Pension Fund Achmea will not invest in SpaceX after deciding to place the aerospace company on its exclusion list because of a low ESG rating.
The corporate pension fund disclosed the move in response to questions from Pensioen Pro, IPE’s sister publication.
Last Wednesday, the fund said there was no reason to exclude SpaceX. The company is controlled by Elon Musk, who also owns social media platform X and AI company xAI, developer of the Grok chatbot. However, that conclusion changed after its ESG data provider published a new assessment on Thursday.
The assessment was sufficiently negative to trigger the fund’s sustainable investment policy, under which SpaceX must be added to the exclusion list.
“The assessment of the data provider raised concerns regarding the governance structure and substandard sustainability performance,” said director Twan van Erp.
He said he could not disclose the name of the provider because of contractual agreements. Van Erp confirmed that the fund, therefore, does not plan to invest in SpaceX.
“We invest in developed market equities through a mandate with a customised benchmark that is managed passively. Our exclusion policy is incorporated into that benchmark. As a pension fund, we determine which companies to exclude based on pre-defined objective criteria. This has resulted in the exclusion of SpaceX.”
Despite the exclusion, the pension fund will participate in an engagement process led by fiduciary manager Achmea Investment Management.
“This is being initiated because the ESG data provider has changed its assessment under our compliance-with-international-standards policy to ‘alleged controversy’. That has triggered the start of an engagement process with the company,” Van Erp said.
He explained that engagement forms part of a broader programme established and implemented by Achmea IM on behalf of participating clients.
“It is not unusual for us to participate in engagement with a company in which we do not currently invest. If a company takes sufficient steps to address the concerns raised, it may become investable in the future, provided it also meets our other ESG criteria.”
Van Erp stressed that the pension fund’s decision is separate from any decision taken by sponsor Achmea regarding whether to exclude SpaceX.
“Pension Fund Achmea makes its own independent assessment in this respect, separate from Achmea’s position as an insurer.”
The pension fund previously excluded Tesla, which is also controlled by Elon Musk, citing breaches of labour standards.
