1. Summary of the Sustainable Investment Handbook Part 1: Sustainable Investments in Context Chapter 3. Sustainable Investments and Institutional Investors in Switzerland—Overview of Current Status and Developments •• Sustainable investments are increasingly important for Swiss institutional investors. •• Some cantonal pension funds have regulations that require sustainability criteria to be taken into consideration when investing. •• The Swiss market for sustainable investments is growing faster than the overall market. This includes internally managed sustainable assets of institutional investors. Chapter 4. The Performance of Sustainable Investments—An Overview of Academic Studies •• Financial markets fail to take full account of the risks and benefits associated with a company’s ESG performance. This creates potential opportunities for investors. •• This finding has been confirmed by numerous scientific studies that analyse the impact of various ESG aspects on a company’s performance. •• For sustainability funds, the results are mixed. However, many studies show that sustainable investments do not adversely affect financial performance. Chapter 5. Development of the Regulatory and Legislative Environment for Sustainable Investment •• France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have the most highly developed regulation concerning sustainable investment compared with the rest of Europe. •• Swiss pension funds have a legal obligation as equity shareholders to actively vote.
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