Alliance Bernstein has launched the AB Diversity Champions Equity Portfolio, a new fund based on companies’ diversity, equity and inclusion characteristics.

The Article 9 fund invests in global companies that are aligned to at least one of three SDGs focused on promoting gender equality, decent work and economic growth and reducing inequalities.

The fund’s portfolio management team, Vivian Lubrano and Gayle Baldwin, use AB’s proprietary six-pillar Diversity Champion Assessment to determine which companies to include in the portfolio.  Diversity Champions are defined as issuers that capture the benefits of DEI and rank in the top half of all six pillars of the AB’s Diversity Champion Assessment.

The portfolio will use the MSCI ACWI as a benchmark for performance purposes only.

Vivian Lubrano, joint portfolio manager AB Diversity Champions Equity Portfolio, commented, “It is harder than ever for companies to stay ahead of the competition and deliver attractive returns in an uncertain and volatile market environment. But there is one increasingly important factor that can help them succeed: building a workforce that embraces the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion. We didn’t feel that this competitive advantage has yet been properly understood or valued by the market, but we aim to bring it to the forefront.”