PensionDanmark received international acknowledgement for its alternative investment efforts at the “Pan-European Peer-to-Peer Awards”, a large conference for European institutional investors, held in Stockholm.
At the annual award ceremony individuals and teams from e.g. pension funds were honored for “making a difference through their innovative and effective investment approach”.
This year PensionDanmark won the category ”Best use of Alternatives”.
PensionDanmark won the award among Nordic Institutional investors in April, and was thereby able to compete with the winners in Institutional Investors other three regions: UK and Ireland, Benelux and Swiss, Germany and Austria.
“We are very proud to receive the award. Since 2009 we have continuously worked towards expanding our investments in stable alternatives like infrastructure. The award is a testament to PensionDanmark’s ability to find new ways to secure our members stable and long-term returns in a responsible way,” says CEO, Torben Möger Pedersen, PensionDanmark.
In recent years PensionDanmark has expanded its alternative investment portfolio, investing in infrastructure, such as wind farms in Denmark, the US and UK, transmission networks in the Netherlands and Germany, as well as biomass plants in the UK. The latest addition to the infrastructure portfolio is an investment in a British biomass-fired combined heat and power plant project. It is expected to be in operation in the summer of 2018 delivering power to 50.000 households.
Responsible Investments
”Responsible investing is a focal point, especially in terms of our alternative investments, which typically involve long-term ownership. Naturally it is therefore essential that projects and business partners meet our ESG-standards concerning environmental, social and governance factors, before we decide to make an investment,” says CEO, Torben Möger Pedersen.
As a responsible investor, PensionDanmark places great emphasis on sustainability in regard to alternative investments such as real estate and infrastructure. As such, all of PensionDanmark’s direct investments in real estate are certified according to the highest sustainability standards. Regarding sustainable infrastructure, PensionDanmark has invested in wind farms and biomass plants with a total capacity of 2,500MW. The production of power by these assets exceeds the power consumption made by PensionDanmark’s 690.000 members and their families annually.
Overall, PensionDanmark’s efforts concerning responsible investments entail a comprehensive programme for active ownership. This involves engagement with a large number of companies, at which PensionDanmark is shareholder, and exerts its influence by voting at annual general meetings. To handle this substantial task, PensionDanmark collaborates with an external partner, Hermes EOS. The company executes these tasks for a wide investor clientele, which enables Hermes EOS’ dialogue to carry greater weight.
About the award ceremony
Institutional Investor annually brings together European institutional investors including pension funds for the conference, “European Investment Roundtable”. The “Pan-European Peer-to-Peer Awards” are presented for the second time at this conference. Candidates are nominated by investors, and it is their votes, which determine the winner of each category.
