Sustainability
Our view is that responsible investing is a requirement for long-term and sustainable value creation. Responsible investments include integrating environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors into investment processes and decisions to better manage risks and opportunities.
Investment strategy
Sustainability is an integral part of our corporate culture, and our investments are based on three principal pillars to uphold this: exclusion screening, positive selection, and active engagement. The focus will be on the inclusion of sustainable companies and engagement in order to continue to support companies in their transition towards alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Developments Goals (“SDGs”) which are prioritized by us (“Targeted SDGs”):
Exclusion screening
Our main principle is to use our influence to bring about positive changes in the investments, rather than to exclude and divest. However, we conduct exclusion when the ability to influence the investment to align its operations with the Targeted SDGs is limited, or when an investment does not show a willingness to comply with our Policy for Responsible Investments, found here. The full exclusion criteria and our process for managing this (”Screening process”) are detailed in the Policy for Responsible Investments. For the Dynamic and Alternative strategies, we can accept deviations from the exclusion criteria if an investment is transitioning towards a more sustainable business.
Positive selection
For investments in funds (“Target funds”), we utilize the Söderberg & Partners Sustainability Assessment System (“Sustainability Assessment”) generated by another entity within the Söderberg & Partners Group. The Sustainability Assessment is explained in further detail below. In addition, the consideration of ESG characteristics is verified through a proprietary sustainability questionnaire, tailored to the specific asset class in question, that is addressed to the managers of the Target funds. We aim to primarily, where available, invest in Target funds with a sustainable investment objective. Secondarily, we aim to invest in Target funds that promote environmental and/or social characteristics, or in Target funds that demonstrate improvements of these characteristics, resulting in improved Sustainability Assessment. Good governance practices is a preconditions for all investments.
Active engagement
We want to encourage other fund managers and companies to be compliant with international norms and conventions and manage their business in a more sustainable manner. We will engage for positive outcomes with the ambition of aligning corporate outputs with improving ESG characteristics based on the Target funds Sustainability Assessment, exclusion screening results, and alignment with the Targeted SDGs.
The engagement may be exercised by one or several of the following activities:
– participation and voting at general meetings;
– collaborative engagement; and
– various types of constructive dialogues with, among others, the management of the company, ESG-teams, other investors, and partners.
Our Policy for Shareholder Engagement can be found here.
Sustainability Assessment methodology
The Sustainability Assessment of the Target funds is an assessment based on self-reported information about fund managers’ and fund companies’ sustainability work. The Sustainability Assessment evaluates fund managers’ practices in integrating sustainability into investment decisions (positive selection) and conducting stewardship, including firm-level engagements by the respective fund company (active ownership). The Sustainability Assessment is expressed as a binary result, where a Target fund can receive a fail or pass score. We will not invest in Target funds with a failed Sustainability Assessment.
Positive selection
The assessment of “Positive Selection” focuses on how portfolio managers integrate sustainability considerations into their investment decision-making processes. This perspective evaluates the manager’s approach to assessing the impact of sustainability risks on investments and vice versa – how investments influence ESG factors. Additionally, it examines the manager’s capacity to promote or contribute to sustainability through their investments.
Higher rating within this perspective necessitates a proactive approach, which includes opting for investments with superior sustainability performance relative to industry benchmarks and maintaining continuous vigilance to ensure a high level of sustainability within the fund. The assessment within “Positive Selection” considers the investment strategy, the robustness of analysis used to determine the investment universe, the binding selection criteria, the degree to which the Target fund aims to achieve a positive contribution, and the monitoring processes to ensure the sustainability level of the Target fund is maintained over time.
Responsible ownership
The assessment of “Responsible Ownership” evaluates how fund companies and/or portfolio managers actively seek to steer portfolio holdings towards more sustainable practices. This assessment encompasses various aspects of engagement and collaboration, with a focus on promoting sustainability goals. It considers how portfolio managers or other representatives at the firm level initiate and maintain dialogues with portfolio holdings on sustainability matters and the methods used to measure the effectiveness of these dialogues. Additionally, it evaluates the extent to which fund managers proactively identify areas for improvement within the holdings.
Collaborative endeavours with other investors at the firm level, such as participation in initiatives like Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) or Climate Action 100+, are also considered. These collaborative efforts across the sector are more likely to yield significant impact.
