What is responsible investment?
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Our owner has provided us with a clear mission: to deliver the highest possible returns over time. We achieve this through active management and by being a responsible owner and creditor. We emphasize long-term value creation, responsible corporate governance and well-functioning markets. Active ownership contributes to long-term value creation.
Our tools
The future value of the fund depends on the value created in the companies. As the largest institutional investor on the Oslo Stock Exchange, we can influence the companies in which we are invested. That is why we assess how the companies are managed, the risks they are exposed to and how they impact the environment and society around them. We call this the exercise of our role as owner and creditor.
Integrated approach
It is decisive for our returns that the companies we have invested in deliver strong results over time, and that the markets are efficient and well-functioning. We therefore take an integrated approach to responsible investment.
We have set two sub-targets for our investment activities in order to achieve the highest possible returns over time.
- We shall achieve a higher return than the market in general (excess return compared with benchmark indices)
- We shall support long-term value creation in companies and well-functioning markets
These goals form the basis for our investment philosophy. We take an active investment approach to achieve the goal of excess return, while the goal of corporate value creation is achieved through being an active and responsible owner and creditor, as well as through the development of best practices and well-functioning markets.
In our experience, these goals are interdependent. Being an active owner and creditor makes us a better investor.
We systematically follow up material opportunities and challenges linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in order to be an owner that contributes to maximising companies’ value creation. This also benefits other shareholders and creditors. In our capacity as owner, we are principled and engage with the individual portfolio companies irrespective of any over or under-weighting relative to our benchmark index. This facilitates higher returns in the long run.