The UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) has recently awarded NN Investment Partners (NN IP) with the top score (A+) for its strategy and governance approach to responsible investing and environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration. The asset manager stated in a press release that these scores reflect the strength of their approach to responsible investing.
NN IP also received an A+ score on all the equity-related modules and for its external management selection and monitoring (Altis), and further improved its scores on the fixed income modules, reflected by A scores on all three modules.
“We are proud to see that our commitment to responsible investing is again confirmed by the latest PRI assessment. The results reflect how we put our principles into practice by putting capital to work in the real economy to benefit society at large”, said Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen, Chief Investment Officer at NN IP.
In his view, the high scores and improved areas are the result of further increased focus within their combined efforts to drive this forward. “In addition to broadening the integration of ESG factors in the asset classes that we manage, we also advocate for responsible investing in the investment industry in general”, he stated.
Jeroen Bos, Head of Specialised Equity & Responsible Investing, said that it’s “great” to see that they score A+ on all equity modules and sees it as a reflection of their strong efforts to instigate change by engaging with the companies in which they are invested. “Examples include our steadfast ongoing drive to further strengthen the way we integrate engagement work in energy-related sectors and our work in collaborative initiatives such as Climate Action 100+”, he added.
Bos pointed out that the scores also reflect their E, S and G criteria integration in their investment processes. “Achieving the highest score is not where it stops. In the coming period, we will continue to introduce further enhancements to our ESG integration and engagement efforts”, he concluded.
NN IP has been a signatory to the UN PRI since 2008 and has been active in RI since the late 1990s. For the asset manager, their active involvement in this initiative demonstrates their ambition towards RI and underlines their shared responsibility to promote the further integration of ESG criteria and corporate governance in investment decisions for the benefit of society as a whole.
The PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment and is supported by the United Nations. It works to understand the investment implications of ESG factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership practices.