Impact Investing
Sustainable objective is pursued. Sustainability is the main objective and is given a higher priority over financial yield when a choice has to be made between the two.
Sustainable investment
ESG (Environment - Social - Governance) factors play an important role when making investment decisions
Combining positive impact on society with potential financial returns
Responsible investment
ESG factors are carefully considered in investment decisions
Traditional investment
Mainly financial criteria play a role.
We pay attention to sustainability in various ways in equities. We have different instruments at our disposal to integrate sustainability into the investment process. You can view how it works.
"}},{"componentType":"accordion","accordionList":[{"title":"Exclusion of activities","richBody":{"value":"We screen on controversial activities:
Sustainable & impact investment
We exclude
Responsible investment
We exclude
Traditional investment
No specific exclusions in the portfolio except the exclusions such as cluster munition.
To determine whether the above activities are present in our portfolio, we use data from Sustainalytics(1), where we add our own judgment.
We generally exclude a company when the revenue from that activity is more than 5% of the total revenue. When a company is active in the distribution of that activity, we exclude the company if this accounts for more than 10% of the turnover.
We have following exception on these exclusions
(1)Sustainalytics, a Morningstar Company, is a leading independent ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics firm that supports investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies.
"},"textLinks":[{"url":"https://assets.ing.com/m/414d3244af5c9537/original/ING-activities-do-not-invest-EN.pdf","text":"Read more about the activities in which we do not invest."}]},{"title":"Exclusion of (contraversial) conduct","richBody":{"value":"We screen on the conduct of the companies
Sustainable & impact investment
Controversial conduct is excluded on the basis of following subjects
For the exclusion on conduct we make use of ESG data from Sustainalytics who scores controversial conduct from 1 to 5. For our sustainable investments we exclude in principal category 5. Only in exceptional cases those controversies are accepted.
Responsible investment
Controversial conduct is excluded on the basis of following subjects
For the exclusion on conduct we make use of ESG data from Sustainalytics who scores controversial conduct from 1 to 5. For our responsible investment we exclude in principal category 5. Only in exceptional cases those controversies are accepted.
Traditional investment
No specific exclusions in the portfolio concerning conduct
"},"textLinks":[{"url":"https://assets.ing.com/m/51e1d7c00b87dab8/original/ING-conduct-where-we-do-not-invest-EN.pdf","text":"Read more about the behaviour of companies in which we do not invest."}]},{"title":"Best-in-class","richBody":{"value":"For best-in-class, we assess the extent to which a company is aware of sustainability compared to other companies in the sector. ING developed therefor its own best-in-class method: the 'Non-financial indicator (Nfi). The Nfi shows how a company scores on ESG factors relative to other companies in its sector.
We invest only in companies that, in addition to making a positive contribution to the SDGs, are part of the 70% best scoring companies in terms of Nfi. The positive impact of their products prevails.
We are investing exclusively in the 70% best scoring companies in terms of Nfi.
Preference for the companies that show better governance of ESG factors that their competitors
No use of best-in-class method.
Read more about how we measure the sustainability awareness of companies (Nfi).
"}},{"title":"Integration of sustainability risks","richBody":{"value":"Sustainability risks are an important factor and, like other risks, are part of our investment decision-making process.
"},"textLinks":[{"url":"https://assets.ing.com/m/884a9454f9b1e43c/original/ing-policy-sustainability-UK.pdf","text":"Read more about ING policy and disclosures on sustainability risks and characteristics."}]},{"title":"Engagement","richBody":{"value":"ING Group engages with companies to influence their behavior. You can read here when and how this is done. The current focus of engagement is in line with the ING Group policy.
ING is focusing on the following 2 themes
For our engagement we work together with other parties such as Sustainalytics. We are affiliated with two engagement tracks: 'responsible cleantech' and 'the future of our work'.
We have signed the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and we are member of “Vereniging van Beleggers voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling (VBDO)” and the “Platform Living Wage Financials (PLWF)”.
Read more on voting overview 2024.
"},"textLinks":[{"url":"https://assets.ing.com/m/cf4c40b1780fc7ae/original/ING-Engagement-guidelines-June-2020.pdf","text":"Guidelines for our engagement activities"}]}]},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Integration of sustainability in funds and insurance based financial products"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"As investment funds, insurance-based investment products and similar products like index funds and ETF’s are managed by external asset managers or insurance companies, we look for those products that best match the way in which we at ING integrate sustainability into the various investment solutions. This is done by looking at the underlying tools that the fund manager applies. Obviously we try to find asset/product managers whose sustainability integration tools are in line with ours. We do so via the ESG Fund survey. When selecting investment funds we use the outcome of the survey to decide if the fund is in line with the applied ESG investment approach.
"},"textLinks":[{"url":"https://assets.ing.com/m/73aab16ea8461b8a/original/Beoordeling-duurzaamheid-van-beleggingsfondsen-EN.pdf","text":"Read more about our selection method for sustainable funds."}]},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Sustainable investment
Selection of investment funds and insurance-based investment products that are in line with our policy for sustainable investments. Following exclusions are applied on these financial instruments (with a dedicated treshold): controversial weapons, tobacco, coal, alcohol, oil, fur, nuclear energy, gambling and controversial behavior, as well as active voting and engagement policies.
Responsible investment
Preference for investment funds and insurance-based investment products that are in line with our policy for responsible investments. Following exclusions are applied on these financial instruments (with a dedicated treshold): controversial weapons, tobacco, coal and highly controversial behavior, as well as active voting and engagement policies.
Traditional investment
When selecting investment funds, we only take into account the exclusions of cluster munitions companies.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Integration of Sustainability in sovereigns"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Sovereigns are analysed both on their financial performance and their sustainable characteristics. We look at the sustainability integration of countries on three topics: people, the environment and society.
Central to this is the assessment of the national debt as it shows whether the country can easily meet its debt obligation. The fundamental idea with the assessment of sovereign debt is to gain assurance that the society and economy is able to prosper due to good governance by the government of the country. Which in the end makes it easier for the country to meet its debt obligations. To assess the robustness of the state and its institutions, we look at three elements relevant to sustainable investing: