30 years of being first in RI Offer your clients our expertise
Contact meFor 30 years, Desjardins’ responsible investment (RI) funds and portfolios have employed a wide range of financial and extra-financial strategies to ensure RI-focused clients can invest in solutions with sustainable growth potential. Part of our commitment to RI means working with portfolio managers renowned worldwide for their expertise in this space.
RI principles are integrated into the portfolio management of our RI solutions at both the security selection and post-selection phases. This robust approach helps us to manage risk and reward at all times, ensuring your clients benefit from diligence at all levels of the investment process.
Impax Asset Management already manages the portfolio of our popular Desjardins SocieTerra Cleantech Fund, and now it’s taking the reins of the Desjardins SocieTerra Environment Fund, our first RI fund launched in 1990.
With this fund, your clients get one of the world’s most respected names in sustainable investment. The Desjardins SocieTerra Environment Fund:
Our premise is simple: We select companies that view social and environmental practices and governance as key to their financial success. Companies that care as much about their ESG practices as they do about their financial performance are better equipped to meet the challenges of the global economy and seize the opportunities presented by the transition to a more sustainable economy.
Based on the nature of activities, producers and specialized transporters of fossil fuelsfootnote 1 and companies in the civilian firearmsfootnote 2, nuclear energy and tobacco industries are off-limits right from the start.
We take environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into account when selecting and managing investments.
We choose companies that demonstrate best ESG practices in their sector.
We select top companies in sectors that are directly related to an ESG factor (available for certain products).
Shareholder engagement refers to the various ways shareholders can communicate their views to the companies they invest in and influence them by exercising their shareholder rights and privileges, such as:
Shareholder engagement is the foundation of our approach to dialogue with the companies in which we invest. We make sure we make full use of our voting rights and influence as investors to engage with portfolio companies and encourage the adoption of best practices to help shape a better future. That’s long-term value creation that benefits your clients and the planet.
Read the latest Annual Report on responsible investment - Opens in a new window..
Desjardins’ approach to RI and ESG empowers you to recommend products that represent long-term business and portfolio solutions.
RI combines financial analysis with the assessment of companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices to make more informed investment decisions. The use of ESG criteria gives a fuller picture of companies’ long-term growth prospects and their value creation potential for your clients.
Environmental criteria include biodiversity, climate change and water management.
Example: companies committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
Social criteria include issues like human rights, social justice and labour practices.
Example: companies committed to upholding fair working conditions.
Corporate governance criteria include board diversity and independence, executive compensation and shareholder rights.
Example: companies committed to fair executive compensation practices.
All Desjardins SocieTerra portfolio managers have signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investment - External link. Opens in a new window.. These principles promote a long-term investment approach focused on sustainable development.
Help clients take action today. Recommend Desjardins’s industry-leading responsible investment solutions.
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The Desjardins Funds are not guaranteed, their value fluctuates frequently, and their past performance is not indicative of their future returns. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. The Desjardins Funds are offered by registered dealers. The Desjardins brand is a trademark of the Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec, used under licence.