Finland’s Church Pension Fund begins hunt for new ESG equity manager

The €1.4bn Church Pension Fund, which represents the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, is looking
for an asset manager to run a €90m ESG equities mandate.
The scheme put out a tender yesterday, seeking to secure a new external manager to run an existing ESG portfolio for Finnish listed equities. The Church Pension Fund declined to say which asset manager currently runs the contract, which is coming to the end of its term.
Magdalena Lönnroth, Portfolio Manager and Head of Responsible Investment at the pension fund, told RI that the ESG dimension of the mandate includes “ESG analysis, engagement, AGM participation and voting, and ESG reporting”. The deadline for applications is the 21 November and must be made in Finnish.A signatory to the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) for nearly a decade, the Church Pension Fund is also the founding member of Finsif ry, the Finnish responsible investment network.
According to its website, it “takes into account corporate responsibility considerations in all investment decisions”, aiming to “continuously and systematically develop responsible investment, participate in the analysis of its various ways and improve the reporting of responsible investment”. 
The fund reports a current allocation of €599m in equity investments, €527 in fixed income, and €348m in “other investments”. It also states an investment return of 5.5% between 1 January and 30 June 2010.