Harnessing the power of active credit investing
Kempen Euro Sustainable Credit Strategy
Generating sustainable Alpha in credit markets
The VW perspective on achieving positive change post ‘diesel-gate’
The Euro Credit strategy has been invested in Volkswagen since 2008. But the company is not blemish free and has had several sustainability issues, most important of which is the emissions scandal referred to as “diesel gate”. Van Lanschot Kempen decided not to divest Volkswagen bonds for all its portfolio’s, but rather to engage with the company. Why did we choose to engage, and has this engagement paid off?
Moderator:
Loes Wingens - Head of Wholesale, Wholesale & Institutional Clients
Speakers:
Alex Hunger - Member of the Investor relations team of Volkswagen
Lizelle du Plessis- Director Fixed Income Portfolio / Fund Management
Control and discipline
Generally speaking more control results in fewer surprises on the road, in sport, in life generally and so too in investing - For this reason control is one of the core drivers of our approach to investing in our sustainable euro credit strategy. We describe this as ‘Alpha by control’.
While we recognize that credit markets can be inefficient, we also believe that this creates interesting opportunities – so long as the right controls are in place.
Can credit investors really deliver meaningful impact?
As active managers, we believe in engaging with the companies that we invest in to drive the transition to a sustainable economy. Whether it’s equity investing or credit investing, we believe steady engagement can drive real life change. Listen to our latest podcast to learn the rationale behind this, what we ask the companies that we engage with, how we choose between investing or divesting and how we track the effectiveness of our engagements.
Moderator:
Daniel Whitaker- Senior Associate, Institutional Investment Team
Speakers:
Danny Decker- Lead sustainability expert
Lizelle du Plessis- Director Fixed Income Portfolio / Fund Management
Webinar: ‘Alpha by control’ – it’s a team game
Credit markets are notoriously unpredictable and delivering a steady investment journey over the long-term is a challenge for every credit investor. We tackle this using a distinctive investment approach we call ‘Alpha by Control’. While we actively seek out opportunities to deliver alpha, our approach is also optimised to control risks. We do this while making impact and integrating sustainability via engagements.
During the webinar we will cover:
- How broad oversight and ownership across the full team delivers superior results
- Fundamental benefits of our distinctive top down and bottom up selection processes
- Discussion with professor Andreas Hoepner on upcoming regulatory developments and what role bond investors can play to have a positive impact