Invesco Bond Income Plus | ESG

The Board recognises and supports the growing regulatory and shareholder emphasis on ESG considerations. In relation to the portfolio, the Company has delegated the management of the Company’s investments to the Manager, who the Board believes is well-placed to assess the risks and opportunities which will result from accelerating ESG-driven change.

The Manager’s investment team incorporates ESG considerations in its investment process as part of the evaluation of new opportunities, with identified ESG concerns feeding into the final investment decision and assessment of relative value. The Portfolio Managers make their own conclusions about the ESG characteristics of each investment held and about the overall ESG characteristics of the portfolio, although third party ESG ratings may inform their view. Additionally, the Manager’s ESG team provides ESG monitoring.

The Manager is committed to being a responsible investor and applies, and is a signatory to, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, which demonstrates its extensive efforts in terms of ESG integration, active ownership, investor collaboration and transparency. The Manager achieved an A+ rating for its overall approach to responsible investment (Strategy and Governance) for the fourth consecutive year since 2018 as well as achieving an A or A+ across all categories in the 2020 assessment period. In addition, the Manager is an active member of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association as well as a supporter of the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) since 2019 and has published its inaugural Climate Change report in line with the TCFD in July 2020. Although TCFD does not apply directly to the Company at present, the Board confirms that it will comply with all reporting regulations as they are implemented.

The Manager has also voluntarily complied with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) which came into effect within the EU on 10 March 2021 and is disclosing in the AIFM document as well as the webpage how sustainability risks are integrated.

Further details of the Manager’s ESG process can be found on the Company’s web page at www.invesco.co.uk/bips