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Robeco and SVVK-ASIR partner up on sustainable engagement

Investors increasingly wish to have a say on how companies in their investment portfolios are performing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. Robeco’s Active Ownership team enables institutional investors to become active owners of listed companies, by engaging with the aim of maximizing the long-term value of their investments. The Active Ownership team conducts engagement with more than 200 companies in Robeco’s investment portfolio to encourage them to improve performance on climate, biodiversity, human rights and governance issues. The team is part of Robeco’s SI Center of Expertise that consists of over 50 specialists. Robeco’s research teams, portfolio management teams and engagement team work together closely, to make engagements with companies more effective.

SVVK-ASIR was founded in 2015 by seven major pension funds, compenswiss (first pillar) and the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund SUVA. Today the association has 11 members representing total assets under management of more than CHF 300 billion.

As part of Robeco’s commitment to making financial markets more sustainable, the company collaborates with a diverse range of academic and standard-setting institutions such as the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), and the Climate Action 100+ group, as well as NGOs working at the cutting edge of sustainability issues globally.

Tamara Hardegger, Managing Director at SVVK-ASIR, said: «Our member funds believe in positive change through dialogue. Partnering with Robeco allows us to deepen and broaden our commitment to positive change in the key areas of biodiversity and nature loss, climate change and systemic human rights issues. We are delighted to be working with such an experienced team to do this in the most effective way. »

Peter van der Werf, Head of Engagement at Robeco, said: «We are looking forward to working together closely with the team at SVVK-ASIR. Robeco has been recognized as a leader in the field of Engagement since 2005, and we represent large institutional investors in engagement with their portfolio holdings to strengthen their performance in managing sustainability risks and capturing opportunities in the transition. »