ABP subsidiary launches global SRI fund

NETHERLANDS- Dutch fund manager Loyalis, a subsidiary of ABP, is launching a global SRI fund which will be open to pension funds worldwide. ABP is the first pension fund to participate.

The SRI fund will be a joint venture with Innovest Group, a US consultant, which currently provides ABP with ethical investment advice for its two existing SRI funds.

Says Genio van der Schaft, managing director at Loyalis: “the idea of launching a global SRI fund was suggested to us by Innovest with the aim to stimulate socially responsible investments and to allow other pension funds worldwide to participate. The fund was of interest to ABP as it already has a US and European SRI fund, and was interested in moving towards an SRI fund which invested globally.”

Loyalis and Innovest are in the process of deciding definitive guidelines for investments.

“Innovest is to be the sub-advisor on sustainability, and we are working together to look at company ratings and fundamental analysis. The companies chosen to comprise the portfolio will have strong potential performance as well as being ethical, as the fund is expected to outperform the MSCI global index, which will act as a benchmark,” says van der Schaft.

The fund is expected to launch in December, and it is hoped that pension funds with increasing interest in SRI funds will follow in ABP’s footsteps.