In 2019, NN IP published its first Responsible Investing Report, in which it provides insights into how it integrates environmental, social and governance criteria into its investment processes. According to the report a set of ESG criteria is applied to 67% of its total assets under management.
Active engagement
NN IP generally pursues active engagement with potentially controversial companies to help them improve their ESG profiles. One example cited by NN IP is the palm oil industry. Engagements with several large plantation companies have resulted in progress on encouraging them to pursue a more sustainable policy. In 2019, NN IP became a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Exclusion lists
In a limited number of cases, the company has divested it holdings in sectors deemed detrimental to society and/or the planet. Excluded business activities include adult entertainment, arctic drilling, fur & specialty leather, gambling, nuclear energy, shale oil & gas and weapons.
ESG criteria are integrated throughout the investment process for EUR 176 billion of assets under management
Sustainable strategies: AuM EUR 17.4 billion
Impact strategies : AuM EUR 1.9 billion
Products and Services
Funds and investment strategies
NN IP actively manages a diverse range of funds within fixed income, equity, multi-asset and alternatives investment strategies investment funds. Fixed income strategies account for almost two-thirds of the firm’s assets under management. Within fixed income, the company is especially active in specialised fixed income like the emerging market debt market and the growing market for “green” bonds, whose proceeds are used to finance projects that benefit the environment. NN IP is also focusing on the alternative credit market, an asset class that comprises less-liquid loans and financing channels, alongside its specialised equity, multi-asset and liquid alternative strategies.
Fiduciary management
The company’s fiduciary services include providing insurance strategies and pension solutions tailored for individuals as well as companies.
Liability-driven investing
Its range of liability-driven investing solutions are aimed at helping pension funds gain sufficient assets to meet their current and future liabilities, using combinations of fixed interest investment funds focused on specific durations and a selection of cash management and collateral management tools.
Manager selection, portfolio construction and monitoring
NN IP's independently operating subsidiary Altis specializes in the selection and monitoring of external managers and portfolio construction.
Online platforms
NN IP also offers private investors in the Netherlands and selected countries the means to build up personal capital or pension provisions by investing in its funds via several online platforms. These “direct execution” platforms, including the FitVermogen.nl solution for Dutch investors, enable individuals to place orders in funds of varying degrees of risk profile with the aim of achieving different financial goals.
History
The company was created under the name of ING Investment Management in 1994, when parent company NN Group was part of bank and insurance company ING Group. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, ING was required to divest its insurance activities and the asset management division. NN Group, the combination of the two businesses, was listed on Euronext Amsterdam in 2014. The following year, ING Investment Management was rebranded as NN Investment Partners.
