Acting sustainably in all areas is becoming increasingly important for financial service providers. This is evidenced by MainFirst's second sustainability report. By voluntarily publishing this report, the multi-investment boutique clearly demonstrates its awareness of its social responsibility and counts sustainability among its key priorities. The sustainability report further shows that transparency is extremely important to the active asset manager.
The sustainability report: for larger companies, it is mandatory; for MainFirst, it is an expression of its own identity. It is also the logical consequence of a process that has been underway for years: since signing the UN PRI in 2015, MainFirst has incorporated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles into its investment decisions. In its implementation, MainFirst differs from other asset managers in this regard. The multi-investment boutique has not established a separate ESG team. Instead, ESG has become an integral part of every team - whether in Portfolio Management, Risk Management or the Executive Board.
The success proves MainFirst's approach to be right. ESG rating providers have already analysed and positively assessed some of MainFirst's products. Six funds, for instance, have received the prestigious FNG label, a seal of quality for sustainable investment funds in the German-speaking world. In addition, nine out of ten strategies were classified as ESG products according to Article 8 SFDR. However, MainFirst is not resting on its laurels - on the contrary, the forward-looking asset manager intends to integrate ESG even more strongly in further funds and is also striving to achieve the corresponding classifications and labels for these products.
In-house expertise complemented by specialised research
MainFirst's sustainable focus is in line with the company's philosophy: as a comparatively small investment boutique, in-house expertise is of very high importance. Each team developed its own authentic approach, which is complemented by external research. Here, too, the investment culture is reflected: in addition to its partner Sustainalytics, a leading global research and analysis company for environmental, social and governance issues, MainFirst works closely with specialised and innovative providers. For example, MainFirst participates in the CDP initiative to improve data quality and cooperates with Right. based on science. The company provides a model to better classify the carbon footprint of companies and uses this data to limit global warming, as should be the goal since the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.
