It is our belief that ESG considerations is essential in order to be able to assess the risks which could impact an issuers creditworthiness. Hence, we have decided to take a systematic approach to ESG incorporation within fixed income through a combination of the strategies below.
Screening is applied (quarterly) to all our fixed income investments. This strategy was chosen to meet client demands, but also because we believe that certain business practices simply are misaligned with a sustainable development and therefore not eligible for investment.
Thematic strategy is applied primarily to our Green Bond fund, but all our corporate bond funds can and do invest in both green bonds and sustainability bonds. In addition to second opinion and third-party reviews, we also conduct our own assessment of the issuer’s green bond framework in order to make sure that the use of proceeds meet our sustainability criterias.
Integration strategy. All fixed income mandates are managed in-house, in close collaboration between our fixed income team and ESG-team. We have taken a systematic approach to ESG integration which is explained in more detail in section FI 10-12.