Banca March collaborates with Palma Aquarium in the conservation of the marine ecosystem
24 March 2022 Category: Sustainability
March Asset Management (AM), Banca March Group's asset management company, will allocate part of its annual management fee for the sustainable Mediterranean Fund to running the Seahorse Project.
- March A.M. has signed an agreement with the Palma Aquarium Foundation by which it will donate part of the fees from its annual management of the sustainable Mediterranean Fund to the foundation.
- The goal is to collaborate with Seahorse Project, a project aimed at preserving the biodiversity of the Mediterranean through the reproduction of the seahorse, an extremely vulnerable animal that is a true indicator of how healthy a marine ecosystem is.
- Mediterranean Fund is a themed, socially responsible fund managed by March A.M. that invests in two trends with a lot of potential: the ocean economy and water. The fund donates 10% of its management fee to projects related to the conservation of marine ecosystems. Over its two-and-a-half-year history, it has donated almost €300,000.
Banca March is strengthening its commitment to the conservation of the marine ecosystem. Through the agreement recently signed with the Palma Aquarium Foundation, March Asset Management (AM), Banca March Group's asset management company, will allocate part of its annual management fee for the sustainable Mediterranean Fund to running the Seahorse Project. A two-year project that aims to facilitate the reproduction and survival of the Mediterranean seahorse in a controlled, artificial environment.
Seahorses are extremely vulnerable animals and are true indicators of how healthy marine ecosystems are. The main threats they face are of an anthropogenic nature, which means they are caused by man. Examples are: habitat loss and degradation, trawling, dredged seabeds and pollution.
The people at the Palma Aquarium Foundation have extensive experience in this field and are expertly trained on other species of seahorses and sharks. Once the reproduction is successful, the phase of rearing and feeding the newborns begins. This is the most difficult phase, as it involves training the young to eat different types of plankton to give them the nutrients they need: artemia, mysis, microalgae, rotifers, copepods, etc. This food is either bought or bred. When the young are big enough and can be reintroduced into their environment, they will be released in protected marine areas.
Mediterranean Fund manager Iñigo Colomo said, “It is time to return to the sea everything it gives to us and we trust that our donation will help to improve marine and aquatic ecosystems. The socially-responsible component of the Mediterranean Fund, donating 10% of its management fee to environmental management projects, allows us to contribute to marine ecosystem recovery initiatives and help protect the flora and fauna of the Mediterranean Sea."
Mediterranean Fund is a thematic fund managed by March A.M. which invests in two high-potential trends linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030: the oceans as a source of wealth and the need for their conservation, and water as a scarce resource which is indispensable for life on our planet. The fund offers a potential investment universe of over 750 companies and has attracted strong subscriptions since its launch. At year end 2021, the fund had assets under management of €136 million and a return of 26.56% (Euro Class A). Since its launch in September 2019, it has posted a return of 49.6%.
The fund currently invests in 48 companies distributed in more than 20 different industrial sectors and global diversified over 15 countries. The portfolio companies include off-shore wind power, marine biotechnology, aquaculture and companies related to biofuels for the decarbonisation of maritime transport.
In addition to being a socially responsible fund, it is also a sustainable one, pursuant to Article 8 of the SFDR, promoting social and environmental initiatives along with traditional financial goals.
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