Swedish pensions and insurance group Länsförsäkringar said it ramped up its investments in green and sustainable bonds last year, tripling its holdings in the debt type to over SEK9bn (€850m) – more than 7% of its total assets under management.

Kristofer Dreiman, head of responsible investment at Länsförsäkringar, said: “The rapid move in 2019 has been possible because we are increasingly making our own direct investments in green bonds in the primary market.”

He said that since the company had strengthened and focused its management towards this market, it had also been able to positively affect the return.

Investments in green and sustainable bonds for the institutional portfolios in the firm’s divisions Länsförsäkringar Liv, Sak and Fondliv increased to SEK9.5bn at the end of 2019 from SEK3.2bn at the beginning of the year, the group said.

Issuance of the green and sustainable bonds that the firm now holds is divided between companies, supranational and intergovernmental organisations, both local and global, Länsförsäkringar said, with the bonds coming from 90 different issuers.

“We have a clear ambition to increase our proportion of climate-smart investments,” said Dreiman.

He said Länsförsäkringar aimed to align its portfolios with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2030.

The firm also said an analysis showed most of the capital it had invested in green bonds had gone to issuers that intended to combat climate change, and to those targeting climate adaptation.

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