Responsible Investing

We at United Bankers want to offer our clients the opportunity to make responsible and profitable investments and to increase our clients’ wealth in a responsible and sustainable way. The objective of our investment activities is to attain optimal returns both in the long and short term, at the individual risk level selected by each client.

As sustainability increasingly impacts companies’ chances for future success, incorporating sustainability aspects in investment decisions improves expected returns. We believe that analyzing environmental, societal, and governance matters alongside key financial figures broadens the understanding of the investment object, alongside related risks and opportunities.

Sustainability constitutes an integral part of risk management, but it also promotes positive development. Positive impacts of investments arise from what the companies do and how responsibly they operate. Our objective in the long term is to minimize the negative climate impacts of our investments and to increase their positive impacts on the environment and society.

At United Bankers, responsible investment is at the core of investment activities, and investment decisions consider how environmental, social, and governance responsibility materialize in the investment objects and how the investments promote sustainability goals. We are happy to provide information on the sustainability of our investments and we strive to take our clients’ sustainability preferences into account.

Responsibility in our investment activities

Responsibility is at the core of our investment activities. We consider sustainability aspects in funds, in discretionary asset management, and in other investment products we offer (excluding index-based products). Integrating sustainability aspects into United Bankers’ products and services also constitutes an integral part of the Group’s overall risk management. In the selection of investment objects, sustainability is considered prior to making the investment decision. The materialization of sustainability is monitored throughout the investment period and reported to investors on a regular basis.

Responsible investment at United Bankers

The United Bankers Principles for Responsible Investment steer our investment activities. These principles describe the operating procedures and principles for responsible investing.

PRINCIPLES FOR RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT

Exclusion is one of the responsible investment methods we employ. We have excluded from our investments companies involved in the manufacturing and sales of controversial weapons (land mines, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, and biological and chemical weapons), as well as companies participating in the development and production of nuclear weapon programs. Moreover, we do not invest in tobacco, weapons (excl. defence industry), black coal production, gambling, or adult entertainment.

ESG INTEGRATION IN INVESTMENTS

We analyze investment objects from the responsibility aspect as a part of our investment decisions. The objective is to identify all material environmental, social, and governance related sustainability risks that may have an impact on the investment. At the same time, we assess the ways in which the investment object promotes United Bankers’ general and, for instance, fund-specific sustainability goals. This allows us to ensure that the investment is aligned with the United Bankers Principles for Responsible Investment and any fund or product-specific sustainability criteria.

ENGAGEMENT AND ACTIVE OWNERSHIP

Engagement constitutes a part of responsible investing, and it supports investment strategy execution by focusing attention on environmental, social, and good governance related aspects of the investment objects. The means we employ include exercising our voting rights at general meetings, direct corporate engagement, participation in investors’ joint initiatives, stakeholder collaboration, and public discourse.

REPORTING AND IMPACTS

Our long-term goal is to minimize the adverse impacts of our investments and to increase the positive impacts on the environment, society, and good governance (ESG factors). In order to assess the progress made to advance these goals, we publish an annual sustainability report of our investment activities. We also regularly report on the sustainability of our funds in interim reviews. Furthermore, we report on our activities according to the UN PRI on an annual basis.

We also broker third-party products. When it comes to our largest fund collaboration partners, we regularly monitor compliance against set responsibility principles. Key factors include, for instance, that the collaboration partners are committed to the UN PRI principles.

We seek to provide our clients with products and services that cater to their needs both financially and from a sustainability point of view. Going forward, United Bankers will identify the sustainability preferences of each client in relation to the offered investment objects and recommend products aligned with their sustainability preferences and sustainability goals.

Unless otherwise stated, the information on this page applies to the following United Bankers Group companies: United Bankers Plc, UB Asset management Ltd, UB Fund Management Company Ltd and UB Nordic Forest Management Ltd.

The matters and information presented in this report are based on sources deemed reliable by the United Bankers Group and on its own assessments. This does not, however, rule out the possibility of error and of the incompleteness of information. The information underlying the conclusions is subject to rapid changes and the United Bankers Group may alter its view without any additional notice. The United Bankers Group or its partners or any of its employees shall not be liable for any damage resulting from the use of the report.