For 256 years so far, Storebrand has helped customers plan and invest for what they want to achieve, and insure against the unexpected, both in the short and the long term.
We manage people's future, security, hopes and dreams. Yet, turbulent times, such as we all now face globally, are characterised by uncertainty and change, and can pose challenges to our goals. Such times demand that we step back and ask: "How do we nurture the conditions for people to thrive, economically and socially?"
So, earlier this summer, at our annual Storebrand Conference in Oslo, we zoomed in on an aspect of that. What stood out was that trust is essential, not only for us a financial institution, but also for society as a whole, and possibly that the Nordic experience may be of value in the broader context.
Nurturing trust, between nations, partners, and business rivals, is essential if we are to solve the challenges we now face, regarding nature, our climate, international cooperation and not least, sustainable economic value creation, which is essential for securing better lives for people.
Trust, in governing authorities and institutions, in companies, and between individuals, has been one of the most important enablers of the so-called "Nordic model" that combines healthy economic growth with well-functioning human welfare schemes and high levels of social development. An essential element of that is a well-functioning and transparent dialogue and debate, between business, civil society and the public sector.
Earlier this summer, the Nordic CEOs for a Sustainable Future, a business network we are involved in, met with the political network "Nordic Council" and the prime ministers of Iceland and Norway. There, the dedication to go forward on sustainability — one of the foundations for trust — was notable among all the parties involved. Together, we had some fruitful discussions on how business can contribute to speeding up our action on climate and nature, as science clearly advises us as a global society to do.
As a financial institution, we at Storebrand are dependent on trust – including the credibility of our investment decisions. The companies that we invest our clients' money in should be resilient enough to withstand changes to our physical environment, such as the ones we see developing in in the Arctic. Developments such as: what happens to the companies when the CO2 tax goes up dramatically? What happens if other technologies with lower emissions and lower costs take over the market? And are the boards of these companies we are invest in, aware how fast their markets may turn?
We therefore take climate, nature, social aspects, and many other sustainability factors into account when we invest — because we believe that this is how we best safeguard the value that we are responsible for. Our main mission is to create the best possible risk-adjusted returns for our customers over time, which means we must integrate the consequences of, among other things, climate change into our investment decisions.
Yet, the debate in some highly polarised markets has at times stretched to the extremes. Some even suggest that including ESG considerations in investment decisions equates to taking increased risks with clients' money in order to achieve one's own or idealistic goals, as opposed to serving clients' best long-run interests. This has nonetheless contributed to a political climate in which around 20 states in the U.S. have now banned investment products that include ESG screening in their methodologies.
At Storebrand, however, we are confident that integrating sustainability into a company's investment analysis creates the best possible risk-adjusted returns for our customers in the long run, and that our commitment to this approach, built on our Nordic roots, is an important pillar of the trust required to undertake long term investment.