Assessment system
Pass: Indicates that the portfolio manager either actively selects investments in sustainable companies or other holdings or works actively at the Target fund or firm level to improve the holdings’ sustainability credentials. Target funds scoring high on positive selection may include Target funds with a large proportion of companies offering sustainable products or services or sustainability-focused bonds. For a passively managed Target fund, the investments follow a combination of stringent sustainability criteria to ensure they have a higher sustainability level than the average non-ESG benchmark. Target funds scoring high on active ownership have robust engagement processes aimed at improving the holdings’ sustainability credentials and ambitious firmwide engagement processes and active participation in industry collaborations.
Fail: Indicates that the Target fund offers limited contribution to or integration of sustainability, despite having the potential to do so.
N/A: Products without a sustainability assessment are deemed unable to integrate sustainability considerations into their investment processes due to inherent difficulties within their respective asset class. For the same reason, these Target funds are not likely to have a negative impact on sustainability-related issues, as their strategies do not have a clear causal link to the real economy. The N/A assessment thus reflects a neutral impact.
Pass: Indicates that the portfolio manager either actively selects investments in sustainable companies or other holdings or works actively at the Target fund or firm level to improve the holdings’ sustainability credentials. Target funds scoring high on positive selection may include Target funds with a large proportion of companies offering sustainable products or services or sustainability-focused bonds. For a passively managed Target fund, the investments follow a combination of stringent sustainability criteria to ensure they have a higher sustainability level than the average non-ESG benchmark. Target funds scoring high on active ownership have robust engagement processes aimed at improving the holdings’ sustainability credentials and ambitious firmwide engagement processes and active participation in industry collaborations.
Fail: Indicates that the Target fund offers limited contribution to or integration of sustainability, despite having the potential to do so.
N/A: Products without a sustainability assessment are deemed unable to integrate sustainability considerations into their investment processes due to inherent difficulties within their respective asset class. For the same reason, these Target funds are not likely to have a negative impact on sustainability-related issues, as their strategies do not have a clear causal link to the real economy. The N/A assessment thus reflects a neutral impact.
Sustainability-related disclosures
All our funds promote environmental or social characteristics in accordance with Article 8 of the Regulation (EU) 2019/2088, but do not have sustainable investments as their objective. The primary focus of our funds’ investments is other UCITS funds and exchange traded derivatives. Our funds aim to primarily, where available, invest in Target funds with a sustainable investment objective. Secondarily, the funds aim to invest in Target funds that promote environmental and/or social characteristics, or in Target funds that demonstrate improvements of these characteristics, resulting in improved Sustainability ratings.
We monitor the adherence to environmental or social characteristics on a continuous basis through dialogues with the Target funds. The internal research is also supplemented by externally sourced research. Policies and procedures are developed to ensure that the Target funds meet our stance on responsible investing and our activities relating to ESG is overseen by a Responsible Investment Committee.
More product-specific information can be found here.
Sustainable investments definition
The Company’s approach to sustainable investments integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions to promote long-term value and positive societal impact. In doing so, we comply with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (“SFDR”), ensuring transparency and accountability. Our funds commit to a minimum proportion in sustainable investments which is detailed in their respective pre-contractual disclosure. In order to monitor and assess this, we conduct a daily screening of the proportion of sustainable investments in each fund. This screening is conducted on a look-through basis using an internal tool, which collects information from third-party data providers. More details on our definition and approach can be found in our Policy for Responsible Investment.
Principal adverse impact
Upon and during an investment, we assess and monitor indicators that are deemed to indicate the presence of a principal adverse impacts (“PAIs”) on sustainability factors. A full statement on this can be found here. For Target funds, this is managed on a look-through basis using an internal tool and the full process (“PAI process”) is detailed in the Policy for Responsible Investments.
Signatories
We have signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (“UN PRI”), which is the leading international initiative for responsible investments for companies in the financial sector. The foundation of PRI is six non-binding principles that we have implemented. We have also signed the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) and the Investor Agenda, which are agendas on climate change that are comprehensive and focused on accelerating investor action for a net-zero emissions economy. The Söderberg & Partners Group is also a member of Swesif, which is an independent and non-profit organization advocating sustainable investments in Sweden.
Documents pertaining to our work with ESG issues
Policy for Responsible Investments
Policy for Shareholder Engagement
Principal Adverse Impacts Statement
Documents pertaining to our work with ESG issues
Policy for Responsible Investments
Policy for Shareholder Engagement
Principal Adverse Impacts Statement
Söderberg & Partners Asset Management S.A.
This is a marketing communication, please refer to the prospectus of Söderberg & Partners Funds and to the KID of the relevant product before making any final investment decisions. The prospectus and information on investor rights are available in English, while the KID is available in both English and Swedish. All documents can be found on the Documents page.
Marketing arrangements made for the products in Luxembourg and Sweden may be terminated in the future.