Publications & guidelines

Erste AM guidelines

The Principles of Responsible Investing (PRI) as laid down by the United Nations are the basis of our sustainable investment approach. As signatory of the PRI, Erste Asset Management is committed to the following principles in its investment policy:

  1. We will take into account environmental, social, and governance topics (ESG) in our investment analysis and decision-making processes.
  2. We will be an active owner and integrate ESG topics into our ownership policy and practice.
  3. We will require appropriate reporting of ESG topics from the companies we invest in.
  4. We will promote the acceptance and implementation of the PRI in the investment industry.
  5. We will co-operate with partners so as to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of the PRI.
  6. We will report on our activities and progress in the implementation of the PRI.

We also require our external partners to have either signed the PRI or to follow them
to the greatest extent possible.

Guidelines on minimum ethical standards

These are minimum ethical standards for all mutual funds (bonds, equities) of Erste Asset Management:

Exclusion of controversial weapons

Since 2012 Erste Asset Management has committed to refraining from investments in companies that are involved in controversial weapons. Among them are:

  • Biological and chemical weapons
  • Submunition, including possible launch and ejection systems
  • Anti-personnel mines, mine-planting systems, and other mine systems
  • Nuclear weapons
  • Depleted uranium weapons

All retail funds and portfolios actively managed by Erste Asset Management on a discretionary basis are subject to this obligation.

No speculation on food

In line with the social responsibility of the entire Erste Group, Erste Asset Management committed in 2013 to refraining across all the investment funds and client portfolios it manages from investments that bet on an increase in food prices. In particular, for our multi-asset mandates – both umbrella funds and asset management solutions - we will not invest in third-party funds or derivatives that speculate on food prices.

No investment in coal

In 2016, Erste Asset Management was one of the first investment fund companies in Austria and Europe to commit to the exclusion of investments in coal across all mutual funds on the basis of individual securities (equities and bonds). On 1 July 2021, this policy was tightened by an exclusion of coal-fired power generation and a reduction of the revenue threshold to 5% and supplemented with findings from the Paris Climate Agreement. Therefore, companies that have communicated and committed to exit coal are exempt from the revenue threshold. 

 

Our Exclusion Criteria for the Responsible Funds

1 Based on data from Climate Watch, averaged over the maximum of the last three available years.

Publications

Stewardship policy

We are committed to act as responsible stewards of the assets we manage and take accountability for our actions. By integrating sustainability into our investment strategies, we want to promote corporate responsible behavior to contribute to a positive social and environmental impact. Our stewardship policy describes the scope of our responsible investment practices and the processes in place to foster sustainable performance, with active ownership at the heart of our strategy. 

Biodiversity

The global crisis biodiversity is facing, is a threat to our planet. Our financial and economic systems are not exempt from this. However, investments in nature also offer opportunities. Erste Asset Management's Biodiversity Policy defines concrete measures and goals that are integrated through our engagements and votes, as an active investor.

Active Ownership

By active ownership we mean our responsibility to not only take into account sustainability issues when selecting the securities for our portfolios as investors, but also to actively push for measures towards social responsibility, environmental protection, or stronger transparency from companies that we invest in.

In doing so, we distinguish between engagement, i.e. the formal or informal dialogue with the company, and voting, i.e. the exercise of voting rights at Annual General Meetings (AGMs). Both activities pursue the goal of strengthening the voice that our clients have given us by investing in our sustainable funds and submitting it to the companies.

 

Once a year we report in depth on our voting and engagement activities:

Voting

Voting is the second central pillar of the active ownership approach of Erste AM. We have exercised the voting rights associated with the shares in our ERSTE RESPONSIBLE funds at Annual General Meetings since 2012. Since 2016, we have also extended the exercise the voting rights to our traditionally managed equity funds. This way, we actively project the voice of our clients as indirect owners of the invested companies.

In order to ensure the transparency and consistency of our voting, we have compiled a detailed guideline and regularly and publicly report on our voting behaviour on our voting portal. This guideline does not only apply to our sustainable equity funds, but also to our traditionally managed equity funds.

Engagement

As engaged investor, we want to achieve an active dialogue with the invested companies within the framework of our sustainability process. This way, we can point out weaknesses in environmental, social, or governance areas and subsequently try to jointly find a solution for improvement. Our engagement is not only a question of responsibility but also contributes to the minimization of risk to enhance the long-term investment success of our clients. As we want to drive change in as many companies as possible, we also engage with those in which we are not invested. We carry out engagement through 3 channels:

Disclaimer 

This document is an advertisement. Unless indicated otherwise, data source is Erste Asset Management Ltd. Our languages of communication are Croatian and English. The prospectus (and any amendments to the prospectus) has been published in accordance with the open-end investment funds with a public offering (Official Gazette 44/16, 129/19 i 110/21, 76/22).

Before making a final investment decision, see the prospectus and rules of the fund that are available to all interested parties free of charge, at the management company as well as in all offices of the Depositary. The exact date of the last publication of the prospectus, languages in which the key information for investors are available, as well as information about other places where these documents are available are published on the website www.erste-am.hr.

This document serves as additional information for our investors and is based on the knowledge of the person responsible for preparing it at the time of preparation. Our analyses and conclusions are general in nature and do not take into account the individual needs of our investors in terms of earnings, taxation, and risk appetite.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of the future performance of a fund. Please note that historical return is not a reliable indicator of the future development of the fund. Please pay attention to the fact that investment in securities other than described seems to bring about the risks. Share price and yield may rise as well as fall.