Responsibility is one of Evli’s strategic focus areas for the coming years and Evli is thereby also placing more emphasis on the development of responsibility in its corporate bond funds. ESG integration is now more systematically developed in the Evli Investment Grade, Evli Nordic Corporate Bond and Evli Corporate Bond funds. The funds also follow Evli’s wider exclusion criteria.
In addition, the Responsible Investment Executive Group has widened Evli’s general exclusion criteria, and both companies practicing controversial lending (for example quick loan companies) and companies producing adult entertainment are now excluded from all Evli’s funds.
Mikael Lundström, Chief Investment Officer of Evli Fund Management Company Ltd, explains that responsibility factors have always influenced investment decisions in Evli’s corporate bond funds. “Although our corporate bond funds have regarded responsibility in their investment decisions for many years, we are now paying even more attention to them. At Evli, we believe that taking responsibility issues into consideration will in the long-term influence both the success potential for companies and improve returns for the investors.”
With the development of systematic ESG integration, Evli's portfolio managers and the Responsible Investment team are developing even better ways to model the impact of ESG factors on corporate bond selection and monitoring.
Evli's Responsible Investment team has also been strengthened. Noora Lakkonen started in April as a Responsible Investment analyst, responsible for ESG issues in Evli's corporate bond funds. Lakkonen has a strong background in law as well as both strategy and sustainability development.
In addition to ESG integration, the Evli Investment Grade, Evli Nordic Corporate Bond and Evli Corporate Bond funds follow Evli’s wider exclusion criteria. Therefore, the funds do not invest in companies that manufacture alcohol, weapons, tobacco or controversial weapons, produce adult entertainment or gambling, or dig/drill fossil fuels. Following Evli's climate change principles, the funds also exclude companies with more than 30 percent of their revenue coming from the use of coal for power generation.
Read also:
Evli raises responsibility to a strategic focus area
Evli’s Climate Change Principles
More information on Evli's Responsible Investing >
Additional information:
Outi Helenius, Head of Sustainability, Evli Bank Plc, tel. +358 40 720 6859, outi.helenius@evli.com
