The main role of Arion Bank's supplementary pension savings program, Lífeyrisauki, is to grow pension savings for fund members and ensure the highest possible returns at any given time and over the long term with respect to risk.
Arion Bank's Asset Management, which handles the asset management of Lífeyrisauki, considers investment opportunities attractive when they meet the current needs of fund members without jeopardizing the future needs of coming generations. Article 36 of Act No. 129/1997 (often called the Pension Fund Act) states that the board of pension funds shall formulate and announce an investment policy for the fund in accordance with the rules set by the law. In 2017, the article was amended to include the requirement that pension funds must establish ethical criteria for investments. With this goal in mind, the operational board of Lífeyrisauki has researched responsible investment principles and developed a policy for the fund accordingly.
The main objective of responsible investments is to promote positive impacts on environmental, social, and governance factors (ESG). Many investors choose to consider these factors when analyzing and evaluating investment opportunities, and this interest is growing.
Environmental criteria relate to performance and monitoring in climate and environmental matters and how the environmental impacts of operations are managed.
Social norms focus on how employees are cared for as well as the community in which they operate, such as equality within companies, general human rights, and safety.
Governance relates to management and organization, suppliers, employee conditions, and measures against corruption and bribery.