Investment Officer Luxembourg

Investment services in the Netherlands are the cradle of a true, possibly EU-wide revolution in finance: following in the footsteps of asset owners, such as pension funds, the major banks are replacing investment funds with so-called mandate solutions in their client portfolios.

The European Commission has identified six key areas to raise its ambitions in the field of sustainable finance. One of them is sustainable finance. To this end, it has drafted a regulation to establish a European standard for green bonds (EUGBS).

This proposal will be a voluntary standard available to all issuers to help finance sustainable investments. Green bonds are already being used to attract financing in sectors such as energy production and distribution, resource efficiency in housing and low-carbon transport infrastructure.

Since the outbreak of the Covid crisis, institutional investors have been increasingly looking towards sustainable funds. However, risk management is proving a major challenge, according to a study by asset manager Schroders.

Despite the huge cost in terms of human lives and economic damage of the corona crisis, European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) summarises the performance of the European fund industry as ‘resilient’. 

This was reflected in the Brussels-based organisation’s 2021 Factbook, published this month. It outlines the most important European trends currently affecting the fund industry. 

Sustainable equity funds invest in a wide range of assets, not just expensive ‘growth’ companies, as is widely assumed, according to Maximilian Anderl, manager of the UBS Equity European Opportunities Sustainable fund.

“Data from external parties are insufficiently transparent to be able to rely fully on in ESG investments. Moreover, the scores of these parties are often based on information and performance from the past. Particularly in the case of sustainability, a tool must help investors look ahead.”