Evli has been awarded the SFR "Responsible Investment Award 2021" for the best expertise in responsible investing in asset management in Finland.
Evli has been awarded the "Responsible Investment Award" for the best responsible investment (ESG) expertise in Finland in the recent SFR institutional asset management client survey. In its client survey, SFR Scandinavian Financial Research assessed 18 different asset management companies on their responsible investment expertise based on the views of Finland's largest professional institutional investors. Evli was rated the best in responsible investment expertise both among “Large” asset managers and among all asset management companies.
For years, Evli has been actively and systematically developing its approach to responsible investment and has raised responsibility to become one of its strategic focus areas. In Evli's asset management business, responsible investment - i.e., taking into account the environmental, social and governance factors - is a systematic part of investment decision-making, and sustainability factors are firmly integrated into investment activities.
In 2021, Evli was among the first asset managers to set climate targets for its operations.
"Evli aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions from its own operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 2025 at the latest and to halve the carbon emissions of its investments by 2030. Our goal is to be a fully net zero asset manager by 2050 at the latest, investment environment permitting. This applies both to emissions from our own operations and from our investments," says Kim Pessala, Head of Institutional Wealth Management at Evli.
"At Evli, we are working to ensure that our operations are in line with the 2015 Paris climate agreement target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. This is very important to us and we want to take responsibility through concrete actions. Institutional investors and asset managers have an important role to play in influencing the way companies operate," continues Pessala.
According to Pessala, companies are now listening with an increasingly "sensitive ear" to investors' views and demands.
"Nowadays, investors increasingly want to take responsibility into account when choosing investments. They also demand transparency and adequate analysis and reporting on sustainability issues. This is why Evli produces extensive and comprehensive sustainability reports for all client and fund portfolios, including a calculation of the carbon footprint of investments."
Another major driver of change in the market is the EU's sustainable development agenda, according to Kim Pessala. The EU is pushing hard to promote the goals of the Paris Agreement through financial markets. This means that, in the future, the EU will classify companies' activities according to what can be defined as environmentally sustainable. This means a clear increase in reporting obligations on sustainability by companies, including fund managers, in a timely manner.
"The EU's aim is to channel more money into responsible investments. Those whose funds and services already meet the sustainability criteria well will be in a strong position."
For more information:
Kim Pessala, Head of Institutional Wealth Management, Evli Bank Plc, tel: +358 9 4766 9141, kim.pessala@evli.com
Evli’s Responsible Investment site →
In 2021, the SFR* institutional asset management client survey included participation from insurance companies, pension institutions, charitable foundations, municipalities, parishes, universities and other institutional investors. Evli was ranked second in the survey out of 18 asset managers in terms of overall quality and is the second most used institutional asset manager in Finland, according to the survey. More than 67% of the institutions surveyed use Evli's asset management services.
This year's high ranking is a continuation of Evli's excellent performance in institutional asset management client surveys. In the annual KANTAR Prospera** institutional asset management client survey, Evli was selected as the best institutional asset manager in Finland in 2021. Evli has also been ranked first in the KANTAR Prospera client survey in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, in addition to 2021.
* SFR Scandinavian Financial Research, “Institutional Investment Services Finland 2021, Competitive Positioning Report”
** KANTAR Prospera, "External Asset Management Finland”; 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
