fair-finance: Most Socially-Responsible Pension Fund Central Europe 2016

Grown out of a fair-trade initiative set up by its founder, fair-finance is a next step in an ongoing quest to level the playing field and promote sustainability. fair-finance currently manages in excess of €360m. The fund receives inflows under Austria’s mandatory severance pay legislation under which companies must make provisions for workers’ compensation.

fair-finance steers clear of high-yield bonds and emerging market debt. In order to reduce its dependency of the bond market, fair-finance launched a real estate investment fund to take a stake in multi-tenant buildings in the Austrian capital Vienna. fair-finance has commissioned the development of its own, innovative list of criteria for its sustainable real estate Spezialfonds (a specialised fund for institutional investors only). The set of criteria allows to not only assess new constructions but mainly also existing properties according to sustainability standards. Unlike most ratings this valuation does not focus primarily on energy efficiency. Instead it takes into account criteria in four groups such as location, thermal comfort, ecological valuation of the building material, as well as ethics and transparency.

Investments in micro-finance programmes are also underway, representing around 8 % of the fund’s portfolio.

The strict sustainability criteria used by fair-finance have guided the fund towards Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, Portuguese an Irish sovereign bonds. The portfolio also contains Austrian corporate bonds that meet the fund’s demanding ethical standards. The approach has not dampened returns. Since receiving its first inflows from new members in 2011, fair-finance has over a 5-year term outperformed both the overall market and its competitors.

The CFI.co judging panel noted that fair-finance actively seeks to put its clients’ funds to good use. Driven by a desire to contribute towards a better society, the fund’s managers remain firmly grounded and keep their focus on the bottom line. Thanks to a proprietary investment strategy, developed in-house, fair-finance has managed to attain peak performance. The judges are pleased to offer fair-finance the 2016 Most Socially-Responsible Pension Fund Central Europe Award for a second consecutive year.