Protección SA, a corporate pension fund based in Colombia, recently became the 500th asset owner signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

According to the PRI’s website, at least six asset owners have become paid-up signatories since then: Canada Post Corporation Pension Plan, Hampshire Pension Fund, Öffentliche Sachversicherung Braunschweig, Öffentliche Lebensversicherung Braunschweig, Royal London, and Université Laval.

In a blog post on the PRI’s website, Lorenzo Saa, chief signatory relations officer at the organisation, said hitting the 500 mark was “a hugely significant milestone” that came on the back of an annual growth rate of well over 20%.

“Asset owners sit at the top of the investment chain, so there is now a powerful collective force committing to further mainstream responsible investment and lead PRI signatories’ $90trn (€82trn) in assets under management towards more sustainable returns,” he said.

According to Saa’s update investment manager signatories now represent more than 70% of the signatory base, although he said the organisation remained asset-owner led.

By assets under management, the largest PRI asset owner signatories are based in Japan, France, Germany and Austria. By number of signatories, the largest asset owner  bases are the Nordics, the US and the UK/Ireland.

The PRI’s largest asset owners are based in the Nordics, the US, and the UK and Ireland.

This year is the first year that asset owner and investment manager signatories could be delisted under a new accountability model that the PRI has introduced.

The PRI has more than 2,700 signatories in total, including service providers.

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