Allowing investors to make a positive social impact while
participating in one of the fastest growing investment
categories
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) today announced
the recent launch of a fund designed to provide socially and
environmentally conscious investors with total return, including
capital appreciation and current income, while investing in
companies that meet certain environmental, social and governance
(“ESG”) standards. The AIG ESG Dividend Fund is a large-cap value
fund that provides investors the opportunity to achieve returns
based on dividend yield as well as a combination of factors that
relate to profitability, valuation and ESG standards.
The AIG ESG Dividend Fund is part of a suite of funds advised by
SunAmerica, which rebranded its retail mutual fund family to AIG
Funds earlier this year. AIG Funds is one of the largest fund
families* offering portfolios in a broad range of asset classes,
from equities to fixed income and alternatives. Its flagship AIG
Focused Dividend Strategy Fund, a large-cap value fund that uses a
proprietary rules-based process to invest in high dividend-paying
stocks, has been highly rated by Morningstar for periods ending
March 31, 2017.**
“We are excited to add the AIG ESG Dividend Fund to our mutual
fund family,” said Peter Harbeck, Chief Executive Officer of
SunAmerica, which serves as the investment adviser of the new fund
and is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of AIG. “The Fund’s
investment process allows us to look at a broad array of factors
and evaluate how well a company manages its ESG risks in
conjunction with our unique rules-based process.”
The Fund employs a disciplined, rules-based investment process
to stock selection. It includes up to 40 dividend yielding stocks
selected annually from the Russell 1000® Index, based on four
rules-based metrics – dividend yield, profitability, valuation and
ESG rating. Although the portfolio is rebalanced annually,
securities may be substituted in between the annual rebalance under
certain limited circumstances, including where a security no longer
meets the ESG standards or dividend yield criteria.
In addition to including ESG ratings in its rules-based process,
the Fund’s ESG screening process excludes companies that, among
other things, are significantly engaged in: the manufacture or
distribution of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, or military
weapons; the production of nuclear energy; or the operation of
gambling-related businesses. Unlike some other socially conscious
funds, the AIG ESG Dividend Fund invests in many types of
businesses – even utility and energy companies – provided those
companies perform well on ESG criteria.
Kara Murphy, Chief Investment Officer of SunAmerica, said: “More
and more companies are incorporating ESG standards into their
business models, and are finding that by addressing environmental,
social and governance issues, they have the potential to improve
financial returns. This trend, coupled with new research
capabilities and enhanced data, gives us the opportunity to
evaluate how well a company manages its ESG risks. The appetite for
ESG investing has continued to grow in the U.S., especially as we
see more investors wanting to make financial decisions that are
consistent with their values.”
SunAmerica’s investment team has managed social strategies since
2001 and currently manages $1.2 billion in social strategies across
AIG’s relevant business lines. The AIG ESG Dividend Fund is
overseen by Kara Murphy and is managed by Lead Portfolio Manager
Tim Pettee, as well as Co-Portfolio Managers Timothy Campion, Jane
Bayar Algieri and Andrew Sheridan.
SunAmerica has $44 billion in assets that are managed by the
in-house investment team as of December 31, 2016.
More information can be found at www.aig.com/funds.
# # #
*AIG Funds is among the 100 largest fund families based on
assets and market share. Strategic Insight, “Flow Watch Series,”
Mutual Fund Management Companies Rankings and Analysis, February
2017.
** For the periods ended March 31, 2017, the AIG Focused
Dividend Strategy Fund’s Morningstar Overall, 5- and 10-year
ratings are 5 stars and its 3-year rating is 4 stars. Overall
Rating is based out of 1,084 funds in the Large Value category. The
Fund ranked #1,208 out of 1,258 funds for 1 year, #117 out of 1,084
funds for 3 years, #61 out of 936 funds for 5 years and #5 out of
679 funds for 10 years. Please see disclosures below for more
information about Morningstar ratings. Past performance does not
guarantee future results.
The Russell 1000® Index measures the performance of the 1,000
largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which represents
approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of the Russell
3000® Index.
Regarding the AIG ESG Dividend Fund and the AIG Focused
Dividend Strategy Fund:
Mutual funds are subject to risk including market risk as well
as additional risks, which vary depending on the type of fund. The
investment return and principal value of an investment will
fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be
higher or lower than the original cost.
