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    The Week in Green

    April 12th Edition

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    A bright green Handbook and more index news

    Stockholm (NordSIP) – This week, we worked hard to bring you our brand new Handbook on Sustainable Index Funds & ETFs. There is enough material in there to get any professional investor started on the right path, but also more food for thought for those that have already been there fore a while.

    In an interesting conversation with Nordea Life & Pension‘s Peter Sandahl, we draw a parallel between investing in the energy transition and other industries that have recently undergone dramatic transformations, such as the TMT sector. In hindsight, how would you have traded Nokia, if you had known how it was going to turn out? Would you have excluded it from your portfolio in the late 90s already? We also conferred with other leading sustainable asset owners and fund selectors Länsförsäkringar‘s Kristoffer Dreiman, Folksam‘s Susanne Bolin Gärtner, AP4‘s Tobias Fransson and Ålandsbanken‘s Anna-Stina Wiklund.

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    MSCI provided us with a summary of a new research piece on ESG and equity returns. It represents a new take on the quantitative assessment of whether ESG improves the risk/return trade-off. Let us just say (spoiler alert) that it’s rather good news!

    Several contributions will provide in-depth analysis on how well thought out strategies can provide cost-effective solutions to climate-aware investors. We start with a short history provided by BlackRock. The PRI gives us an overview, while Storebrand/SPP Fonder and State Street Global Advisors explain how they answer their clients’ needs. Finally, Lyxor ETFs also remind us why green bonds are so exciting.

    Meanwhile, S&P unveiled an ESG version of the S&P 500 index. UBS joined the bandwagon this week, with the launch of a new ESG ETF.  Still in the world of indices, the Swiss Sustainable Finance association sent an open letter to index providers to exclude weapon manufacturers.

    Back in the Nordics, Storebrand announced the launch of five equity funds in Denmark of which a number of flagship index funds. In Stockholm, the state pension funds AP1, AP3 and AP4 founded Polhem Infra, a joint venture to invest Swedish unlisted infrastructure companies.

    Finally, please don’t forget that today is your LAST CHANCE to vote for the best contributors in sustainable finance. We put together articles to inspire you and a few important quotes from key sustainable investors who have already voted.

    Picture © Shutterstock

    Aline Reichenberg Gustafsson, CFA
    Aline Reichenberg Gustafsson, CFA
    Aline Reichenberg Gustafsson, CFA is Editor-in-Chief for NordSIP and Managing Director for Big Green Tree Media. She has 18 years of experience in the asset management industry in Stockholm, London and Geneva, including as a long/short equity hedge fund portfolio manager, and buy-side analyst, but also as CFO and COO in several asset management firms. Aline holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a License in Economic Sciences from the University of Geneva.

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