Sustainable products and investment strategies

First and foremost, responsible banking means creating value and generating benefits for society. That also means we want to help our clients take advantage of opportunities by making financial resources available to clients and sectors that promote sustainable development as well as by giving investors the chance to invest in sustainable investment products.

What do we want to achieve?

We can make a real contribution to a more sustainable society by providing capital for projects in the area of clean technologies and renewable energy as well as to companies engaged in low-carbon sectors. We recognize the huge potential in financing for energy-efficient buildings and upgrading infrastructure using renewable energy.

We integrate environmental, social and governance aspects (ESG) in our analysis and decision-making processes when we manage clients’ assets. Investment funds managed in line with ESG strategies continue to attract more interest than the overall market – our aim is to meet clients’ demands in this fast-growing area.

How are we achieving our goals?

We grant loans to finance projects renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean technologies. In Germany, for example, we provide loans for energy-efficient construction and sustainable energy projects that are subsidized by the development bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). In addition, we offer sustainable credit products for private clients in the Spanish, Polish and Portuguese markets.

By incorporating environmental, social and governance aspects into asset management, we are expanding traditional investment analysis to include a long-term non-financial component. This allows our investors to gain a comprehensive overview that takes aspects such as positioning amid the competition, financial, regulatory, ecological, social and reputational risks of certain investment products into account when making investment decisions.

Our code of values for the private client business commits us to exclusively offer ethically justifiable and transparent products.

What have we achieved?

Despite the turmoil in the financial markets, interest in responsible investment has continued to grow. Private investors are looking for safer investment alternatives, which has benefited investment funds that meet sustainable criteria, are less volatile and have performed strongly.

Our asset management division is one of the world’s largest providers in this field. Its investment approach is based on the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).

Our sustainable investment products have earned top ratings from independent rating companies. In February 2011, for example, Telos (an independent rating agency) awarded DeAM’s special sustainable investment fund, ESG Euro Investment Grade Corporate Credit an AAA rating. In the Feri Euro Rating Awards 2011, the DWS Invest Responsibly investment fund was among the Top 5 in the category of Equity Sustainability/Ethics World. In 2011, DB Advisors was named Best ESG Asset Manager in Germany by World Finance magazine and in 2013 it was commended with the IAIR Award for Excellence in ESG Asset Management Global.