Each fund employs a disciplined strategy and will not deviate
from its strategy (except to the extent necessary to comply with
federal tax laws or other applicable laws). If the Fund is
committed to a strategy that is unsuccessful, the Fund will not
meet its investment goal. Because the Fund will not use certain
techniques available to other mutual funds to reduce stock market
exposure, the Fund may be more susceptible to general market
declines than other mutual funds.
Dividend income is not guaranteed and may vary depending on
market performance, and may be taxed as either ordinary income or
capital gains. Dividend yield is one component of performance and
should not be the only consideration for investment. Investment
results will vary.
Regarding the AIG ESG Dividend Fund:
The performance of the Fund may be subject to greater
fluctuation since its strategy involves holding a limited number of
securities. This type of strategy may increase the Fund’s risk
since the performance of a particular stock may have a larger
impact, positively or negatively, on the Fund’s performance.
ESG screening limits the availability of investment
opportunities for the Fund. If the Fund changes its ESG standards
or a company stops meeting the Fund’s ESG standards, the Fund may
sell the affected investments even if this means the Fund loses
money.
Regarding the AIG Focused Dividend Strategy Fund:
Focused funds are less diversified than typical mutual funds;
therefore the performance of each holding in a focused fund has a
greater impact upon the overall portfolio, which increases
risk.
Stocks of small-cap and mid-cap companies are generally more
volatile than and not as readily marketable as those of larger
companies, and may have fewer resources and a greater risk of
business failure than do large companies.
Investors should carefully consider a fund’s investment
objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. The
prospectus, containing this and other important information, can be
obtained from your financial adviser, or by calling the AIG Funds
Sales Desk at 800-858-8850, ext. 6003, or at aig.com/funds. Read
the prospectus carefully before investing.
Morningstar is an independent investment research firm that
rates the performance of mutual funds based on return and risk. For
each fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a
Morningstar Rating™ based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return
measure that accounts for variations in a fund’s monthly
performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads and
redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and
rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each
category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next
35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom
10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of
one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause
slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Overall
Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of
the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5- and 10-year (if
applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. Morningstar Rating is for
the A share class only; other classes may have different
performance characteristics. Past performance is not a guarantee of
future results.
© 2017 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information
contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be
copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate,
complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers
are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of
this information. Past performance is not a guarantee of future
results.
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global
insurance organization. Founded in 1919, today AIG member companies
provide a wide range of property casualty insurance, life
insurance, retirement products, and other financial services to
customers in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. These
diverse offerings include products and services that help
businesses and individuals protect their assets, manage risks and
provide for retirement security. AIG’s core businesses include
Commercial Insurance and Consumer Insurance, as well as Other
Operations. Commercial Insurance comprises two modules – Liability
and Financial Lines, and Property and Special Risks. Consumer
Insurance comprises four modules – Individual Retirement, Group
Retirement, Life Insurance and Personal Insurance. AIG common stock
is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock
Exchange.
Additional information about AIG can be found at www.aig.com and
www.aig.com/strategyupdate | YouTube: www.youtube.com/aig |
Twitter: @AIGinsurance | LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/company/aig. These references with
additional information about AIG have been provided as a
convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not
incorporated by reference into this press release.
AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty,
life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American
International Group, Inc. For additional information, please visit
our website at www.aig.com. All products and services are written
or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates of American International
Group, Inc. Products or services may not be available in all
countries, and coverage is subject to actual policy language.
Non-insurance products and services may be provided by independent
third parties. Certain property-casualty coverages may be provided
by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally
participate in state guaranty funds, and insureds are therefore not
protected by such funds.
AIG Funds are advised by SunAmerica Asset Management, LLC
(SAAMCo) and distributed by AIG Capital Services, Inc. (ACS),
Member FINRA. Harborside 5, 185 Hudson Street, Suite 3300,
Jersey City, NJ 07311. SAAMCo and ACS are members of American
International Group, Inc., (AIG).
Not FDIC or NCUA/NCUSIF Insured.
May Lose Value. No Bank or Credit Union Guarantee.
Not a Deposit. Not Insured by any Federal Government Agency.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170518005335/en/
American International Group, Inc.Kenny Juarez (Media):
212-458-8352kenny.juarez@aig.comorLiz Werner (Investors):
212-770-7074elizabeth.werner@aig.com
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