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SAM Newsletter September 2008 |
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Dear Reader
Results of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes Review 2008
SAM, Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX Ltd. announced the results of their annual review of the Dow Jones Sustainability and Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Indexes at the beginning of September. Effective on 22 September, 33 companies will be added to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World), while 25 firms will be deleted. This brings the number of worldwide sustainability leaders included in the DJSI World to 320. The pan-European Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index grows from 153 to 162 members following the addition of 30 companies and the removal of 21. The number of members of the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index rises from 116 to 125 with 18 companies being added and 9 excluded. The new makeup of the indexes is the result of the 10th annual SAM assessment. The DJSI family provides an increasing number of asset managers with objective and professional benchmarks for sustainability investments. |
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Detailed Informationen on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes Review 2008 |
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Best wishes
SAM
Sustainable Asset Management |
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Monthly reports |
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Sustainable Performance Group (SPG) |
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Thanks to the positive trend in the Water and Energy investment clusters, the SPG portfolio posted a strong performance in August. Its net asset value rose during the reporting month by +9.2%, outperforming the benchmark MSCI World ex Financials index (+4.4%) by an impressive +4.7%.
SPG also published its current Semi-Annual Report in August. Because of the challenging market environment, the SPG share in the first half of 2008 was not able to match the success of the preceding years. The share price fell by -21.8% (2007: +20.9%), while the benchmark index dropped by -16.4% (2007: +11.6%). Highlights in the reporting period included the placement of the world's first sustainable convertible bond (issue volume: CHF 50 million), which served to underline the high interest among investors in SPG's investment strategy. SPG is convinced that it is well positioned, thanks to its diversification across the four promising investment themes of Energy, Water, Healthy Living and Resource Efficiency, together with its focus on small and mid cap companies. |
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SAM Sustainable Water Fund |
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Movements on the global equity markets were predominantly sideways during August. With an increase in value of +5.6%, the SAM Sustainable Water Fund did however succeed in significantly outperforming the benchmark MSCI World (+4.5%). Positive contributions in the reporting month were made by industrial shares, amongst others, while a few portfolio companies from Asia trended lower. |
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SAM Smart Energy Fund |
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Supported by falling commodity prices, global financial markets stabilised during the previous month. With a rise of +10.8% in August, the SAM Smart Energy Fund posted a double-digit growth last month. Over the same period, the MSCI World index improved by only +4.5%. The biggest performance contribution came from solar energy shares, which were supported by strong company results. |
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SAM Smart Materials Fund |
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Buoyed by a rising US dollar and a rising trend in consumer and healthcare share prices, the markets recovered during the month of August. Commodity prices have at last eased slightly, a development which is in turn having an effect on share prices. The share price trend of the SAM Smart Materials Fund was +0.2% in the reporting month. The investment cluster “Efficient use of materials” did particularly well. |
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SAM Sustainable Climate Fund |
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Supported by slightly falling commodity prices, global financial markets continued to recover during August. The SAM Sustainable Climate Fund gained +2.5% in the reporting month. Solar energy shares rose sharply in the previous month, while industrials presented a mixed picture. The trend was stable in respect of fertiliser manufacturers and building services companies. |
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SAM Sustainable Healthy Living Fund |
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Despite mixed economic data from the USA, the share price recovery on the world’s stock exchanges continued during the month of August. However, food company shares traded in Asia came under pressure due to the weak market environment prevailing in that region. The SAM Sustainable Healthy Living Fund advanced +3.7% in August. |
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SAM Sustainable Global Fund |
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Global financial markets picked up during August. Among the factors influencing market performance were lower inflationary pressures, a stronger US dollar versus the euro and falling commodity prices. Against this background, the SAM Sustainable Global Fund improved by +4.5%, keeping pace with the benchmark MSCI World index (also +4.5%). |
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SAM Sustainable Global Active Fund |
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Despite mixed economic data from the USA and Europe, together with continuing turbulence in the US financial sector, equity markets were able to stabilise again during August. The SAM Sustainable Global Active Fund +gained 3.2% over the reporting month. The focus in the selection of shares for the fund continues to be sustainability leaders with an attractive price-to-value ratio. |
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SAM Sustainable Europe Fund |
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European equity markets enjoyed a mini-rally in the second half of the month, allowing them to close higher over August as a whole. The SAM Sustainable Europe Fund advanced +1.9% in the reporting month, slightly outperforming the benchmark MSCI Europe index (+1.8%). The trend in the various investment segments was mixed: due to weaker commodity prices, mining company stocks underwent a correction, while financials enjoyed a surprisingly strong price trend. |
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SAM Sustainable Europe Active Fund |
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European equity markets began to firm once again, particularly towards the end of the month, and recovered significantly. But despite recent share price gains, the economic environment remains challenging. In Germany, economic activity in the second quarter declined slightly. Other countries, namely the UK, Spain and Italy, are even on the brink of recession. The SAM Sustainable Europe Active Fund gained +0.8% in August, while the benchmark MSCI Europe index advanced +1.8%. |
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Sustainability Trends |
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Winner of the SAM/SPG Sustainability Leadership Award 2008 |
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Yvon Chouinard and L. Hunter Lovins have been awarded this year's SAM/SPG Sustainability Leadership Award. This year sees the award being given for the eighth time. The accolade, which brings with it a total cash prize of CHF 50,000, honours exceptional personal achievements in implementing the principles of sustainability in the corporate sector. An international selection committee consisting of experts in the sustainability field are awarding this year's prize to the founder and owner of Patagonia Inc., Yvon Chouinard. The Pioneer Award goes to L. Hunter Lovins who, among other things, is co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
Yvon Chouinard is a rock climber, environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman. His contributions to climbing, climbing equipment and the outdoor gear business are numerous and impressive. He is a writer of issues on mixing environmentalism and sound business practice in the concept of a slow company. As co-founder and co-owner of Patagonia Inc. Chouinard has implemented many environmental improvements in the production of clothing and gear and meanwhile created the organic cotton industry in California. Patagonia has touched off a trend that has big-name brands such as Gap, Levi’s, Nike or Timberland incorporating organic materials into their products and taking steps to minimize environmental harm. As the founder and president of Natural Capitalism, Inc. and Natural Capitalism Solutions, as well as co-founder of the Rocky Mountains Institute L. Hunter Lovins is expert in integrating sustainability principles in business. Through lectures at major universities, consulting corporations, governments and citizens’ groups she diffuses her solutions widely.
