Assoprevidenza, the Italian association of the complementary pension sector, will start ranking asset managers according to their ESG strategies and the role played by sustainability in governance processes, it announced today.
The members of the association will use the metric provided by research company ET.Group to rank asset managers, tender and renew mandates.
The ranking of asset managers is based on the Integrated Governance Index (IGI) ESG.IAMA, a quantitative index measuring ESG in the governance of an asset manager operating in Italy, in their products and their sustainability goals.
The metric helps identify the right products among “the flood of sustainable funds” on the market and protects against reputational risks of asset management companies investing on behalf of pension investors, Assoprevidenza and ET:Group said in a joint statement today.
Sergio Corbello, president of Assoprevidenza, said: “We are convinced that the alignment of assets invested [by pension institutions] to ESG principles represents an important piece of risk assessment.”
Assoprevidenza follows in the footsteps of the pension fund association Assofondipensione, which is also using the ESG.IAMA index to select asset managers.
Fondo Pensione Pegaso, the pension scheme for employees of Italian utility companies, started using ESG.IAMA to select asset managers for mandates, while Solidarietà Veneto, the pension fund for the workers in the Veneto region, used the tool to monitor the ESG approach of asset managers to re-tender mandates.
ET.Group is working to next year launch a version of ESG.IAMA specifically ranking asset managers specialising in private market investments.
A scientific committee, set up earlier this month, which includes representatives of Assonime, the association of Italian joint-stock companies, Aifi, the association of private equity, venture capital and private debt, Assofondipensione, asset managers association Assogestioni, and Assoprevidenza, will work to refine the ESG.IAMA index.
Luca Testoni, founder of ET.Group, said: “The agreement with Assoprevidenza is a crucial step for the ESG.IAMA project, in order to make this assessment a standard. Pension investors drive the transition, but require the right tools for fund selection.”
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