November 25, 2024

Assoprevidenza, the Italian Association for Supplementary Pensions, has approved an agreement with ET.Group – ESG Knowledge Company, thanks to which all ESG.IAMA data and results will be shared with the Association itself and its member pension and welfare forms (subject to authorization from the required Asset Managers). This allows the world of supplementary pension and welfare to have one more tool on the table for the selection of Asset Managers and to take into account, for the first time in a quantitative and comparable way, their level of sustainability.

As early as July 2024, Assofondipensione, the Association of 32 negotiated pension funds, also adopted ESG.IAMA and made it available to members. With this additional agreement with Assoprevidenza now the entire Italian pension world has ESG.IAMA available and, therefore, the ability to assess whether Asset Managers entrusted with reserves are truly ESG and consistent with the services and products offered, thus protecting themselves from possible risks due to their reputational and credibility crises.

ESG.IAMA is the first quantitative standard that assesses the ESG identity of Asset Managers. Unlike other Asset Manager ranking initiatives focused on product and/or impact measurements, ESG.IAMA assigns a score (0-100) to sustainability at the corporate entity level.

The ESG identity of the Asset Manager encompasses all its distinctive elements, from its organizational structure (governance) to the ESG consistency of its products for the market, via the way the entity “thinks” (its ESG corporate culture) and “engages” on the sustainability front (its ESG purpose).

Indeed, the issue of sustainability is shifting from the product to the Asset Manager as a company. ESG Identity is emerging as a crucial variable to enable the system to identify Asset Managers that are truly ESG, consistent with the services and funds offered. This makes it possible to distinguish critically among the tide of “sustainable” funds that has filled the market and to protect against possible risks due to reputational and credibility crises of the Asset Managers entrusted with assets.

Sergio Corbello, President of Assoprevidenza said, ‘We are very pleased with the Convention signed with ET.Group, aimed at allowing our Associates the free use of ESG.IAMA data and results. The attention always paid by a technical center, such as Assoprevidenza to ESG principles, moves, first of all, from the conviction that the compliance of the asset investments of pension forms with these principles represents an important piece of risk assessment. ESG.IAMA, by enabling an innovative assessment of individual Asset Managers as well, represents an important leap forward for the indicated purpose‘.

Luca Testoni, Founder of ET.Group: ‘The agreement with Assoprevidenza is a crucial step for the ESG.IAMA project in order to make this assessment a system standard. The world of pension investors has the characteristics to be a driver of the transition of the entire socio-economic-financial system, but it needs the right tools to independently develop sustainable fund selection. With ESG.IAMA we want to make a contribution to this journey‘.

Download the press release here.