysia Assurance Berhad and Sun Life Malaysia Takaful Berhad) commented.
Sun Life Malaysia believes that by adding ESG factors to its investment-linked takaful plans, it will open doors for Clients to invest in companies that not only comply with Islamic principles, but also support six impact goals that are aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These impact goals include: mitigating climate change and natural capital depreciation, improving global access to basic financial services and clean drinking water, eliminating communicable diseases and mitigating the obesity epidemic.
“At Sun Life, we have an unwavering commitment towards sustainability because we believe our Purpose of helping Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives cannot be achieved without a sustainable future. That’s why we are embedding sustainability across our business – from investment strategy, product innovations to operations. It is an essential part of our culture,” Lew added.
To recap, the first Conventional ESG Fund, Sun Life Malaysia Global Sustainable Fund was launched in July 2021 and has surpassed RM 10.5 million as at April 2022.
According to Sun Life Malaysia, this new fund aims to offer Muslim and non-Muslim Clients an opportunity to invest in both fiscal performance and positive social and environmental impacts. As such, Sun Life Malaysia is confident that this new Takaful ESG fund will appeal to current and potential Clients.
“We are really excited to be able to offer our Clients a new vehicle that rolls ethics, protection and ESG principles all into one to create a personalised, sustainable investment journey. We are committed to empowering Clients to make sustainable investing decisions that could have a positive impact on our future – economically, socially and environmentally. We look forward to welcoming more like-minded Malaysians to join us on our sustainable journey,” Lew concluded.
In 2022, for the 13th consecutive year, Sun Life has earned a spot on the Corporate Knights’ Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World. This ranking represents the top 1% in the world on sustainability performance.
