Country Head Nordic
Natixis Global Asset Management
Stockholm (NordSIP) – Natixis Global Asset Management recently published the results of their 2017 ESG Report. Viggo Johansen, Country Head Nordic at Natixis Global Asset Management, discussed the findings with NordSIP.
At the origin of the survey is the growing interest for ESG that NGAM noticed over the recent years when conducting its annual global investor survey. “We wanted to make a specific survey for ESG to see where investors are in their mind,” explains Johansen. As he points out, the main conclusion of the survey is that private individuals are starting to take ESG seriously and that they want their savings to be invested along the right guidelines. “What struck me most,” he says, “is that 8 out of 10 millenials say they would start saving for their pension if the asset manager adhered to their needs when it comes to ESG. The message is loud and clear and the industry needs to take that into account.”
“One thing to bear in mind when looking at the results is that this is a global survey. There is a difference between where we are in Sweden and where the rest of the world is,” Johansen says. “In Sweden, the institutional client base is already pushing ESG at the top of their agenda.” This group includes of course the AP buffer funds, Skandia, Länsförsäkringar and Folksam among others. “Even five years back,” continues Johansen, “these companies were not as advanced in their ESG integration as they are today.” Now other organisations are following suit to meet with the standards set by the leaders. Söderberg & Partners for example now provides an ESG rating on their offering and many others are providing similar analysis. “Everyone is quickly adjusting to the ESG demand,” adds Johansen. “But as highlighted by the results of the survey, Sweden is really at the forefront compared to the rest of the world.”
Furthermore, the survey also shows that professional investors see ESG becoming standard practice. In particular, they turn to ESG for alpha and risk management. Finally, the report also highlights that better measurement and reporting on both financial and non-financial performance will speed adoption.
The survey results can be found here.
Featured picture (c) – ESB Professional—shutterstock
