Sustainable funds – strictly sustainable

With our Sustainable funds, you can focus on companies and countries that contribute to achieving one or more of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Your benefits with Sustainable funds

The portfolio's reduction of CO2e intensity is in line with the Paris Agreement.

Controversial and questionable business practices are covered by our more comprehensive exclusion criteria.

Returns are sought through products and services with societal benefits.

Environmental, social and governance criteria are taken into account for these investments.

By engaging in investment stewardship, we are in constant dialogue with companies and exercise our voting rights.

The portfolio's reduction of CO2e intensity is in line with the Paris Agreement.

Environmental, social and governance criteria are taken into account for these investments.

Controversial and questionable business practices are covered by our more comprehensive exclusion criteria.

By engaging in investment stewardship, we are in constant dialogue with companies and exercise our voting rights.

Returns are sought through products and services with societal benefits.

Invest in SDG securities

Be at the forefront on the journey towards greater sustainability! With the Sustainable funds, you can focus on investments in securities of companies and countries that make a contribution. By investing in SDG securities that contribute to the fulfilment of sustainability goals, you generate returns through societal benefits in accordance with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). According to UN PRIs, achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals will create additional GDP of around USD 12 trillion annually and 380 million new jobs worldwide by 2030.*

* Source: UN Principles Study for Sustainable Investment; "The SDG investment case"

Learn more about the sustainability goals and areas of the UN and how investing in SDG securities is in line with these principles.

Investments in SDG securities

Investment process for Sustainable funds

All securities in the investment universe go through a sustainability process. This ensures that companies and states with the strongest positive societal benefits can be found in our Sustainable portfolios.

With the exclusion criteria, we identify companies and industries whose activities are not in line with our understanding of sustainable development. In an in-depth analysis and using proprietary models, we identify companies that have best integrated the requirements of sustainability into their business activities and strategies.

These are companies that recognise the market opportunities and risks of current and future challenges and can benefit from attractive growth and significant competitive advantages. At the end of this multi-stage examination, around 30 percent of the original investment universe remains.

Further sustainability criteria for the Sustainable funds

Paris Agreement

We align ourselves with the Paris Agreement in our Sustainable funds. As a pioneer in Switzerland, we focus our investment activities on the <2-degree target and in some cases on the 1.5-degree target in accordance with the Paris Agreement by reducing the CO2e intensity of investments in the respective investment funds by at least four percent annually. We reduce the number of CO2e-intensive companies and countries that have no strategies for cutting CO2e emissions in favour of companies and countries that are efficient in terms of their carbon footprint as well as those that pursue ambitious targets for reducing CO2e. In our engagement activities, we also encourage companies to formulate and implement effective CO2e reduction targets. Read more about our climate goal.

ESG integration

ESG criteria (E: environmental, S: social, G: governance) form an integral part of our active investment process. The systematic integration of ESG criteria in the financial analysis allows us to identify risks and opportunities at an early stage and creates added value for you as well as a solid basis for good investment decisions.

Exclusion criteria

We use a blacklist. The blacklist contains companies that do not comply with international conventions and Swiss laws. This involves business areas such as the development, production, warehousing and distribution of cluster munitions, anti-personnel land mines and nuclear weapons. In addition, many other exclusion criteria are applied. Read more about the application of exclusion criteria.

Investment stewardship

With our investment stewardship, we aim to promote sustainable business practices and compliance with recognised international principles and ESG best-practice standards. We are in constant dialogue with corporate management. We do this through the United Nations' Collaboration Platform for Responsible Investment (UN PRIs) and through investor initiatives. We exercise our voting rights on the basis of Swiss and international corporate governance regulations as well as the principles of the UN Global Compact and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Read more about investment stewardship

Transparency

You have access to detailed reporting on your investment funds – including sustainability indicators such as ESG ratings, CO2e intensity and excluded companies. You can find the reports in our product area.

All Sustainable investment funds at a glance