In the course of the last 4 years we have developed, expanded and refined our responsible investment policy at Delen Private Bank (Belgium, Luxemburg and Switzerland). As portfolio management at Delen Private Bank is centralised using the investment funds managed in-house by Capfi Delen Asset Management (the Delen Group's fund manager) this forms the focus of our reporting.
As was announced in our 2018 report, the Dutch firm Oyens & Van Eeghen was made into a branch of Delen Private Bank in 2019. In the process, a responsible investment policy for Oyens & Van Eeghen was implemented. This policy follows the same philosophy as Delen's, combining exclusion, engagement and ESG integration. Oyens & Van Eeghen manages constructs its investment funds using external building blocks. These underlying investment funds are managed by external managers. Nevertheless, the three levels of the Delen Private Bank policy have been integrated into the fund management process in the course of 2019.
At the UK subsidiary JM Finn discretionary management is not centralised at entity level, but per (group of) manager(s) through investments in direct lines and third party funds. It mainly invests directly in securities and in third-party funds on behalf of its clients. JM Finn continues to operate in a more independent manner than the other group entities. However, the implementation of a responsible investment policy that follows the spirit of that of Delen Private Bank is currently being explored.JM Finn has the possibility of proposing selective exclusions tailored to the client's needs. In terms of engagement, JM Finn has entered into a partnership with Hermes EOS, following Delen's Hermes EOS partnership started in 2018. Other opportunities regarding exclusion, engagement and ESG integration at JM Finn are being closely examined.