Responsible Investor

doing in-house. And we are already applying the same exclusion principles to external managers as we do to the internal portfolios.
We’ve excluded companies that make anti-personnel landmines and cluster bombs from internal portfolios and we’ve asked external managers to do the same.
Responsible Investor: Does the fund have specific sustainability related investments?
Rob Lake: We’ve got a number of investments that are financially attractive because of the way that sustainability issues now work in the market. We’ve got around €500m in carbon funds, for example, with opportunities created by the fact that companies now have to pay a price to emit carbon. People have set up carbon funds that invest in projects in developing countries usually, often China, Brazil and Mexico, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to sell in the market the resulting credits. We’ve got €250m in a private equity mandate invested in clean technology jointly with PGGM and we’ve just announced a new investment in renewable energy infrastructure. We’re seeking to capitalise on these existing strongly sustainability driven opportunities that are now coming into the market because of the ways that the issues work.

Responsible Investor: How do you look at other asset classes such as bonds or alternative assets in responsible investment terms?
Rob Lake: There are attractive investment returns to be had, so a clean tech private equity mandate for €250m is capitalising on existing opportunities created by strong policy incentives and subsidies, for example, for clean technology. That’s a clear-cut investment opportunity.

We’re also talking to Alpinvest, our private equity manager jointly owned with PGGM, about wider issues. Clearly the question of the transparency of private equity managers has very been a subject of public discussion in recent months, so we are having discussions with them about how they, in turn, deal with the people running the funds that they invest money in. Over time, through discussion rather than coming in with a heavy hammer, we can develop approaches to responsible investment in the way that they work.
Similarly with hedge funds there are already attractive investment opportunities being identified and exploited by some of the hedge funds we put money into in renewable energy and emerging markets for example.
The commitment that we have made to look at all asset classes means that we will over time we will be seeking ways to develop the same approach right across all asset classes including hedge funds.
Responsible Investor: How does ABP balance fiduciary duty fit with responsible investment?
Rob Lake: ABP has made a commitment to explore the relevance of sustainability issues to its investment management operations. But it still has an overriding obligation under Dutch and European law, which is couched in financial terms. ABP exists to make investments and pay people’s pensions and we can’t simply abandon that objective. Our interest in sustainability is seen very much in the context of that overriding financial obligation that we have in law.
There are, some would argue, things that need to be invested in, to help solve the world’s problems, but those things are not currently financially attractive. People

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