New benchmark enables institutional investors to construct 100% impact-aligned investment portfolios.
Triodos Investment Management (Triodos IM) and STOXX Ltd., part of the ISS STOXX group of companies, today announced the launch of the iSTOXX Triodos Developed Markets Impact Index. This custom-built index was developed to serve as a leading benchmark for institutional investors looking to integrate positive and measurable sustainability and social impact into their investment approach while at the same time minimizing the negative impact of their investments.
Impact Investing has gained a lot of traction in the institutional space in recent years, but the lack of appropriate benchmarks has made it hard for investors and asset managers to construct impact-aligned portfolios. As a pure play impact investor looking to expand into the institutional market, Triodos IM felt the need to create a solution to this problem for its clients. As a leading provider of benchmark and custom index solutions to global institutional investors, STOXX proved to be the right partner to develop a custom-built impact benchmark.
While existing sustainable benchmarks can exclude investments that investors view as unwanted, like controversial weapons, tobacco, child labor or fossil fuels, they do not take positive or negative impact into account, making it hard for investors to steer on impact with their investment portfolio. William de Vries, Director Impact Equities and Bonds at Triodos IM: “The iSTOXX Triodos Developed Markets Impact Index aims to be the leading broad impact benchmark, not only enabling institutional investors to effectively steer on impact but also to allocate their investments to specific UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also allows us to emphasise specific investment themes when constructing portfolios for our institutional clients.”
“As a leading provider of innovative custom index solutions, we are delighted to partner with Triodos Investment Management in creating this first-of-kind custom-built impact benchmark,” said Axel Lomholt, General Manager at STOXX. “The iSTOXX Triodos Developed Markets Impact Index provides Triodos IM institutional investor clients with new opportunities to align their portfolios with their specific impact and SDG themes.”
The iSTOXX Triodos Developed Markets Impact Index is a proprietary Triodos IM product that will be available to Triodos IMs institutional clients.
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