Stockholm (NordSIP) – Söderberg & Partners, a Stockholm-based financial adviser, published a report analysing the performance of sustainable funds in July. The report includes a list of the top 10 most sustainable funds available to Swedish retail investors, based on considerations of positive selection and responsible ownership. Skandia was the highlight of the report, taking four out of the top ten spots and the only asset manager with more than one fund on the list.
The ten funds with the highest marks were, in no particular order, Skandia Cancerfonden, Skandia Sverige Hållbar, Skandia Världsnaturfonden, Skandia Sverige and Öhman Sverige Fokus, in the Swedish funds category. Amundi Fds Eurp Equity Cnsv and SPP Europa Plus were the top sustainable funds with a European focus. AXAWF Global Green Bds and SEB Green Bond Fund ranked top in the fixed income category while Handelsbanken Hållbar Energi was the single representative of thematic funds.st.
The success of Skandia, SPP and Öhman is patent in the fact that some or all three of them are also among the top 3 active, passive and fixed income funds. Other funds that the report highlights includes Narron, among the top three sustainable active and fixed income managers and Nordic cross, one of the top three fixed income and hedge fund managers.
Looking at the full results, the laggards (those with the highest percentage of funds ranked in the “red” category) were all non-Nordic institutions: BLI – Banque de Luxembourg Investments (75% red), Vanguard (67% red), Pictet Asset Managemetn (53% red) and JP Morgan (50% red).
The poor ranking mostly translate a lack of corporate engagement. The report mentions that BLI lacks dedicated resources to handle ESG questions, and that the firm does pursue any engagement efforts. According to the report, Vanguard does not engage sufficiently on environmental and social questions. While Pictet AM offers a number of sustainability-related thematic funds, the firm has outsourced its engagement efforts and drives a dialogue mainly with companies that are included in its thematic funds.