Stockholm (NordSIP) – Iceland SIF, the Iceland Sustainable Investment Forum, is nearing an official announcement following its establishment on November 13. Samtök um ábyrgar fjárfestingar, as Icelanders call it, will work to bring about awareness of methods of sustainable and responsible investment as well as act as a centre for debate and education. As an independent forum, however, the organisation will not take positions in critical discussions.
The founding members of Iceland SIF, of which there are 23, include eleven pension funds, four banks, three insurance companies, four fund management companies and an asset management firm. All invest in Iceland on their own account or, on behalf of third parties. The organisation’s structure is still small, though membership is reportedly proliferating.
The initiative comes as a result of new responsible investment legislation for pension funds in Iceland requiring them to consider ethics in their investments, according to Caroline Liinaki, Editor of the Nordic Fund Selection Journal.
IcelandSIF joins SweSIF, NorSIF and DanSIF as an equivalent type of organisation. Due to the aforementioned legislative changes, Icelandic investors are likely to move directly towards ESG integration, by contrast with the more gradual approach of screening and exclusion elsewhere in the Nordics.
IcelandSIF’s Board of Directors consists of:
Chairman of the Board: Hrefna Ösp Sigfinnsdóttir, Managing Director of Landsbankinn Markets
Vice-Chairman of the Board: Davíð Rúdólfsson, Chief Investment Officer at Gildi Pension Fund
Arnór Gunnarsson, Chief Investment Officer at VÍS
Jóhann Guðmundsson, Asset Manager with the Pension Fund of Commerce
Kristín Jóna Kristjánsdóttir, Portfolio Manager at IS Funds
Kristján Geir Pétursson, Manager of Legal Affairs at Birta Pension Fund
Image © Andrey Yurlov – Shutterstock
