The Sparinvest Group is an international asset manager with origins in Denmark, but now based in Luxembourg. Sparinvest specialises in value investment for equity and bond funds, and offers
A range of asset management solutions.[1]At the end of 2017, Sparinvest managed €10,5 billion in assets.[2]
Sparinvest’s Responsible Investment Policy states that “all Sparinvest strategies exclude investments in (..) [b]anned weapons”, including “anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions, biological weapons, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty”.[3] However, this does not exclude companies that produce nuclear weapons for the five recognised nuclear armed countries under the treaty.[4]
The exclusion policy applies to all asset management activities, including the Group’s Danish range of passively managed funds.[5]
Sparinvest maintains an exclusion list to implement its disinvestment policy. The list, which is based on the findings of data provider ISS Ethix SRI Advisors, is not publicly available.[6]
Sparinvest was also found to have below-the-threshold investments in nuclear weapon producing companies identified by this report.
We commend Sparinvest for adopting a public policy on nuclear weapons. We recommend Sparinvest apply its policy to all nuclear weapons producing companies regardless of their country of origin. We look forward to engaging with Sparinvest, so a strong and comprehensively applied policy may be listed in the Hall of Fame in a future update of this report.
[1] Sparinvest, “Group Description”, Sparinvest website (http://www.sparinvest.lu/about%20us/sparinvest%20group.aspx), viewed 23 January 2018.
[2] Sparinvest, “PRI reporting framework 2017”, PRI website (https://reporting.unpri.org/surveys/PRI-reporting-framework-2017/EB0090A1-6196-45F1-9819-DBEB7C34DB91/79894dbc337a40828d895f9402aa63de/html/2/?lang=English&a=1), viewed 23 January 2018.
[3] Sparinvest, “Exclusions”, Sparinvest website (http://www.sparinvest.eu/strategies%20and%20solutions/responsible%20investing.aspx), viewed 23 January 2018.
[4] Sparinvest, written response to PAX, 14 December 2017; Sparinvest, written response to PAX, 1 February 2018.
[5] Sparinvest, written response to PAX, 14 December 2017; Sparinvest, “PRI reporting framework 2017”, PRI website (https://reporting.unpri.org/surveys/PRI-reporting-framework-2017/EB0090A1-6196-45F1-9819-DBEB7C34DB91/79894dbc337a40828d895f9402aa63de/html/2/?lang=English&a=1), viewed 23 January 2018.
[6] Sparinvest, written response to PAX, 14 December 2017.
Last updated March 2018