OUR EXPERTISE Sustainable & Responsible Investments
Investors can’t afford to ignore SRI
Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) strategies incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors in their investment processes, and have been growing in popularity among institutional investors for several years. Now, they’re making big inroads into retail investors’ portfolios, too.
Why is this? Evidence shows that there is a positive relationship between a company’s ESG performance and its financial returns, and considering ESG factors could also help minimise a portfolio’s exposure to current and future risks.
And just as importantly to many investors, it can help them make a positive impact on society and the environment through their investments.
Vincent Hamelink
Chief Investment Officer
Member of the Group Strategic and Executive Committees
SRI LEADING THE WAY IN SRI OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES
We’ve been running responsible investment portfolios since 1996. The core of our conviction has always been that investment opportunities and risks can’t be fully evaluated using traditional financial measures alone: to ensure a complete view of each company’s prospects, we need to consider its ESG practices.
Over the years we’ve increased our range of SRI capabilities such that today, we provide our investors with the broadest range of SRI portfolios and services in continental Europe. Using a unique best-in-class approach to SRI, we cover all the main asset classes and geographic areas, as well as providing dedicated SRI advisory services.
This includes:
Our SRI investment process involves constructing a universe of companies with best-in-class ESG practices, and from there investing in the companies with the best financial prospects. As well as helping us pinpoint the most attractive opportunities, this approach enables us to minimise financial and ESG risks.
Long-term sustainability trends can have a major impact on the environment in which companies operate. Our macro analysis gauges a firm’s exposure to major sustainability challenges.
Our micro analysis measures a company’s ability to incorporate stakeholder interests in its long-term strategy, while our in-house best-in-class screening assesses risks and opportunities for each firm.
Norms-based analysis determines whether companies and countries comply with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact and major international treaties. This ensures we only invest in line with recognised international standards.
For us at Candriam, responsibility also involves paying attention to controversial activities including adult content, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, weapons, and involvement in oppressive regimes. We exclude from our SRI universe companies whose level of involvement in any of these activities exceeds a certain level.
Candriam’s SRI investment team is one of the largest in continental Europe.
Our 35 fund managers and 9 dedicated SRI analysts have longstanding experience and a range of complementary professional backgrounds, and they specialise in specific sectors and sustainability themes.
By creating synergies with other departments and business lines within Candriam, the team aims to add value for each of our clients with the highest-quality SRI services.
We believe there are some excellent reasons to choose Candriam for SRI:
1996 |
Leading the way in SRI for nearly two decades |
20% |
Nearly a fifth of our assets under management are in SRI strategies |
35 |
Fund managers |
9 |
Analysts |
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