The fund has the lowest Morningstar Sustainability Rating of 1 globe, indicating that the ESG risk of holdings in its portfolio is rather high compared to those of its peers in the US Equity Large Cap Growth category. Funds with 4 or 5 globes tend to hold securities that are less exposed to ESG risk. Unlike impact, which focuses on generating positive environmental and societal outcomes, ESG risk measures the degree to which investments could be affected by material ESG issues, including climate change, biodiversity, product safety, community relations, data privacy and security, bribery and corruption, and corporate governance.
One potential issue for a sustainability-focused investor is that American Funds Growth Fund of Amer doesn’t have an ESG-focused mandate. Funds with an ESG-focused mandate would have a higher probability to drive positive ESG outcomes. The fund has significant exposure (14.91%) to companies with high or severe controversies. Companies with controversies may be involved in incidents such as corruption, employee abuses, environmental incidents, and corporate scandals that pose some degree of business risks to the company. Severe and high controversies can have significant financial repercussions, ranging from legal penalties to consumer boycotts. Such controversies can also damage the reputation of both companies themselves and their shareholders.
One key area of strength for American Funds Growth Fund of Amer is its low Morningstar Portfolio Carbon Risk Score of 7.47 and very low fossil fuel exposure over the past 12 months, which earns it the Morningstar Low Carbon Designation. Thus, the companies held in the portfolio are in general alignment with the transition to a low-carbon economy.