Denmark’s Danica Pension announced it is investing DKK1bn (€134m) into a tailored version of BlackRock’s Global Impact Fund – which backs companies contributing to the UN’s Social Development Goals (SDGs).
The pension provider, Denmark’s second largest, said the particular solution it was investing in hand-picked companies in which the majority of their business helped to promote one or more of the SDGs, and which were “particularly well positioned to create solid returns.”
Ole Krogh Petersen, chief executive officer of Danica Pension, said: “By purposefully investing DKK1bn in companies that work to achieve the UN’s global goals, we can support social improvements and contribute to the green transition at a global level.”
He added that this was a natural extension of its goal to invest DKK100bn in the green transition by 2030, and that this collaboration with BlackRock also allowed it to take a step forward in its work to create positive societal development.
Christian Hyldahl, head of continental Europe at BlackRock, said: “It is BlackRock’s belief that we have only seen the beginning of very significant reallocations of capital as a result of the transition to CO2 neutrality.”
The former CEO of Denmark’s largest pension fund ATP added that it was BlackRock’s ambition to support growth in sustainable investment above any other asset manager.
A spokesperson from Danica Pension confirmed to IPE that this was a separate, bespoke fund from BlackRock, tailored to its ambitions to tackle the climate crisis, and social and environmental challenges, while also providing its customers with attractive returns.
Danica Pension said the fund invested in 50-80 companies worldwide, which were selected according to their impact on the SDGs, as well as their long-term return potential.
These included Kenya’s Safaricom, it said, a telecoms operator that facilitated basic financial services for private citizens, and Japan’s Katitas, which it said helped address the shortage of affordable housing in remote regions of the country by buying and renovating old, abandoned houses.
No comments yet