Stockholm (NordSIP) The Danske Invest European Corporate Sustainable Bond Fund placed third in Morningstar’s annual ranking of funds with the highest sustainability value in Sweden. It would not have done so, however, without the help of Svenska Retursystem (SR), which was the core investor in the Fund when it was founded in June 2016.
“We are both proud and happy that Morningstar is ranking our fund as one of the most sustainable for 2017. It shows that, together with Danske Bank, we have developed very good criteria for our fund to properly generate sustainability benefits,” SR CEO Anna Elgh said in a press release.
SR manages over SEK600 million in deposits from its system of reusable crates and pallets. The system consists of delivering reusable crates and pallets to producers, who fill them and deliver them to the wholesaler. The wholesaler then delivers them to retailers, where the crates and pallets are emptied of their goods, upon which they are returned to the wholesaler. SR then brings back the crates and pallets for quality control and cleaning, after which they are ready to be reused.
The Morningstar Fund rating is based on how well companies in which a fund owns shares successfully manage ESG issues according to criteria provided by Sustainalytics. A fund’s so-called sustainability value is based on a combination of this criteria with Morningstar’s data on the exact holdings of a fund.
SR had encouraged Danske Bank over many years to help place the deposit means, such that they would contribute to a sustainable future focused on climate benefits. With SR as its core investor, Danske was able to introduce the DI Invest European Corporate Sustainable Bond.
The DI Invest European Corporate Sustainable Bond Fund invests primarily in corporate bonds issued by companies with a strong sustainability profile on environmental, social and ownership management, as well as their integration of sustainability strategy in relation to climate change and CO2 emissions. Each issue must comply with international principles for sustainable investment, and the fund does not invest in controversial sectors.
Interest in the fund has been increasing from Danske Bank’s other Nordic customers. The Fund has grown to a worth of €583 million at the beginning of 2018 from €53 million since its inception 18 months previously, thus making it one of the largest European funds to integrate sustainability into traditional analysis and portfolio management.
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