The AP Funds’ Council on Ethics is expanding in response to an audit conducted during the year. The Council on Ethics has decided to recruit an executive director whose duties will include establishing an administrative office to continue to drive positive change in companies in which the AP Funds have holdings.
Since its inception in 2007, the Council on Ethics of the AP Funds, a collaboration between AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4, has built up a strong position both nationally and internationally and today plays a key role in driving positive change, primarily in foreign companies in which the Swedish AP Funds are shareholders, through dialogue and engagement.
At the same time, sustainability issues have been increasingly integrated into and become a major focus of the management strategies and investment processes of the respective AP funds. Against this background, the AP Funds have now jointly reviewed their mission and strategy to ensure that the Council on Ethics continues to be a key partner that is integral to the coordinated sustainability efforts of the AP Funds.
As part of this initiative, the Council on Ethics has clarified its purpose and set long-term objectives. The Council on Ethics will work to ensure that the AP Funds continue to serve as global role models on sustainability issues. The Council on Ethics will also support the AP Funds in complex and material sustainability issues in order to achieve the objectives that the AP Funds set for themselves.
Previously, screening of the AP Funds’ holdings in listed foreign equities has been carried out twice a year. This initiative will now be extended to cover business loans. The purpose of the screening is to discover whether the holdings can be associated with violations of international conventions ratified by the Riksdag (the Swedish parliament).
In order to implement the new strategy, the Council on Ethics organisation has also been reviewed. It will consist of a board of directors with one member from each Fund appointed by the respective CEO. The Council on Ethics administrative office will be strengthened with the addition of three new positions: an executive director for the AP Funds’ Council on Ethics and two sustainability analysts.
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