What was still a niche market five years ago has developed into a broad customer need and a growing market. In the beginning, institutional investors with a clear sustainability focus (e.g. ecological or social foundations) were mainly interested in ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) products, but over time the circle of interested parties has become larger and broader. In the meantime, hardly any pension fund, insurance company or government institution can ignore the topic of sustainability, and sustainable investments are also finding increasing favor with private investors. The trend clearly does not end with organically grown vegetables on the plate, an electric car in the garage, or solar panels on the roof: sustainability is increasingly being viewed in a more comprehensive and holistic way.
In 2017, OLZ supplemented its risk-optimized investment approach with clear and binding ESG rules for all in-house products. We were thus among the pioneers in what was then still a young market. Since then, not only the market but also our sustainability policy has evolved. In the coming months, we would like to introduce you to the evolution of our ESG criteria and their integration into the OLZ equity strategies in a new blog series «Sustainable Investing with OLZ»:
Latest developments
Situation 2017 – ESG 1.0
For five years now, our proven investment concept based on diversification and risk minimization has also included the aspect of sustainability. This is done at two levels of the investment process: in the selection of the investment universe and in portfolio optimization.