Sustainability and Corporate Governance Report 202
0 1
HANDELSBANKEN FONDER – IN-DEPTH REPORT In-depth r
eport Additional activities 2020 • We helped develop a new framework, the PAII Net Zero Investment Framework, to guide investors in making positive changes in society in line with the Paris Agreement. This work takes place in the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), where Handelsbanken Fonder is an active participant. • Four more of our funds – Handelsbanken Europa Småbolag, Handelsbanken Finland Småbolag, Handelsbanken Sverige Tema and Handelsbanken Sverige Selektiv – were awarded the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is the official eco-label in the Nordic region that guides consumers to make good environmental choices. Read more at svanen.se/spararen. • We invested SEK 319 million in Sweden’s first green government bond. The money financed through the bond will be linked to expenditure in the state budget and will help Sweden to achieve its environmental and climate objectives. • An important step on our sustainability journey is to raise the minimum level of all our funds. We have therefore continued to align our funds to ensure that more people apply all our exclusion requirements. At the end of the year, total assets under management in these funds were SEK 678 billion, corresponding to about 96 per cent of fund volume. First half of 2021 • The EU Action Plan on financing sustainable growth introduces several legislative measures in the coming years that affect Handelsbanken Fonder as asset managers. Under one of the new regulations, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which took effect on 10 March 2021, we are now reporting even more sustainability-related information, both at the fund and company levels. • As part of SFDR alignment, we have updated our website, policies, fund prospectus and price list. In 2021, additional regulations will take effect, compelling us to increase transparency around our sustainability efforts even more. • Two more of our funds – Handelsbanken Global Tema and Handelsbanken Tillväxtmarknad Tema – were awarded the Nordic Swan Ecolabel in May. We now offer a total of ten Nordic Swan Ecolabel funds. • In June 2021, we published our third climate report on our exposure to climate-related risks and opportunities, how they affect our investments and our work going forward. The report follows TCFD recommendations for reporting climate-related risks and opportunities. • As of June 2021, our funds Handelsbanken Norge Tema, Handelsbanken Obligasjon, Handelsbanken Kort Rente and Handelsbanken Høyrente also fully apply our exclusion requirements. This means that these funds now also exclude fossil fuels and can invest in companies in transition. • We are continuing to align the remaining funds to achieve the goals we have set for our managed capital. The board of directors has decided on the corresponding alignment for our funds Handelsbanken Norge Index and Handelsbanken Aktiv 30, 50, 70 and 100. The change in these funds will take place pending the approval of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, which is expected to be given in the third quarter of 2021. 54 Information about risk Past performance does not predict future returns. The value of the money invested in the fund can increase or decrease and there is no guarantee that all of your invested capital can be redeemed. The fund’s prospectus (“Informations broschyr”), fund rules and KIID are available at handelsbanken.se/funds.