| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 7.1% | -1.6% | 13.7% |
| 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|
| 13.7% | 4.9% |
Impax Global Environmental Markets Fund underperformed in Q4 2025, declining 1.49% versus the MSCI ACWI's 3.29% gain, primarily due to weakness in Materials and Industrials holdings. Energy-efficient HVAC and heat pump exposure suffered from weaker US residential construction, while market rotation away from defensive holdings toward AI-led growth pressured Industrial Gases and Waste & Recycling positions. However, Information Technology exposure provided the primary contribution to absolute performance, with AI beneficiaries like Taiwan Semiconductor and Applied Materials delivering strong gains on impressive execution and AI tailwinds. The team maintains high conviction in a picks and shovels approach to AI, focusing on performance efficiency and power supply solutions. Despite near-term headwinds, the managers emphasize exposure to operationally defensive businesses in oligopolistic markets with pricing power, such as Industrial Gases and Waste Management, which provide portfolio ballast. Looking ahead, the team sees opportunities in 2026 for patient capital focused on fundamentals, with secular growth themes including energy efficiency, grid upgrades, and AI-related opportunities remaining attractive despite current market volatility and valuation concerns.
Impax Global Environmental Markets Fund invests in high-quality companies with resilient operational business profiles, demonstrable pricing power and above-average earnings growth, underpinned by the secular drivers of environmental markets including AI-related energy solutions, industrial efficiency, and defensive environmental services.
The team believes this creates opportunities in 2026 for investors that focus on fundamentals, more predictable returns and are patient with their capital. Over the long-term, themes like energy efficiency, grid upgrades, policy tailwinds (re-shoring) and AI-related opportunities remain attractive, secular growth opportunities. The strategy's focus remains on high quality companies with resilient operational business profiles, demonstrable pricing power and above-average earnings growth, underpinned by the secular drivers of environmental markets.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 11 2026 | 2025 Q4 | A, AI.PA, AMAT, ITRI, KYGA.L, LIN, MSFT, RNR, SU.PA, TSM, UNP, VIE.PA | AI, Energy Efficiency, Environmental, global, Industrial Gases, semiconductors, technology, Waste management | - | AI-related investments drove portfolio performance with impressive execution from semiconductor foundries, chip equipment manufacturers, and power management companies. The team maintains high conviction in a… |
| Oct 21 2025 | 2025 Q3 | 2308 TT, APTV, CARR, DSFIR NA, KYGA, TEL | AI, Energy Efficiency, Environmental markets, sustainability, Waste management | - | Impax underperformed the MSCI ACWI as defensive and materials names lagged but saw strong gains from IT and efficient infrastructure exposure. The fund emphasizes long-term… |
| Jul 18 2025 | 2025 Q2 | APH, IEX, MSFT, NVDA, WAT, ZTS | Energy Efficiency, grid investment, Pricing Power, secular growth, sustainability | WAT | The letter emphasizes long-term structural growth in environmental markets driven by energy efficiency, grid modernization, and resource optimization. Management argues that short-term political and tariff… |
| Mar 31 2025 | 2025 Q1 | A, AI FP, MSFT, NVDA, SIE GR, WM | - | - | - |
| Dec 31 2024 | 2024 Q4 | 2454 TT, AI FP, MTD, ZX61 GR | - | - | - |
| Sep 30 2024 | 2024 Q3 | A, AMAT, ASML, CARR, CGNX, PNR | - | - | - |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q4 |
AIThe extended federal government shutdown added volatility during what was otherwise a risk-on environment, with a mid-quarter shift in market behavior for AI-related equities as the exuberant narrative evolved to one more balanced in assessing the technology's enormous potential against staggering capital spending plans and high expectations. The team initiated a position in Credo Technology as a more diversified way to gain exposure to strong trends in AI-connectivity. |
Connectivity Semiconductors Infrastructure Capital Spending |
Energy EfficiencyEnergy efficiency remains a core focus with holdings in HVAC, heat pumps, and power management electronics. Weaker US residential construction volumes contributed to underperformance from energy-efficient HVAC and heat pump exposure. The strategy emphasizes companies bending the total power demand curve and improving efficiency of power supply. |
HVAC Heat Pumps Power Electronics Building Automation Energy Storage | |
Industrial GasesSOL Group operates one of Europe's leading industrial gas franchises serving 50k customers across 32 countries, with a network of 39 air-separation units and 50+ filling plants that took almost a century to assemble. The business creates regional oligopolies due to expensive logistics of moving gases, with high switching costs from buried pipelines and bulk tanks installed at customer sites. |
Industrial Gases Air Separation Regional Oligopoly Infrastructure Logistics | |
Smart GridSmart and efficient grids exposure faced challenges with companies like Itron disappointing on order intake expectations. However, grid upgrades remain attractive secular growth opportunities over the long-term as part of the broader infrastructure modernization theme. |
