Nordic Money Manager Pulls $24 Billion Funds Out of Fossil Fuels

(Bloomberg) --

Life insurer Storebrand ASA has scrubbed all funds managed by its Swedish unit clean of fossil-fuel producers.

It’s the latest example of money managers responding to client concerns about climate change. Storebrand, which is the biggest listed life insurer in Norway, had already promised to exit coal completely, and is part of a group of capital managers that have pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050.

This latest move means SPP Fonder AB, which manages 230 billion kronor ($24 billion), no longer owns stakes in firms that produce or distribute fossil energy sources or companies related directly to these industries, such as oil-service suppliers, Storebrand said in an emailed statement. It exited 9 billion kronor in such entities over the past weeks to comply with the new rules, it said.

As a result of the divestments, Storebrand as a whole now has about a third of its assets, or roughly $29 billion, in fossil-free investments.

The Nordics have been at the forefront of the finance industry’s adjustments to climate risk. Norway this year tightened restrictions on coal investments for its $1.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund and decided to exclude pure oil producers. Though that move was driven by financial risk exposure rather than climate considerations, it was touted by activists as another sign that fossil fuels are losing appeal.

Storebrand has seen most interest for fossil-free funds from institutional investors, with the strongest demand so far coming from the Swedish market, Chief Executive Officer Odd Arild Grefstad said in the statement.

“The growth in our fossil free funds is a result of strong customer demand,” he said. “There is a rising global demand for action on climate change. Countries, municipalities and cities are increasingly asking for different investment solutions to align their capital with their overall climate commitments.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mikael Holter in Oslo at mholter2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net, Stephen Treloar

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