Stockholm (NordSIP) Swedish Insurance and Pension company SPP has attracted close to SEK 10 billion since the launch one year ago of its PLUS concept, which is comprised of fossil-free funds, it announced.
“The funds have really filled a gap in the market and we see no downturn in demand. The first year has been very successful for all funds, but above all for SPP Global Plus, which continues to deliver a very good return even through 2017,” said SPP Fonder CEO Åsa Wallenberg (pictured).
Storebrand/SPP has worked on sustainability for over 20 years with the conviction that it offers the smartest way to manage money. The Group’s work, however, has never been as urgent as currently, Ms Wallenberg says, with climate agreements and global objectives applicable to all that close the loopholes for anyone seeking to circumvent them.
“The global goals are our common roadmap ahead and we do not have much time left. Capital is crucial to make the green change. The fossil fuel issue is one of the most important challenges facing business and for us it is important to take our share of the responsibility. Providing attractive fossil-free products is one such way,” Ms Wallenberg added.
The PLUS concept includes the SPP Growth Market Plus, SPP Global Plus and SPP Sverige Plus funds. The funds, which are suitable for investors wanting fossil-free, index-based equity funds with low fees, are index-intensive while integrating sustainability variables and declining investments in companies that extract or distribute fossil fuels, or in companies with large fossil reserves. The funds also negatively screen those companies with the highest fossil footprints and invest more in companies with low fossil footprints and high sustainability, in what SPP calls “sustainability optimization”.
“Parts of the funds are also dedicated to companies searching for solutions to future climate challenges,” Ms Wallenberg says. “Unlike actively managed funds, the goal is not to predict which individual technology will become dominant in the future. In order to diversify the risk, the funds invest instead in many different technologies, such as wind power, hydropower, solar and geothermal heat.”
The funds also invest in companies that provide solutions to the future’s sustainability challenges, such as Nibe, whose heat pumps are an energy-efficient alternative for heating buildings. “Thanks to the breadth of the funds, they are in a position to invest in new green technologies and a number of sustainable companies while reducing risk. The result is three funds combing ambitious sustainability criteria with the benefits of the traditional index fund, such as low fees and good risk spread,” Ms Wallenberg concludes.
Storebrand/SPP was named the world’s most sustainable insurance group for 2017 in Corporate Knights’ Global 100 list. Global Knights, “the magazine for clean capitalism”, is a publication dedicated to ESG.
The PLUS concept funds are available at FPP, Avanza, Nordnet and Fondmarknadan. SPP also has SPP Equity Fund Stable, SPP Green Bond Fund, SPP Money Market Fund, SPP Bond Fund, GoFond Sweden & World under management, all of which are also fossil free. SPP systematically works to continuously reduce fossil and Co2 exposure in all investments and funds.
Picture: (c) (c)Erik Lindvall, Guringo Studios AB