She has devoted herself to building teams that can create and implement practical and affordable solutions to the problems facing the world in creating a sustainable future. |
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Sustainability Standard for Biofuels Published |
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The cultivation of biofuels can damage the environment and jeopardise food production. A draft standard on the sustainable production of biofuels published by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) aims to avoid such undesirable outcomes. The expert body supported by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne includes, amongst others, representatives of environmental organisations, mineral oil conglomerates and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The present first draft sets down a dozen principles which describe the fundamental requirements for the sustainable production of bioenergy, and are made concrete through verifiable criteria. |
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Wealth, Sustainably Invested |
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Wealthy private individuals who seek to invest in sustainability in a profit-oriented manner are becoming increasingly important for providers of sustainability investments. This is borne out by a new study from the European Social Investment Forum (Eurosif). So-called 'high net worth individuals' (HNWIs), i.e. individuals with assets of USD 1 million and more, represent an important and rapidly increasing investor segment for sustainability investments. Eurosif estimates the proportion of sustainable investments in the portfolios of European HNWIs to be around 8% (as at 31 December 2007) and forecasts that this will increase to 12% by 2012, exceeding the EUR 1 billion mark. |
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Selected Company News |
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Announcement of 19 Global Super Sector Leaders 2008/2009 |
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In the context of this year’s annual corporate sustainability assessment, SAM announced 19 Super Sector Leaders for 2008/2009.
Automotive: BMW (Germany); Banking: Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (Australia); Basic Resources: Xstrata (UK); Chemicals: BASF (Germany); Construction & Materials: Holcim (Switzerland); Financial Services: Itausa-Investimentos (Brazil); Food & Beverage: Unilever (Netherlands) ; Health Care: Novartis (Switzerland); Industrial Goods and Services: TNT (Netherlands); Insurance: Swiss Re (Switzerland); Media: Pearson (UK); Oil & Gas: ENI (Italy); Personal & Household Goods: Adidas (Germany); Real Estate: Land Securities Group (UK); Retail: Kingfisher (UK); Technology: Intel (USA); Telecommunications: BT Group (UK); Travel & Leisure: Air France-KLM (France); Utilities: Grupo Iberdrola (Spain). |
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Virtual Water in the Living Room |
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The European plastics manufacturer Borealis, in collaboration with the Finnish installation and heating group Uponor, has launched an initiative which introduces the concept of a ‘water footprint’ in the manufacture of plastic piping for the first time. A product’s water footprint refers to the total amount of fresh water consumed in the manufacture of a certain product across all the various stages of the production cycle. The initiative will measure water consumption along the entire value chain in the plastics industry, from the extraction of the raw materials through to the complete piping system installed in an apartment. |
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Vattenfall’s Pilot Plant for CO2 Capture |
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The Swedish power group Vattenfall celebrated a world premiere in the town of Spremberg in eastern Germany. At a lignite power station, CO2 will in future no longer be pumped into the air, but stored underground. The pilot plant came on stream on 9 September 2008. Vattenfall has so far invested around EUR 70 million in the so-called CCS technology. This should clear the way for coal-fired electricity generation with almost zero CO2 emissions. |
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Legal disclaimer |
SAM - Member of Robeco |
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Contact
SAM Sustainable Asset Management AG
Josefstrasse 218 · CH-8005 Zürich · Schweiz
Tel. +41 44 653 10 10 · Fax +41 44 653 10 80
info@sam-group.com
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www.sam-group.com
Copyright © 2007
SAM Sustainable Asset Management AG. All rights reserved. |
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