As an asset owner and manager

Swiss Life is an asset manager for its own insurance companies as well as for third-party clients such as pension funds, other insurance companies and private investors. As a responsible investor, Swiss Life can make a relevant contribution to the positive development of society and the environment. It does this by reducing risks to society and the environment, exploiting corresponding opportunities, and offering its customers appropriate investment products and solutions. The long-term protection of customer funds and the optimal allocation of risk capital are the main objectives. Invested assets must be secure, profitable, and liquid overall.

Due to the long-term nature of its liabilities, Swiss Life invests predominantly in fixed-income securities such as government and corporate bonds as well as in real estate, equities and infrastructure. Its investment decisions have always been informed by a long-term assessment of risks and returns. To further strengthen its commitment to responsible investing, Swiss Life has formalised its approach to integrating ESG criteria into investment and risk management processes. Swiss Life systematically integrates ESG aspects into the investment process and risk management for all asset classes. This results in a broader information base and more balanced risk cover.

Swiss Life’s “Responsible Investment” approach encompasses all three dimensions of the ESG spectrum. In the context of TCFD reporting, a special focus is placed on climate-related and therefore environmental considerations. Analysing and understanding climate indicators are considered essential for Swiss Life in order to assess and appropriately manage climate-related risks and opportunities within the investment portfolio.

Swiss Life regularly obtains climate indicators from the independent providers MSCI ESG Research LLC, Bloomberg, Germanwatch and the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). These comprise on the one hand backward-looking key figures such as greenhouse gas emissions and, on the other hand, forward-looking indicators from scenario analyses. In order to more easily assess its understanding of climate-related risks, Swiss Life has been participating in the Paris Agreement Capital Transition Assessment (PACTA) since 2017. This is organised by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the “2 Investing Initiative”. Swiss Life is gradually continuing the integration of the climate scenario metrics and the further application of various transition scenarios. The disclosed figures on greenhouse gas emissions correspond to the internationally recognised standards of the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.