"Social Responsibility Fund" – Record distribution to social projects
With the "Social Responsibility Fund", we invest on behalf of our clients in social projects that contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals of "poverty reduction" and "health care". This is an excellent way to combine sustainable asset accumulation with social value creation, as the results of 2023 impressively confirm.
The idea of generating a financial return with an investment and making a contribution to more equal opportunities in society at the same time, is a concept Colin&Cie has put into practice since 2019. The launch of the "Social Responsibility Fund" thus took place much earlier than the public became aware of sustainability standards in financial investments with the consideration of criteria from the areas of environment, social affairs, and corporate governance (ESG).
With the "Social Responsibility Fund”, Colin&Cie invests – according to the best-in-class approach – in a selection of the best investments worldwide, considering strict ESG criteria and the categorical exclusion of non-sustainable sectors. Based on the resulting portfolio with a focus on dividend yield, excellent and above-average returns were achieved in the past years, which were characterised by high volatility on the stock markets.* Since the fund's inception, the fund's performance of 5.5 percent p.a. is significantly higher than that of a comparable global dividend strategy, which has an average return of 1.9 percent p.a. for the same period.
Parts of the dividend income are invested in social and sustainable projects in cooperation with the Red Cross and potentially other aid organisations. The investors vote annually on the use of the surpluses and thus decide which projects are to be financed. Unlike donations, the project contributions from the "Social Responsibility Fund" are directly allocated to the selected projects without being diluted by management and administration costs.
* This information and views do not constitute a solicitation, offer or recommendation to buy or sell investment instruments.
Despite the weak stock market year of 2022, the fund was able to generate a record surplus of 300,000 Swiss francs, which will flow into the projects in 2023. Thomas Warnecke, CEO, and founder of Colin&Cie is more than satisfied with this development: "In the past four and a half years, in addition to a very attractive financial return, we were also able to generate a social return totalling 855,000 Swiss francs and invest it in sustainable projects. This is a great success in two respects”.
The 2023 Investor Survey reported the following outcome: Two thirds of the votes cast were for the thematic area "Support for disadvantaged children and young adults", including projects such as tutoring and holiday camps for children from low-income households and asylum shelters, and accompanying socially disadvantaged young people during vocational training. One third of the votes cast were for the topic area "Accompanying elderly and sick people", including projects such as the purchase of vehicles for trips by people with severely limited mobility and the establishment of regular lunch tables for senior citizens with pensions below the poverty line.
In line with this weighting, this year Colin&Cie and its clients are supporting twelve local Red Cross projects in Switzerland and Germany.
You can read about what the Red Cross achieved with the proceeds of the "Social Responsibility Fund" last year at www.colin-cie.com/en/engagement
Disclaimer - legal notice
This publication was produced by the Investment Office of the Colin&Cie Group. The information and opinions contained in this document are based on sources we believe to be reliable. However, we cannot guarantee the reliability, completeness or correctness of these sources. All information and quoted rates are only up-to-date at the time of this publication and are subject to change at any time without notice. The content is based on numerous assumptions made by the Colin & Cie Group. It should be noted that different assumptions can lead to materially different results. The forecasts and assessments are only current at the time this publication is prepared and can change at any time without prior notice. Past performance of an investment is not a guarantee of future results. Certain investments can experience sudden and substantial losses in value. This information and views do not constitute a solicitation, offer or recommendation to buy or sell investment instruments or to carry out any other transactions. We recommend interested investors to consult their personal advisor before making decisions on the basis of this document so that personal investment goals, financial situation, individual needs and risk profile as well as further information can be duly taken into account as part of a comprehensive consultation. The information contained in this publication is marketing material that is distributed for advertising purposes only.
