French asset management group Amundi said it is now grading some 5,500 securities with an ESG rating from A-G, affecting the weighting of the investment portfolios in €270 billion of the assets it manages.
Assets under management incorporating this grading approach now represent 18.3% of the total €1,475 billion of assets managed by the fund firm, according to an announcement on Friday. The company updated the market on the development of its responsible investment strategy in its third quarter results.
Amundi said it now manages €10 billion in dedicated funds relating to climate change and the financing of a transition to cleaner energy. It said that this sum includes a €4 billion investment in low carbon index funds in partnership with MSCI, €2 billion invested in green bonds and €500 million invested in energy transition.
“Since its creation, Amundi has chosen to make responsible investment one of the company’s founding pillars,” chief executive officer Yves Perrier said.
“An ambitious three-year plan has been adopted to extend this commitment, with three priorities: integrate ESG (environment, social, governance) criteria across Amundi funds, deploy advisory services for institutional clients, increase investments in funds related to projects dedicated to energy transition or with strong social impact.”
Earlier in the month, Amundi announced a three year plan to expand its commitment to responsible investing still further. It plans to integrate ESG factors into the management of all of the group’s funds within three years and offer specific advisory services to institutional clients to assist in building ESG strategies.
The company said that investee companies’ behaviour after shareholder meetings will also factor in the ESG ratings of businesses. There will also be initiatives launched to encourage investing in high socio-environmental impact programmes.
