NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
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*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.
