| Title of Document: |
Luxembourg, Europe’s premier hub for cross-border SRI funds, creates a new label for renewable energy |
| Keywords: |
cross-border SRI funds, new label for renewable energy, SRI (sustainable and responsible investments), annual conference, ALFI, LuxFLAG, Eurosif |
| Author: |
The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry |
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| Codex-Banking publication date: 02/12/2010 |
| Date of Original Publication: 02/12/2010 |
| Country: Luxembourg |
Summary: ALFI, 9 February 2010, second annual Conference on SRI:
Gathering more than 150 European experts from a variety of fields, this years’ event comforted ALFI to intensify its efforts in this key area.
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SRI - Sustainable and Responsible Investments
For ALFI president Claude Kremer, it is a natural step, consistent with Luxembourg’s responsibility as a financial center: “Luxembourg is Europe’s largest investment fund center and a world-wide leader in cross-border fund distribution. As such, it has a duty towards investors and must pursue its role as laboratory for innovation in the area of responsible investment. Its location at the heart of Europe combined with strong relations with the world’s leading asset managers enable it to identify and spread best practices throughout the financial sector.”
Luxembourg: Europe’s premier hub for cross-border SRI funds
As one of Europe’s leading financial centers, Luxembourg has been part of the drive toward responsible investment and is working to promote its expansion around the world.
The SRI Conference is part of an overall approach initiated by ALFI in 2004, with the creation of a task force dedicated to promoting and developing socially responsible funds.
According to a study presented at the conference by Mark McFee, data and research analyst at Thomson Reuters, 86% of assets under management of crossborder SRI funds are now invested in funds domiciled in Luxembourg.
The ALFI task force has first focused its work around microfinance and was instrumental in creating and implementing the “LuxFLAG” microfinance label, launched in July 2006.
In addition, since 2007 ALFI has been an active member of the European Forum on Responsible Investing (Eurosif), and is a frequent participant in discussions and debates on development projects.
The commitment of the Luxembourg government has also contributed to the increase in expertise in this area.
Eurosif(European Sustainable Investment Forum): organization for the promotion of SRI, socially responsible investing and sustainable development.
Responsible investing: full of promise and momentum for a bright future
For ALFI, responsible investment has a promising future, linked to today’s issues of sustainable development and climate change. Responsible funds provide viable long-term investment solutions for retirement financing.
For instance, pension funds are highly powerful vehicles in SRI development. And despite certain perceptions, while the main objective of SRI is not only financial performance, such funds often see substantial yields as a result of solid governance.
LuxFLAG advances its SRI approach with the creation of a new label
The Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG), a joint venture between the Luxembourg Government and stakeholders of the financial industry, announced at the ALFI SRI conference that it is now working on establishing a new label for SRI funds investing in the sector of renewable energies/climate change.
According to Daniel Dax, General Manager of LuxFLAG: ”this project will increase transparency for investors and enable them to distinguish those financial institutions that are truly committed to responsible practices”.
The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI)
59, Boulevard Royal
L-2449 Luxembourg
Tel.: + 352 22 30 26 1
http://www.alfi.lu
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