Erste Asset Management bans coal mines from all mutual funds

Erste Asset Management bans coal mines from all mutual funds
Erste Asset Management bans coal mines from all mutual funds
© iStock.com
Share post:

Erste Asset Management (EAM) has excluded companies that derive more than 30% of sales from coal mining from its mutual funds. In doing so, EAM is one of the first asset managers to have taken this step. “This was the next logical step for us, having excluded coal mining from our sustainable funds at the beginning of the year,” as Heinz Bednar, CEO of Erste Asset Management, explains.

The entering-into-force of the Paris Agreement (NB. on climate change) has become more likely. In order for the agreement to come into force, it has to be signed by at least 55 countries, which account for a minimum of 55% of global CO2 emissions. With India on board, we are now looking at 62 countries and a total of 52% of global CO2 emissions. Within the framework of these developments, Erste Asset Management is also taking further steps to support the climate goals.

Companies that derive more than 30% of sales from coal mining have been excluded
This threshold excludes all companies, whose core business is coal mining, from the portfolios of EAM´s mutual funds. Whereas so far mainly institutional investors and insurance companies have taken this step, Erste Asset Management has now implemented this resolution for its entire range of mutual funds. Heinz Bednar, CEO of Erste Asset Management: “The almost full exclusion of investments in coal mines is an important step for us towards achieving global climate goals.”

Sustainable funds: energy utility companies are now subject to more stringent criteria
In the sustainable funds of Erste Asset Management, we are going one step further. Energy utilities that derive more than 20% of their energy production from coal will be excluded. We started selling the titles identified from our funds on 1 August.

If one were to take all the companies affected by exclusion in the areas of basic industries and energy utilities out of the MSCI World index, the weighting of these sectors would decline by about 2%. According to calculations by EAM, the CO2 intensity of the benchmark index MSCI World would decrease by about 32% in this case. This means that the remaining companies of the MSCI World index would be 32% less CO2-intense than before.

Coal mines excluded from sustainable funds already at the beginning of the year
EAM excluded all companies that derived at least 5% of their sales from coal mining from the investible, sustainable universe (equities and corporate bonds) in spring 2016. “In doing so, we distinguish between coal as raw material for steel production, which is still permitted and necessary, and coal as fuel, which is discretionary. Therefore, we have excluded the latter one,” as Dominik Benedikt, analyst of the sustainability team of EAM, explains.

1) The CO2 intensity as key ratio indicates the annual emission of CO2 in tons per USD 1mn in sales.

Coal-burning is responsible for a large part of the potential hothouse emissions
Current research results illustrate that a maximum of ten to 20 percent of global coal reserves can be burnt in order to cap global warming at the agreeable value of below two degrees Celsius. Although almost all industries are affected by these challenges, it is mainly the most CO2-intense sectors such as utilities, commodity producers, energy producers, and industrial companies that are faced with the challenge of using an increasing amount of renewable energy and using energy more efficiently.

 

co2_production_infographic

 

RESPOND TO THE ARTICLE

Leave a comment Required fields are marked with *

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Legal disclaimer

This document is an advertisement. Unless indicated otherwise, source: Erste Asset Management GmbH.Our languages of communication are German and English.

The prospectus for UCITS (including any amendments) is published in Amtsblatt zur Wiener Zeitung in accordance with the provisions of the InvFG 2011 in the currently amended version.Information for Investors pursuant to § 21 AIFMG is prepared for the alternative investment funds (AIF) administered by Erste Asset Management GmbH pursuant to the provisions of the AIFMG in connection with the InvFG 2011. The fund prospectus, Information for Investors pursuant to § 21 AIFMG, and the Key Information Document can be viewed in their latest versions at the web site www.erste-am.com within the section mandatory publications or obtained in their latest versions free of charge from the domicile of the management company and the domicile of the custodian bank. The exact date of the most recent publication of the fund prospectus, the languages in which the Key Information Document is available, and any additional locations where the documents can be obtained can be viewed on the web site www.erste-am.com. A summary of investor rights is available in German and English on the website www.erste-am.com/investor-rights as well as at the domicile of the management company.

The management company can decide to revoke the arrangements it has made for the distribution of unit certificates abroad, taking into account the regulatory requirements.

Detailed information on the risks potentially associated with the investment can be found in the fund prospectus or Information for investors pursuant to § 21 AIFMG of the respective fund. If the fund currency is a currency other than the investor's home currency, changes in the corresponding exchange rate may have a positive or negative impact on the value of his investment and the amount of the costs incurred in the fund - converted into his home currency.

This document serves as additional information for our investors and is based on the knowledge of the staff responsible for preparing it at the time of preparation. Our analyses and conclusions are general in nature and do not take into account the individual needs of our investors in terms of earnings, taxation, and risk appetite. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of the future performance of a fund.