OUR EXPERTISE Sustainable & Responsible Investments



Investors can’t afford to ignore SRI

Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) strategies incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors in their investment processes, and have been growing in popularity among institutional investors for several years. Now, they’re making big inroads into retail investors’ portfolios, too.

Why is this? Evidence shows that there is a positive relationship between a company’s ESG performance and its financial returns, and considering ESG factors could also help minimise a portfolio’s exposure to current and future risks.

And just as importantly to many investors, it can help them make a positive impact on society and the environment through their investments.

LEADING THE WAY IN SRI OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES

At the forefront of SRI for 20 years

We’ve been running responsible investment portfolios since 1996. The core of our conviction has always been that investment opportunities and risks can’t be fully evaluated using traditional financial measures alone: to ensure a complete view of each company’s prospects, we need to consider its ESG practices.

Over the years we’ve increased our range of SRI capabilities such that today, we provide our investors with the broadest range of SRI portfolios and services in  Europe.  Using a unique approach to Best-in-Class ESG screening, we cover all the main asset classes and geographic areas, as well as providing dedicated SRI advisory services.

Practising what we preach

At Candriam, SRI isn’t just about providing responsible investment services – it’s our deeply held conviction that we need to act responsibly in everything we do as a company.

This includes:

  • Forming long-term, sustainable partnerships with our clients
  • Fostering the long-term development of our staff and an attitude of responsibility among all our employees
  • Adopting rigorous corporate governance and compliance procedures
  • Publishing a yearly Sustainability Report outlining our actions as a responsible company

Dialogue: the key to success

  • Our SRI analysts maintain direct contact with all the companies we invest in
  • We support collaborative engagement initiatives to promote responsible pratices among companies and investors
  • We’ve been engaging with companies through an increasingly elaborate active proxy voting policy since 2003


Our approach to SRI

Our SRI investment process involves constructing a universe of companies with best-in-class ESG practices, and from there investing in the companies with the best financial prospects. As well as helping us pinpoint the most attractive opportunities, this approach enables us to minimize financial and ESG risks.

  • Macro and micro screening: a unique approach

Long-term sustainability trends can have a major impact on the environment in which companies operate. Our macro analysis gauges a firm’s exposure to major sustainability challenges.

Our micro analysis measures a company’s ability to incorporate stakeholder interests in its long-term strategy, while our in-house best-in-class screening assesses risks and opportunities for each firm.

  • Norms-based analysis: responsible security selection

Norms-based analysis determines whether companies and countries comply with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact and major international treaties. This ensures we only invest in line with recognised international standards.

  • Controversial activities check: applying our convictions

For us at Candriam, responsibility also involves paying attention to controversial activities including adult content, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, weapons, and involvement in oppressive regimes. We exclude from our SRI universe companies whose level of involvement in any of these activities exceeds a certain level.


Our offer

  • The broadest range of SRI solutions in continental Europe: active equity, fixed income, money market and asset allocation solutions, as well as passive equity and bond portfolios
  • Active ownership services: proxy voting and ongoing company dialogue
  • Impact investing: direct investments in projects aiming to generate social and environmental benefits
  • SRI portfolios and services tailored to meet your own beliefs and needs


Deep SRI resources

Candriam’s SRI investment team is one of the largest in  Europe.

Our 35 fund managers and 13 dedicated SRI analysts have longstanding experience and a range of complementary professional backgrounds, and they specialize in specific sectors and sustainability themes.

By creating synergies with other departments and business lines within Candriam, the team aims to add value for each of our clients with the highest-quality SRI services.


A natural partner

We believe there are some excellent reasons to choose Candriam for SRI:

  • A wide selection: the biggest range of SRI funds in continental Europe
  • In-depth SRI expertise: the best-resourced SRI team in continental Europe, specialised by sector and asset class
  • A unique approach to best-in-class ESG screening  that we apply across asset classes
  • Vast SRI knowledge and experience: running SRI strategies since 1996
  • Ability to customize dedicated SRI solutions

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INSIGHTS

Our experts' sustainable views

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SRI Publications


  • Transparency Codes
  • Engagement Report
  • Proxy Voting Report
  • CSR Report


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SRI at Candriam in figures

1996

 Leading the way in SRI for nearly two decades

26%

  of our assets under management are in pure SRI strategies

35

 Fund managers

13

 Analysts