The Sustainable Investing Mandate is an investment portfolio with investments in governments and companies that apply corporate social responsibility. The environmental and social attributes promoted by this mandate are:
- Positive selection based on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) performance
- The exclusion of controversial activities
- The exclusion of controversial countries
- Good corporate governance.
The asset managers select companies based on these attributes, but also carry out a thorough qualitative bottom-up analysis.
The mandate invests directly and through investment funds in equities and bonds. At least 70% of the portfolio (excluding cash/money) must promote environmental or social attributes. The rest of the portfolio may consist of cash, money market instruments or investments without environmental and social attributes. It is possible that part of the actual portfolio can be considered a sustainable investment, but there is no obligation for the mandate to include one or more sustainable investments. The only derivatives that are used are interest rate and currency derivatives.
The following sustainability indicators are monitored:
- Average ESG risk rating for the portfolio (as determined by Sustainalytics)
- CO2 emissions of the portfolio
- Alignment with the objective of the Paris Climate Agreement to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius
- Alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs)
For this, data is used that is provided by two leading data providers, namely Sustainalytics and the Institutional Shareholder Services group of companies (“ISS”).
You can engage with companies in the portfolio. The purpose of engagement is to improve corporate strategy and performance. This is possible, for example, in the field of ESG.
Product level related sustainability information ESG Investment Mandate
Precontractual disclosure template ESG Investment Mandate
Sustainability
Sustainability is important in ABN AMRO’s investment services, which is why we also apply this within the Sustainable Investing Mandate. We exclude investments in companies that produce controversial weapons or tobacco, as well as avoid incorporating those companies into the portfolio that attach little importance to sustainability.
We use the Morningstar Sustainability methodology for this, which gives every company a sustainability score. Morningstar is a global leader in investment fund information.
For our portfolio, we require that the average sustainability score for each fund is at least the average of comparable funds or higher. This gives you an investment portfolio that, in addition to the return, also takes sustainability into account.
Information about sustainability risks
Statement of adverse effects on sustainability
ABN AMRO MeesPierson takes into account the main negative consequences of investment decisions and advice on sustainability factors. Sustainability factors include environmental, social and employment issues, respect for human rights, and the fight against corruption and bribery. We adhere to the Sustainability Risk Policy Framework of ABN AMRO Bank NV (“ABN AMRO”). The Sustainability Risk Policy Framework is partly based on the various corporate responsibility codes and on internationally recognised sustainability standards or initiatives to which ABN AMRO adheres. In accordance with the Sustainability Risk Policy Framework and international standards, the following main negative sustainability impacts are taken into account:
- Violation of the 10 principles of the United Nations (“UN”) Global Compact
- Controversies
- CO2 emissions as an indicator of climate change
Engagement is used to encourage companies within the investment universe to improve their business strategy and performance. This also includes environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) aspects.
Read the full statement here