As the current «Swiss Sustainable Investment Market Study 2020» by Swiss Sustainable Finance shows, the investment trend continues to move clearly in the direction of sustainability. In Switzerland, assets worth CHF 1,163 billion are invested sustainably. This corresponds to around a third of the locally managed investments. This represents an increase of 62% compared to the previous year.
The climate footprint of portfolios is receiving increasing attention. Among other things, our research also deals with the integration of climate compatibility criteria. The European Union sees itself as a pioneer and is working on standards for "environmentally friendly" financial investments. In particular, these standards are linked to extensive information requirements.
OLZ has already converted all strategies and investment funds to sustainability in 2017. ESG criteria for environmental, social and corporate governance issues were integrated into the investment process. How we do this, you can read here. Since January 2020, our customers have been receiving an annual report with the sustainability profile of their personal portfolio.
In a guest contribution to the study, we analyse the impact of ESG on the performance of factor portfolios. Most meta-studies conclude that ESG improves performance. However, we believe that ESG is a value in itself and not necessarily a way to improve returns. The added value goes beyond risk/return considerations. There are other, more effective ways to improve performance relative to the benchmark.
