We make responsible investments

Varma's ownership policy promotes the adoption of socially responsible values in the companies' operations. Our goal is to invest in companies that respect human dignity in their operations, are aware of their responsibilities relating to societal matters and working conditions, and take environmental perspectives into consideration.

These principles cover the investment assets in their entirety and are applied taking into account the specific characteristics of each asset class. In direct equity investments, for instance, we analyse how responsibility aspects are taken into account in the companies' operations, whereas in fund investments we focus on how responsibility principles are taken into account in the funds' investment policies and processes.

GES Investment Services of Sweden, a third party services provider, audits Varma's listed equity and corporate bonds portfolios regularly. The audit looks into whether the companies comply with local legislation and international norms and agreements. These international norms include, among others, the UN Global Compact initiative for corporate responsibility, ILO's fundamental labour rights and the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises. If the investment target does not meet Varma's criteria, we will investigate the situation in more detail and either strive to influence the company's way of operating or realise the investment. In the latter case, we will invest the funds in a company operating in the same sector who bears their social responsibility well.

Varma has worked for a long time towards developing responsible investing practices in its investment operations. We have signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and are a member of FINSIF. Founded by a group of Finnish investors, asset managers and other investment professionals, FINSIF aims at promoting responsible investment in Finland.