Positive change is possible
15 sustainable funds of Erste Asset Management with highest award
- All submitted sustainable funds of Erste Asset Management awarded top marks by the association for sustainable investments Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG)
- Total amount of sustainable investments in Austria increased by 29% in 2020 compared to the previous year and reached a new record volume at the end of 2020
- Sustainable investment volume of Erste AM exceeds 14 billion mark
All submitted sustainable investment funds of Austrian investment company Erste Asset Management (Erste AM) were awarded the FNG Siegel seal of approval today. The Forum for Sustainable Investments e.V. (FNG) is the professional association for sustainable investments in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
According to the FNG, the total amount of money invested in Austria, taking into account strict environmental, social and responsible corporate governance (ESG)-related criteria, increased by 29 percent in 2020, reaching a new record volume of 38.9 billion euros at the end of 2020. Sustainable investment funds in particular saw significant inflows, with a volume of EUR 21.2 billion, up around 44 percent year-on-year.
"Positive change is possible. With every additional investor who opts for a sustainable investment fund, the pressure on companies to take sustainable criteria into account in their corporate orientation increases. Here we have been able to demonstrate countless successes in the past and are also very positive for the future," emphasizes Walter Hatak, Head of Sustainability at Erste Asset Management.
281 funds in German-speaking countries put through their paces
The FNG seal, which is awarded for the 6th time this year, is the quality standard for sustainable investment funds in German-speaking countries. The holistic methodology of the FNG seal is based on a combination of ESG standards and several transparency criteria as well as the consideration of labor & human rights, environmental protection or anti-corruption.
281 funds applied for the SRI quality standard FNG Seal. This is 60 percent more than last year and 7 times more since the label was launched in 2015. The number of fund houses applying increased from 73 to 102, and these come from 14 countries.
"ESG is not done yet. After all, that would mean that the climate crisis has been defeated and corporate social ills have been eliminated. We are working every day to achieve this goal, but it will still take some time. The recent award where we received the highest score for all funds submitted (15 in total) confirms that we are on the right track and take our responsibility as an Austrian sustainability pioneer very seriously," Hatak continues.
Market leader in Austria: more than 14 billion euros in sustainable funds
With a sustainably invested volume of more than EUR 14 billion (as of 31.10.2021), in a total of 50 sustainable mutual funds and several special funds of a broad expertise, Erste AM is the market leader and pioneer in the sustainability sector in Austria: already in 2001, the first environmental equity fund was launched, which has been managed in cooperation with WWF Austria since 2006. In 2009, Erste AM was the first fund company in Austria to sign the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).
Since 2012, the fund company has refrained from investing in outlawed weapons, excluded food speculation in all mutual funds in 2013 and has excluded investments in coal mining since 2016. In addition, the fund company decided back in 2015 to sign the Montréal Carbon Pledge agreement. Erste AM thus undertakes to measure and publish the carbon footprint of its portfolios on an annual basis.
Read all about greenwashing and sustainable investing in our new ESGenius newsletter: https://blog.en.erste-am.com/dossier/greenwashing/
For more information, visit www.erste-am.at or https://www.forum-ng.org/de/
AWARDED ERSTE AM-FUNDS
The FNG
The FNG (Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen e.V.), the professional association for sustainable investments in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, represents over 220 members who are committed to more sustainability in the financial industry. It awards the transparency logo for sustainable investment funds, publishes the FNG sustainability profiles and has developed the FNG seal for sustainable investment funds. The FNG is also a founding member of the European umbrella organization Eurosif. www.forum-ng.org
About the FNG Seal
The FNG Seal is the quality standard for sustainable investment funds in German-speaking countries. The holistic methodology of the FNG Seal is based on a minimum standard. This includes transparency criteria and the consideration of labor & human rights, environmental protection and anti-corruption as summarized in the globally recognized UN Global Compact. All companies in the respective fund must also be completely analyzed for sustainability criteria and the product must have an explicit sustainability strategy. Currently taboo are investments in nuclear power, coal mining, significant coal-fired power generation, fracking, oil sands, and weapons & armaments.
About Us
Erste Asset Management (Erste AM) coordinates and is responsible for all asset management activities within Erste Group Bank AG. At our locations in Austria as well as Germany, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary we manage assets of EUR 74 billion (09.2021).
For enquiries, please contact:
Communications & Digital Marketing
Paul Severin
Tel. +43 (0)50 100 19982
E-Mail: paul.severin@erste-am.com
Erste Asset Management GmbH
Am Belvedere 1, A-1100 Wien
www.erste-am.com
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Handelsgericht Wien, DVR 0468703
Disclaimer
This document is an advertisement. Please refer to the prospectus of the UCITS or to the Information for Investors pursuant to Art 21 AIFMG of the alternative investment fund and the Key Information Document before making any final investment decisions. All data is sourced from Erste Asset Management GmbH, unless indicated otherwise. Our languages of communication are German and English.
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