Sweden’s AP7 seeking consultants to advise on Green Impact Equity strategy

Swedish state fund Sjunde AP-Fonden (AP7) is in the process of tendering for a consultant to advise on its search for managers for a new SEK3bn (€311m) ‘Green Impact Equity’ strategy.

Speaking to RI, Per Olofsson, Head of Alternative Investments at AP7, said it was looking for two to four managers to run a portion of its equity portfolio to what he described as a “green impact philosophy”.

Elaborating further, Olofsson said AP7 wants to enhance its green profile and invest more capital with positive green impact and other positive factors.

A tender document seen by Responsible Investor says the structure of the green impact portfolio can be in the form of a segregated fund account or a long only mandate.The tender would represent 1% of its SEK300bn equity portfolio.

Over the past years AP7 has been active in engaging with companies on green issues. In January 2016, the Swedish fund backed a Yale students’ resolution at ExxonMobil that asked the oil company to report on payments it had made to anti-climate change lobbyists, while in October 2015 it joined three other AP funds in asking 11 major carmakers to improve their reporting on public policy interventions surrounding emissions standards.

AP7, the Swedish government’s default fund for the premium pension system, is also currently tendering for service providers to take care of its norms-based analysis and engagement; and another for support in AP7’s thematic approach to ESG issues.