Ivo Knoepfel won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Development in ESG at the TBLI Conference Europe 2011, which took place in London on November 10th.  Citing his selection, the judges panel said, "Mr. Knoepfel stands out by the continuous innovation that he brings to the market. He is always independent with a sharp mind and a good sense for new developments."  Also shortlisted for the award were James Gifford, Executive Director of the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment, Reto Ringger founder of SAM Sustainable Asset Management and Globalance Bank, and the organization Sustainable Finance Geneva.

In the coming weeks, onValues Managing Director Ivo Knoepfel will participate as a speaker or panellist in a range of investor meetings and conferences. This will allow us to share and refine our views on key investment trends with other investors and stakeholders. The events include:

• 24 October: "Doppelte Dividende", oekom, Zürich
• 25 October: "4th Schweizer Leadership Pensions Forum", FT Business, Zürich
• 31 October: "Nachhaltig in Rohstoffe investieren?", Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen, Zürich
• 1 November: "Swiss Equity Cleantech Day", Swiss Equity, Zürich
• 4 November: "Rating Responsible Finance", The Rating Initiative, Luxembourg.

onValues has released The Responsible Investor's Guide to Commodities, a report aimed to help institutional investors navigate the environmental, social and governance challenges of commodities-related investments. Investors gain exposure to commodities in various ways: derivatives, physical commodities, real assets such as forests and farmland, and debt and equity of companies active in the sector. The report launched today offers specific best-practice recommendations for each of those asset classes and also comments on the strategic allocation between commodities-related assets from the perspective of a responsible investor.

The role of investors in commodities markets will be increasingly critical and scrutinized as resource scarcity and demand growth continue into the future. This report aims to provide a starting point for investors to consider how to adopt practices that preserve their "license to invest" and contribute to long-term social and economic goals.

onValues received support for its commodities research over the past two years from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the UN Global Compact and the Principles for Responsible Investment initiative.

Download the report
«The Responsible Investor's Guide to Commodities»

A group of institutional investors currently representing US$1.3 trillion in assets have launched the Principles for Responsible Investment in Farmland (the "Farmland Principles") with the goal of improving the sustainability, transparency and accountability of investments in farmland. onValues provided facilitation support to the working group that drafted the Principles.

The Farmland Principles offer institutional farmland investors best practice guidelines in the areas of environmental sustainability, labour and human rights, land and resource rights, business and ethical standards, and transparency. They were developed and endorsed by the following institutions: AP2 (Sweden), ABP (Netherlands), APG (Netherlands), ATP (Denmark), BT Pension Scheme (UK), Hermes EOS (UK), PGGM (Netherlands) and TIAA-CREF (USA), all of whom are signatories to the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). These institutions will continue to work on implementing responsible investment in farmland via the PRI's newly formed Commodities Work Stream.

Download the Farmland Principles
«The Principles for Responsible Investment in Farmland»

Representatives from 20 European foundations met today in Brussels at the headquarters of the European Foundation Centre. The day's key question was: "How to mainstream mission-aligned investing at European foundations in 10 years?"

Mission-aligned investing enables a foundation to use its capital endowment for a social purpose while still safeguarding the financial health of the organization through a combination of responsible investments and impact investments. While some foundations and regions in Europe are advanced in this practice, in general European foundations lag other institutional asset owners in implementing investment policies that consider environmental, social and governance factors as part of standard investment analysis.

Participants in the workshop—entitled 360-degrees for Mission—discussed concrete steps to accelerate mission-aligned investing in Europe over the next decade. The workshop concluded that real opportunities for collaborative action among foundations exist and can resolve many of the remaining challenges facing foundation investors. A working group of the European Foundation Centre is currently being planned to continue making progress in this area.

360-degrees for Mission was co-hosted by the Mistra Foundation (Sweden), Fondazione Cariplo (Italy), and Fonds 1818 (Netherlands) and organized by onValues and the European Foundation Centre.

Download the meeting report
«360-degrees for Mission Meeting Report»

On June 17, 2011, onValues hosted an investor roundtable on the topic of: "Agri-investing for the long term: the investment case for responsible investments in agriculture". The meeting, which took place in Geneva, was co-hosted by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the UN PRI and the UN Global Compact.

Over 60 experts from asset owners, asset managers, investment research and the public sector took part in what was likely the first event of this type dedicated to questions of responsible investment in agriculture and commodities. The discussion focused on issues related to farmland investments, commodity derivatives and listed equities in the agricultural value chain.

"Responsible investment in agriculture is a necessity, not an option" argued one investor. While a healthy diversity of views was expressed during the day, participants clearly articulated a strong economic rationale for considering environmental and social factors in agricultural investments. In this critical sector, participants agreed, investors can take steps to act as a positive and stabilizing force in agricultural markets in view of contributing to global food security.

Download the meeting report
«Agri-investing for the long term»

The past ten years have witnessed a significant growth in microfinance and other financial services targeting the needs of the world's poor. A group of leading investors has publicly endorsed the Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance (PIIF) committing to fair treatment and protection of the interests of the ultimate clients - low-income households and small and medium-enterprises. This is particularly important given that poorer clients are often disadvantaged by asymmetries in financial knowledge, power, and influence. The Principles were developed in collaboration with Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima, the UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, with the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment and in consultation with Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and several key industry players. Ivo Knoepfel, onValues' Managing Director, was invited to become a member of the Steering Committee that will supervise the implementation of the Principles.

View the PIIF here:
«Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance»

onValues has authored a report for the Mistra foundation entitled 360-degrees for Mission: How leading European foundations use their investments to support their mission and the greater good.  The report will allow foundations to learn more about sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) and impact investment, and to take practical steps to implementing these approaches in the management of their capital endowments.

The report highlights eight European foundations that use their investments to advance their mission and still generate strong financial returns.  Detailed case studies on the Church of Sweden, Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Dreilinden, Fondation du Luxembourg, Fondazione Cariplo, Fonds 1818, Friends Provident Foundation, and Mistra show both the challenges and the rewards of SRI and impact investing, and provide the reader with direct advice from the personal experience of foundation officers and trustees.

360-degrees for Mission comes at a time of renewed interest in how foundations invest their money.  The report directs readers to the variety of resources that can help foundations establish investment practices that are financially sound and enhance the contribution to their mission.

Download the report
«360-degrees for Mission»

Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen Schweiz and onValues today published the results of the regular survey of the Swiss sustainable investment market per end of December 2010, which includes sustainable assets managed in Switzerland through funds, mandates and structured products. A total of 21 managers reported their assets under management in a range of different sustainable investment styles.

Per end of 2010 the sustainable market reached a new high of 42 billion CHF, which corresponds to an increase of 23% compared to the same value per end of December 2009. On average, net inflow in sustainable funds amounted to approximately 3.6% in the course of 2010. In comparison, the average comparable Swiss fund experienced a net outflow of the same order of magnitude.

Retail/private banking investors have further expanded their majority position in the market (57% of the total market, compared to the 43% of institutional investors). Equity, with its share of 63%, remains the most important asset class having slightly increased its market share compared to last year.

Not much has changed in terms of the use of different sustainable investment approaches, but the use of active proxy voting has notably increased. 44% of respondents reported that they are planning introducing a proxy voting policy that includes sustainability issues for the entire assets managed by their institutions in the coming years.

Download the report
«Sustainable investments in Switzerland 2010»