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Engagement process and principles

Our engagement approach is intentionally proactive. As shown in our engagement dashboard, more than 90% of our company dialogues in recent years were planned in advance to support our strategic objectives, rather than triggered by controversies or media events.

We drive change through focused engagement, clear principles, and a range of tools addressing climate, nature, and human rights across our investments. We see the strongest results when collaborating with other investors and engaging directly with companies where our ownership is highest.

Exercising our rights

We believe in exercising our rights as shareholders. We do this in two main ways: by voting at shareholder meetings and by engaging directly with companies - expressing our views in writing or through dialogue with management, advisers, or the Board of Directors.

Both methods can effectively address ESG concerns and provide complementary signals to companies about where we stand on important issues.

Our general principles for engagement

Storebrand's Risk and Ownership Team is in dialogue with a large number of companies each year, seeking to influence them to move in a more sustainable direction. Our engagement approach is based on the following principles:

Creating shareholder value

We believe that companies that proactively manage sustainability risks and adjust their strategies and business models to embrace sustainable solutions, will also create increased shareholder value over time. Thus, our clients' shareholder value also encompasses environmental, social and governance value.

Aiming for a positive impact

We engage with companies not only to address issues when they arise (reactive engagement), but also to proactively raise sustainability standards - helping them manage potential risks before they become impacts and encouraging the adoption of good practices. We therefore allocate more resources to these proactive engagements, working over extended periods and, where possible, alongside other investors to increase leverage and achieve better outcomes.

Leveraging our Nordic position

We prioritise our proactive engagement with Nordic companies, where our regional presence and deep knowledge support constructive, meaningful dialogue that creates value for the companies, for Storebrand, and for our clients. However, our engagement is not limited to the Nordics. When engaging with companies outside the region, we consider factors such as the materiality of ESG risks, the company’s exposure, and our ability to influence outcomes and drive meaningful progress on ESG issues.

Multi-stakeholder engagement

We understand that many sustainability issues cannot be solved by companies or investors alone; they require the involvement of other stakeholders. As a result, we engage with others such as governments, industry organisations, environmental and human rights organisations or labour unions. In particular, we consider policy-level engagement an essential factor in stimulating change since we believe regulation sometimes is required to advance many sustainability issues.

Targeted engagement

We engage companies on their sustainability practices, management of risks to people and the environment, developments in accordance with changing regulations, mitigating reputational risks, and expectations from their shareholders and society at large.

In our experience, we achieve the best results through cooperation with other investors and, when engaging individually, through targeted engagement with companies where our ownership level is highest.

Reducing carbon footprint

The Storebrand Group is committed to reducing the carbon footprint of our investments over time, including a specific commitment to achieving a Net Zero portfolio by 2050.

Climate change is a key focus in our company monitoring, and we regularly engage with companies we believe are lagging in their efforts to reduce emissions, encouraging them to strengthen their climate strategies and performance.

For some of our funds, the carbon footprint may fluctuate substantially due to their investment style. Nevertheless, we remain committed to working with our holdings to reduce their emissions and improve operational efficiency over time.

Engagement alternatives

If the outcome of engaging with companies fails to meet our expectations, the Storebrand Group may consider other actions. If the company is on our observation list, we will make an exclusion assessment. For other companies, our actions may include the following:

  • Expressing our views publicly
  • Proposing resolutions at the company’s Annual General Meeting
  • Requesting an Extraordinary General Meeting

The Storebrand Group may collaborate with other investors where we believe this is in our unit holders' best interests.

When working with other investors to influence companies, the Storebrand Group is always mindful of conflicts of interest and the risk of being in an insider position.

Historical returns are no guarantee for future returns. Future returns will depend, inter alia, on market developments, the fund manager’s skills, the fund’s risk profile and management fees. The return may become negative as a result of negative price developments. There is risk associated with investing in funds due to market movements, currency developments, interest rate levels, economic, sector and company-specific conditions. The funds are denominated in NOK. Returns may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations. Prior to making a subscription, we encourage you to read the fund's prospectus and key investor information document which contain further details about the fund's characteristics and costs.