Team up with us Pension funds: our offering

Pension funds: our offering

With total global assets of over 35 trillion US dollars, the investment decisions of pension funds have a huge impact. So it’s fortunate that sustainability criteria are a good fit for creating long-term value and mitigating risks with their investment strategy.

Good returns all around – the appeal of sustainable pension funds

The main aim of pension funds is to achieve long-term returns and mitigate risks. People are now correctly starting to recognize that taking into account environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria is right in line with this goal.

Almost three-quarters of pension fund members in Switzerland – 72 percent – told RobecoSAM in 2014 that they want their pension fund to incorporate financially relevant ESG factors into investment decisions. Even more – 79 percent – believe that sustainable investment strategies lead to better long-term investment decisions. 

There is increasing interest in sustainable pension funds – individuals who invest sustainably want their pension funds to do the same. The interest is so great that regulations are being considered and enacted to require reporting on how well pension funds incorporate ESG criteria in investment decisions. In 2015, France became the first country to introduce mandatory climate change–related reporting for institutional investors. The Swedish government is pressuring the country’s commercial pension funds to find a way to report carbon footprints.

Many large pension funds have become increasingly interested in how long-term value is affected by ESG factors. ESG-related risks and opportunities are now just as relevant as traditional valuation criteria. Thus, sustainability criteria help to better manage risks and to invest with a long-term view for better returns.

Asking the right questions – what to consider with pension funds

When considering sustainability, pension funds need to answer a number of essential questions. In our experience, the key questions are:

  • Are you already including sustainability criteria in your investment decisions?
  • On what sustainability criteria do you want to focus to better manage investment risks?
  • What is the impact on your current investment strategy?

Pension funds need to answer these questions because, increasingly, the public wants to know the answers. The good news is that ESG criteria are coming to be seen as good indicators of well-run companies and, as such, are increasingly used to identify promising long-term investments even for purely financial investors.

We see more and more pension funds looking for guidance on how to include sustainability aspects in their investment strategies. There’s plenty of expertise and research available to help.

Added value – how Credit Suisse supports pension funds

At Credit Suisse we offer a full range of services to institutional clients, including pension funds, who want to incorporate sustainability criteria into investment decisions. Throughout the process, we can help.