ESG Policy

Sustainability and ESG Mission

AQUIS Capital AG and its affiliated companies are committed to creating a positive, long-term impact for its stakeholders. As an active and responsible asset management firm, AQUIS’ mission is to provide innovative and sustainable investment solutions for its clients. For AQUIS it is paramount to achieve the best possible alignment with sustainable growth and development in order to fulfill its mission.

Our vision is to play an active role as a responsible investor in order to create a positive impact. We engage with stakeholders, investee companies and funds in order to drive and bring forward the topic of sustainable and responsible investment.

As much as we believe in the value of ESG as investor, we hold ourselves accountable to ambitious standards in our daily interactions with stakeholders. Dedication, transparency and accountability are cornerstone values of our philosophy.

Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations are an important aspect of our firm’s culture and are a crucial driver of sustainable growth and superior investment returns.

To reflect our commitment and engagement on both corporate and product level, we have developed a holistic sustainability strategy that takes both pillars into consideration. The strategy builds on a materiality analysis in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Targets as framework objectives. The materiality assessment reveals that the most effective contribution to sustainable growth can be achieved through providing responsible and sustainable investment solutions. Several of AQUIS products integrate actively ESG in investment decisions. AQUIS’ goal is to continuously raise the bar in terms of sustainability to achieve a leading position in the respective ESG focused product strategy. AQUIS not only expects investee companies and funds to embrace sustainability, but it is also committed to uphold the standards on the firm level.

At AQUIS, the CEO is directly overseeing the sustainability strategy, goal attainment and further developments.

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corporate responsibility

Corporate Responsibility

Sustainable Product Offering

The most material impact we can create is through our products. We believe that it is essential to achieve the best possible alignment with sustainable economic growth to achieve our economic targets and exceed our clients’ expectations.

To achieve our mission, AQUIS actively manages sustainability risks and opportunities and integrates ESG factors in investment decisions. AQUIS manages funds of different asset classes and profiles and thus each investment product has its own approach regarding ESG risk management. AQUIS engagement in various asset classes enables the firm to address sustainability challenges in different ways.

Currently two investment strategies follow a particular commitment regarding sustainability: the Lumen Vietnam Fund and the IMPACTIS Fund of Hedge Funds. AQUIS monitors key ESG metrics for both funds on an ongoing basis. AQUIS puts great efforts into collecting as much relevant ESG information as possible, also in collaboration with third parties, to guarantee the best possible monitoring and management. Regarding SFDR Art 4 AQUIS is opting for the solution “Explain”, as certain pre-defined, principal adverse impact indicators are not easily available on the corporate level.

Lumen Vietnam Fund

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The Lumen Vietnam Fund, a UCITS-compliant fund focusing on the Vietnamese equity market, looks back on a long tradition of ESG investing. ESG criteria are integrated throughout the entire investment process.

In the initial phase, a rigid exclusion and controversy screen is applied. Before a company is considered in the investable universe, the potential investee company is screened for its exposure and dependency on products that constitute a high risk and/or burden for society. In a second step, the potential investee company is screened for its potential involvement in controversies and unethical business practices. Severe controversies, and breaches of international norms are often related to Principal Adverse Sustainability Impacts, with significant negative impact on the environment and social aspects including human rights.

Subsequently, selected companies will undergo an ESG due diligence process. In order to assess the ESG risk and opportunity profile of a company, the sector specialist will consider particular ESG criteria in the investment thesis. The ESG criteria used in the investment analysis are selected and monitored in collaboration with an external ESG consultant.

The management team of the LVF regularly engages on material ESG topics and ESG disclosures with selected investee companies.

IMPACTIS – A World of Sustainable Hedge Funds