Amundi will manage a European equity index fund that is aligned with the Paris Agreement for 12 French institutional investors.
The initiative, which was launched last year to help with the firms’ objectives to combat global warming through a variety of investment solutions aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, has been coordinated by Caisse des Dépôts, the investment arm of the French public sector.
Along with Caisse des Dépôts, EDF and ten French insurers – Allianz France, Aviva France, Axa France, BNP Paribas Cardif, BPCE, CNP Assurances, Crédit Agricole Assurances, Macif, Maif and Société Générale Assurances – make up the 12 institutional investors.
Amundi has partnered with STOXX, the index provider of Qontigo, to create an index specifically for this mandate, the Euro iSTOXX Ambition Climat PAB index.
The solution implements a carbon intensity reduction of over 50% versus the original investment universe and includes ESG and climate sector exclusion thresholds such as tobacco, controversial weapons and coal.
It also targets an annual reduction in carbon intensity of 7%, in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 1.5°C scenario.
The weightings of the stocks in the index will be adjusted according to the companies’ transition progress which is assessed in relation to commitments made under the Science Base Target Initiative (SBTI).
The index will gradually exclude companies that do not set targets as defined by SBTI and therefore looks to encourage businesses to implement a transition trajectory aligned with the Paris Agreement.
Yves Perrier (pictured), CEO of Amundi, commented: “This is a unique initiative in favour of the climate and we thank them for their trust. This initiative is fully in line with the Crédit Agricole Group's climate strategy, under which Amundi is firmly committed to promoting alongside the development of sustainable investment strategies across all its investment platforms.
“We are convinced that index management will play a key role in developing robust and transparent solutions enabling investors to make the transition to a low-carbon economy.”
Amundi expands ESG ETF range with eight-strong launch
The portfolio will be managed by the Amundi’s index management line which is also planning to complete a range of ETFs over the next few weeks including an ETF replicating the same index.
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