Vontobel

General description of organisation

Vontobel is an international investment management firm with Swiss roots, providing investment, advisory and solution capabilities to private and institutional clients. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, we are present across 28 locations world-wide. Vontobel Holding AG shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and majority owned by the founding family. The family’s close ties to the company guarantee entrepreneurial independence, and the resulting freedom creates an obligation to assume social responsibility. As of December 31, 2023, Vontobel held CHF 264.9 billion of total client assets. With our investment-led approach that focuses exclusively on the buy-side of financial markets, we think and act purely from the client’s perspective – as an investor for investors.

Reason for membership with SSF

For generations, Vontobel has acted and invested for the long-term. As an active investment firm, the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into our product and service offering is a key part of our sustainability strategy.

Our six Sustainability Commitments set out the key levers that we have as a global investment firm and as a corporate citizen to deliver on the promise we have made based on our Sustainability Positioning. We are working systematically across all our operations to deliver on our six Sustainability Commitments and, in doing so, are helping to drive the transition to a more sustainable economy and society.

We believe that ESG consideration is part of our fiduciary duty, requires investment team accountability, and demands transparency. For this reason, our investment teams subscribe to Vontobel’s four ESG Investment Principles:
1. We incorporate ESG considerations into our investment processes to enable our clients to better achieve their investment objectives.
2. As active managers, we leverage the tools of engagement and voting.
3. Our investment teams are accountable for the application of our ESG Investment Principles.
4. We are committed to transparency through disciplined disclosure, reporting and dialogue with all our stakeholders.
This foundation enables us to offer a wide range of ESG investment solutions, in response to our clients’ desired investment objective(s).

Vontobel has been a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) since 2010 and promotes sustainability in the finance industry through its active membership with various organizations. We are convinced that sustainable finance can become an important pillar of the Swiss Financial Centre and we see SSF as an important actor to foster a further integration of ESG in all aspects of finance.