Smart Grid Grid Upgrade Infrastructure Electrical Equipment Utilities | |
Waste ManagementSecure Waste Infrastructure operates alongside oil fields in Western Canada with stable cash flows, high economic EBITDA margins above 30%, and management aggressively repurchasing shares at attractive valuations. |
Oil Services Canada Cash Flow Buybacks Cyclical | |
WaterBQE Water secured a landmark 20-year contract with the BC government to operate the Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant, representing the largest operations agreement in company history for treating mine-impacted water. |
Water Treatment Mining Environmental Operations | |
| 2025 Q3 |
AIThe extended federal government shutdown added volatility during what was otherwise a risk-on environment, with a mid-quarter shift in market behavior for AI-related equities as the exuberant narrative evolved to one more balanced in assessing the technology's enormous potential against staggering capital spending plans and high expectations. The team initiated a position in Credo Technology as a more diversified way to gain exposure to strong trends in AI-connectivity. |
Connectivity Semiconductors Infrastructure Capital Spending |
Efficiency |
||
Sustainability2025 was one of the three hottest years ever recorded with climate-driven disasters causing significant costs. Despite political challenges, 84% of large companies maintained climate commitments and investor sentiment remained resilient with 70% committed to sustainability long-term. |
Climate Commitments Resilient Temperature Disasters | |
| 2025 Q2 |
Sustainability2025 was one of the three hottest years ever recorded with climate-driven disasters causing significant costs. Despite political challenges, 84% of large companies maintained climate commitments and investor sentiment remained resilient with 70% committed to sustainability long-term. |
Climate Commitments Resilient Temperature Disasters |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 2025 | Fund Letters | Hubert Aarts | WAT | Waters Corporation | Health Care | Life Sciences Tools & Services | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | Consumables, Cyclicality, instruments, Lifescience, Margins, Regulation, Testing | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| A | Agilent Technologies, a supplier of equipment for life science research, was under pressure as recent cuts to grants from the National Institutes of Health impacted its near-term outlook. We traded Agilent for ThermoFisher earlier in the year. |
| AI.PA | Air Liquide, one of our larger holdings in the portfolio, experienced downward market pressure. We trimmed our position over the last few months based on valuation yet view the company's strategic positioning in decarbonization and ongoing contract wins supporting durable earnings potential. |
| AMAT | AMAT was a top contributor in 4Q25 as semiconductor equipment stocks rallied on improving wafer-fab spending visibility. Management noted during its quarterly call that orders tied to AI-related capacity—particularly advanced logic and high-bandwidth memory—were tracking ahead of plan, leading to mid-teens growth in semiconductor systems revenue. Strength in services and spares also continued, with installed base revenues growing at a high single-digit rate. |
| ITRI | Itron (Smart & Efficient Grids, US) had a disappointing quarter having lowered expectations for its order intake for the year at its Q3 results. This created uncertainty and reduced visibility for the market. |
| KYGA.L | Kerry Group posted disappointing returns during the year, hampered by mixed sales trends and earnings shortfalls. These high-quality businesses are now trading at low valuations on low expectations – a potentially attractive setup. |
| LIN | While the company remains a high-quality global leader in industrial gases, shares of Linde plc declined nearly 10% in Q4 due to a persistent industrial gas volume recession, softer guidance and global macroeconomic concerns. From a macro standpoint, the company continues to struggle with negative base volumes in its core industrial segments. |
| MSFT | MSFT was a detractor in 4Q25 following its fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings report released on October 29. While results were better than expected operationally, investor reaction was driven by guidance and capital expenditure intensity rather than headline performance. Revenue grew 17% year-over-year, exceeding consensus expectations, and Azure revenue increased 39% year-over-year, also ahead of estimates. However, management guided to a sequential deceleration in Azure growth in fiscal Q2, signaling some moderation after a period of exceptional demand. |
| RNR | RenaissanceRe (Finance & Investment, US) outperformed during the period as the market rewarded impressive quarterly results and aggressive share buybacks. |
| SU.PA | Roughly one third of the portfolio, from Legrand to Schneider to Microsoft, is involved in the AI build-out in some way, from power to cooling to efficiency support. |
| TSM | ASML, TSMC, and Arista Networks are key players in the AI build out supply chain. |
| UNP | Union Pacific, the largest freight rail operator in the western United States, has announced plans to merge with Norfolk Southern, one of its major eastern counterparts. If approved, the merger would create the first coast-to-coast rail network in the U.S. |
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