Innovative Fund Creates Opportunity for Humane-Minded Investors to Act on their Values in the Capital Markets

BETHESDA, MARYLAND, USA, September 26, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Karner Blue Capital (“KBC”), an SEC-registered investment advisor evaluating publicly-traded companies on animal welfare and biodiversity criteria, announces the formal launch of the Karner Blue Animal Impact Fund, an equity mutual fund consisting of Beyond Meat, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Adidas, Tesla, and other publicly-traded companies pursuing innovative and practical solutions to animal cruelty and wildlife exploitation and dislocation.

“We’ve been conducting research for more than two years to evaluate the work of publicly-traded companies on an array of animal welfare performance indicators,” said Vicki Benjamin, the founder of Karner Blue Capital. “Now, with the launch of the Animal Impact Fund, individuals who care about animals can invest in a diversified portfolio paying careful attention to animal welfare and the defense of biodiversity. I am not aware of any other mutual fund that looks quite like this one.”

Upon launch this week, the Karner Blue Animal Impact Fund consists of 101 companies paying heed to animal issues in their operations, supply chains, research and development practices, policy advocacy, and other performance-based criteria. Here are just a few of the companies that are held in the portfolio:

a. Beyond Meat, Inc. offers consumers plant-based alternatives to beef, pork, and chicken and has secured a place on the menus of many of the nation’s best-known quick-serve restaurants so that consumers have an easier pathway to eating with conscience.

b. Adidas is moving away from leather offerings and increasingly using ocean plastic and other recycled materials to make its athletic shoes. Last year, it made 11 million pairs of shoes from ocean plastic.

c. Vanda Pharmaceuticals has sued the Food and Drug Administration for requiring outdated and inhumane animal testing protocols for risk assessment for new drugs. Pharma companies account for more than 90 percent of animals used in safety and efficacy testing.

d. Tesla, a pioneer in electric vehicles, also offers customers vegan interiors for its cars and warning systems for car owners when internal temperatures become dangerous for dogs in the car.

“People alert to animal suffering make conscious food choices, buy products not tested on animals, and take other actions to minimize any harm they might do to animals,” said Wayne Pacelle, a partner with KBC. “But, for some people, when it comes to how they put capital to work in the markets, they’ve not had a diversified, animal-friendly option. Now they have that option.”

KBC has benchmarked 15 different industries with exposure to animals – from food and agriculture and textiles and apparel to pharmaceuticals and chemical companies to forestry and forest products and metals and mining – and evaluated what it means for a company in each of these industries to perform in an animal-conscious way.

“KBC’s investment thesis is built around the principles of the humane economy,” added Andrew Niebler, a co-founder of the Bethesda-based investment advisor. “We believe that the combination of innovation, problem solving, and an unhesitating embrace of best practices when it comes to animal protection will reduce the reputational and workforce risks for publicly-traded companies and position them to connect with consumers guided by these values.”

KBC’s careful evaluations mean that many companies have not made it into the portfolio. Carnival Cruise Lines, for example, has some sound procurement policies for sourcing animal products for its food offerings, but it didn’t make the cut because of reports that it dumped toxic effluent into sensitive ocean habitats in violation of a court order. Smucker’s was excluded because news outlets conducted testing revealing that some of its pet food products contained sodium pentobarbital, a drug mainly used for euthanizing dogs and cats. And while Tyson Foods has made recent announcements about its investments in the development and distribution of plant-based proteins, it still has no meaningful policies to prohibit gestation crates in its supply chain, has not applied humane slaughter standards for poultry across its processing operations, and still allows the dangerous growth-promoting drug ractopomine in cattle production.

KBC’s team of analysts and researchers evaluate companies on an ongoing basis, moving companies into the portfolio when they outperform their peers with respect to animal welfare and other key performance indicators and removing companies that do not perform as anticipated. The investment strategy is distinguished by its animal welfare measures, but that is not the sole set of criteria in its evaluative process. KBC also takes into account financial performance and other company metrics, including environmental, social, and governance criteria.

“Our process of selecting companies is multi-valent, but to be sure, no company is included in the portfolio without strong animal welfare practices relative to their industry peers,” noted Benjamin.

Rather than focus on venture – a worthy and brisk arena of corporate activity – KBC’s purpose is to influence the biggest companies in the world, which have the largest supply chains, workforces, marketing efforts, and footprints when it comes to animal impacts and environmental effects. KBC and its sister organization, the Karner Blue Center for a Humane Economy (“the Center”), are working in tandem to build a humane economic order.

“Publicly-traded companies affect the lives of billions of animals,” added Pacelle. “Investors who put capital into this innovative mutual fund are not only aligning their investments with their values but are also participating in a collective effort that can literally change the fortunes of animals throughout the world.”

Entrepreneurs in these sectors of the economy with exposure to animals are emerging that produce plant-based proteins and cellular meat; promote safer living conditions for animals in food production; adopt or invest in alternatives to animal testing; steer clear of fur and other animal products in clothing, shoes, and even car seats; extract commodities from the earth that do not cause life-threatening disruptions to wildlife and their habitats; and utilize other products and services that provide alternatives to hurting animals.

To learn more about the Karner Blue Animal Impact Fund, go to animalimpactfund.com or call us at 1-855-KBANIML (855-522-6465).

Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. The Adviser’s method of security selection may not be successful, and the Fund may underperform relative to other mutual funds that employ similar or broader investment strategies.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the fund before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the fund, and it should be read carefully before investing.

The information presented above is for educational purposes only and does not constitute general or personal investment advice or an offer to buy or sell any security or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. There is no assurance that the fund will achieve its investment objective.

As of September 20, 2019, Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND) represented approximately 2.30% of the fund’s assets; Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VNDA) represented approximately 1.93% of the fund’s assets; Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) represented approximately 1.30% of the fund’s assets; and the American Depositary Receipts of adidas AG (ADDYY) represented approximately 1.17% of the fund’s assets. The weights shown above are a percentage of the fund’s total net assets excluding cash and cash equivalents. The fund’s holdings are subject to change.

Securities issued by the companies identified above do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold or recommended by Karner Blue Capital, LLC for the fund or its other advisory clients, and readers should not assume that investments in the securities issued by the identified companies were or will be profitable.

Karner Blue Capital, LLC and some of its partners may hold positions in certain securities issued by the companies identified above in corporate and/or personal accounts. As a fiduciary, Karner Blue Capital, LLC prioritizes its clients’ interests above these corporate and personal accounts to avoid any conflict of interest in trading these commonly held securities.

The Karner Blue Animal Welfare Fund is distributed by Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC (Member FINRA)

8980155-UFD-9/26/2019

Vicki Benjamin
Karner Blue Capital
+1 774.286.0729
email us here