Robeco advocates responsible investing
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - Robeco is introducing a comprehensive policy on responsible investing. Infuture, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors will integrally betaken into account when investment decisions are made. For some years now,Robeco has made active use of its voting right at shareholder meetings ofcompanies in which it invests, and has maintained a dialogue with thesecompanies on how to improve their conduct. These activities will now beexpanded. Furthermore, Robeco is introducing an exclusion policy, which meansthat it will no longer invest in certain companies. Robeco wishes to set anexample by demonstrating the kind of responsible behavior it expects to see fromthe companies in which it invests. The motivation to implement the newcomprehensive policy is to improve the risk-return profile of our clients'investments.Investment policySAM, Robeco's Swissinvestment manager, makes corporate ESG data available to thefund managers, who use this information in their investment decisions. SAM hasmore than ten years of experience with corporate-sustainability assessments andsupplies the data used to compile the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. Inaddition to the mainstream funds, Robeco also has funds that focus specificallyon sustainability themes.Dialogue with companiesResponsible business operations bring long-term rewards for all stakeholders.Robeco will therefore enter into a dialogue, either alone or together with otherinvestors, with the management of companies where conduct could be improved.Robeco has had an active voting policy in place since 2004 and is compliant withnational and international codes in the field of good governance and responsibleinvesting, such as the United Nations (UN) Principles for ResponsibleInvestment; the UN Global Compact and the principles of good governance of theInternational Corporate Governance Network (ICGN).Robeco has been engaged in intensive dialogue with companies for many years. Thefollowing are just some of the issues covered: forced labor; association withcontroversial regimes; sustainability with regard to management remuneration;and the use of water in the textile, drinks and food industries. If dialoguedoes not lead to the desired result, Robeco may exclude companies in the case ofserious systematic violations of generally accepted covenants such as theprinciples of the UN Global Compact. Regrettably, over time, those companiesthat continue to fail to respond to the concerns expressed in the course ofdialogue are also likely to be excluded. From now on we are excluding companiesthat ignore international treaties governing trade in and production ofcontroversial weapons such as cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines. Thenames of these companies can be found on Robeco's web site.Classification for responsible investingResponsible investing further implies transparency on costs, risks and returnson the part of Robeco towards its clients. In future, Robeco's websites willdisplay a responsible-investing classification (formulated in cooperation withSustainalytics, an independent bureau) for each one of the Robeco funds. On thebasis of this classification, a client can choose whether or not to take certainfactors into account when constructing a portfolio. This applies to Robeco's ownfunds as well as third-party funds. Robeco will no longer advise third-partyfunds that have investments in companies producing controversial weapons.Robeco's own business operationsFor many years, Robeco has been intent onreducing the effects of its operationson the environment. Recycled products are used, and the CO2 emissions thatRobeco and its employees generate are being compensated and reduced, among otherthings by making use of video conferencing and by leasing economical companycars.Further information about Robeco's RI policies is to be foundonwww.robeco.com/responsible_investingAbout RobecoRobeco, established in Rotterdam in 1929, offers investment products andservices to institutional and private investors worldwide. It has around EUR135 billion in assets under management (at 31 December 2009).Robeco advocates responsible investing. Environmental, social and governancefactors are integrated into the investment processes, and there is an exclusionpolicy in place. Robeco makes active use of its voting right and enters intodialogue with the companies in which it invests.The product range encompasses equity and fixed-income investments, money-marketfunds, responsible investing and alternative investments, including privateequity, hedge funds and structured products. The various strategies are managedfrom Rotterdam (head office), Boston, Hong Kong, New York, Paris and Zurich.To service institutional and business clients, Robeco has offices in Bahrain,Belgium, Greater China (Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan), France, Germany, Japan,Korea, Luxembourg, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and the United States. Robecohas a banking license in France and the Netherlands, where it can sell itsproducts straight to private clients.Robeco holds a 100% interest in Corestone (Zug, Switzerland), Harbor CapitalAdvisors (Chicago, US) and Transtrend (Rotterdam, the Netherlands). Robeco alsoholds a majority interest in SAM Group (Zurich, Switzerland), a 49% interest inCanara Robeco Asset Management (Mumbai, India) and a 40% interest in AIM(Rijmenam, Belgium).Robeco is part of Rabobank Group, one of the few privately owned banks in theworld with the highest credit ratings from Moody's and Standard & Poor's.Furthermore, within the banking sector, Rabobank is one of the global leaders interms of corporate social responsibility and sustainability.Ronald Florisson, Robeco Corporate CommunicationsOffice: +31 (0) 10 224 2810Mobile: +31 (0) 653 831 586E-mail:ronald.florisson(at)robeco.com
Themen in dieser Pressemitteilung:
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 01.02.2010 - 05:30 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 1009862
Anzahl Zeichen: 0
contact information:
Contact person:
Town:
Rotterdam
Phone:
Kategorie:
Business News
Anmerkungen:
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 100 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Robeco advocates responsible investing
"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Robeco (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
