Finance
China Assets Blacklisted by Dutch Fund Manager Using New ESG Tool
Screening tool shows India just scraping by, and the U.S. performing poorly on environment.
Photographer: Go Nakamura/Getty Images
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A Dutch investment firm with $118 billion under management has started blacklisting a number of assets from China, after developing a new screening tool to catch environmental, social and governance risks.
Van Lanschot Kempen NV, a 400-year-old firm, has created a test that includes a national corruption score, and will start excluding sovereign bonds and state-backed entities from places that don’t pass, said Nikesh Patel, senior executive at the wealth manager. The new strategy will initially apply to pension fund clients, though the firm is planning to discuss it with other client groups.