Guidelines for responsible investments
Pareto Asset Management aims at contributing to sustainable development of markets and long-term value creation by investing in a responsible and ethical manner.
We consider it important to integrate sustainability assessments into our investment processes, as this can also affect the long-term value of our investment.
The purpose of our Responsible investments guidelines is to prevent Pareto Asset Management from contributing to the violation of human rights, labour rights, corruption, environmental damage or other unethical actions.
We expect the companies that we invest in to comply with the same principles.
As part of our efforts to promote responsible investments, Pareto Asset Management has signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI). These guidelines are based on UN PRI, the UN Global Compact, the guidelines for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, the Principles for the exercise of ownership rights in investment companies fromthe Norwegian Fund and Asset Management Association, as well as internationally recognised principles and conventions.
OUR GUIDELINES
Responsible investments
Priorities
We seek to invest in companies that have good quality of operations and management. The companies should have a clear focus on ethical issues in their attitudes and actions, as well as having a value base for the business that complies with the guidelines. The companies must exert good corporate governance, comply with national legislation as well as international conventions, and show an open and complementary information policy. This means we emphasise social conditions, the environment, sustainability and good corporate governance when considering a company.
Exclusion
Pareto Asset Management shall not be invested, on behalf of our funds and customers, in
companies which themselves or through entities they control:
- Produce weapons that, in normal use, violate basic humanitarian principles
- Produce tobacco
- Sell weapons or military equipment to states subject to sanctions from the UN Security
- Council or other international measures directed at a particular country that Norway has
supported (mandate for the management of the SPU section 3-1 second paragraph letter c) - Mining companies and power producers that themselves or consolidated with controlled
entities receive 30 percent or more of their revenues from thermal coal, or base 30 percent or more of their operations on thermal coal activity - Produce pornography
Pareto Asset Management may decide to exclude a company if there is an unacceptable risk that
the company contributes or is responsible for:
- Human rights violations, such as killing, torture, deprivation of liberty, forced labour and
exploitation of children, including child labour - Violations of individuals’ rights in war or conflict situations
- Breach of basic employee rights
- Severe environmental damage
- Actions or omissions that at an aggregated company level lead to an unacceptable degree of
greenhouse gas emissions - Corruption
- Other repeated or significant violations of basic ethical norms
Corporate governance
Pareto Asset Management shall exercise active ownership in the portfolio companies in order to promote responsible business operations. This means that we will use our ownership rights and influence in the companies to help move the companies in a positive direction in terms of social relations, environmental issues, sustainability and good corporate governance.
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