Swiss Re is shifting its portfolio to benchmarks that systematically adhere to environmental, social and governance criteria. The move provides a major boost to ethically-based investment policies.
Zurich-based reinsurer Swiss Re at the beginning of this year started using benchmark indices for its portfolio that adhere to so-called ESG criteria. The company will invest some $130 billion according to ethically and socially acceptable standards, it said in a statement – a substantial sum by any standard.
Swiss Re is the first reinsurer to make the step, it added. It will use ESG indices provided by MSCI. The change toward more responsible investments by the insurance industry has started a while ago though. French insurer Axa for instance proclaimed last year that it stopped investing in tobacco companies. Aviva and Scor have since followed suite.
Swift Adoption
Swiss Re promised to shift its entire portfolio by the end of the year.
«Enhancing our investment portfolio by adopting broad-based ESG benchmarks has been the most meaningful and strategic step in our journey to integrate ESG considerations into the investment process,» said Guido Fuerer, group chief investment officer at Swiss Re. «These benchmarks represent a suitable tool to achieve the desired investment behavior and set the right measurement both from a performance and ESG perspective.»
