Stockholm (NordSIP) – On May 5th, fund selection and reporting platform Fundrella announced the first outcome of their newly launched ESG Alignment Matrix. The tool aims at visualising the match between Nordic institutional investors’ preferences and the ESG features offered by fund companies.
“I hope this quarterly overview will bring asset managers useful insights, keep them updated on market changes, align their product offering with client preferences, and support them in further strengthening their Nordic business,” Wava Bodin, Fundrella’s Founder & CEO (pictured) tells NordSIP.
In order to assess the ESG compatibility between investors and fund providers, Fundrella has identified more than 40 ESG parameters, ranging from internal processes, resources and reporting capabilities to labels and signatories, exclusions and revenue thresholds. “Some of our parameters are proprietary while others are anchored in market frameworks to improve comparability,” relates Bodin. Among the frameworks that she mentions are the ESG Disclosure Standards for Investment Products as defined by the CFA Institute as well as the SFDR articles 6, 8 and 9.
Rather than providing a third-party assessment, Fundrella lets all asset managers on their platform categorise their products along the ESG parameters themselves. At the same time, they ask investors using the platform to select their individual ESG preferences. “We believe in a collaborative approach with market stakeholders which also allows for quick adaptation to market changes,” explains Bodin.
According to the survey, Handelsbanken’s fund offering is the one leading the Nordic league, followed by SPP Fonder and Atlant Fonder. Among cross-border companies, the leader is Erste AM, followed by Wellington and Fundsmith.
Announcing the results of the new alignment matrix, Bodin commented: “The Nordic ESG landscape is highly developed, and competition is tough. In general, Nordic companies tend to be more aligned with Nordic investor’s preferences (82 %) than cross border companies (62 %). That said, the span is surprisingly broad between the “best in class” players and those least aligned. The hygiene level of ESG aspects is clearly rising and it goes without saying that the companies lagging in ESG will quickly fall behind if actions are not taken.”
Picture credit: Håkan Målbäck
