“The LuxFLAG ESG Label is recognized for high standards and rigorous assessment of applicant investment fund. We are pleased to announce that NEF Ethical Balanced Fund meets the eligibility criteria of the LuxFLAG ESG Label and therefore has been awarded with the label starting from 1 October 2017" said Annemarie Arens, General Manager of LuxFLAG.

The company that manages the NEF investment fund (Fonds Commun de Placement) i.e. NEAM (Nord Est Asset Management S.A.), was delighted when the LuxFLAG ESG Label was granted to the NEF Ethical Balanced Dynamic sub-fund. This label certifies that the investment process complies with the ESG (Environmental, Social, Corporate Governance) criteria laid down by LuxFLAG. This investment vehicle is now one of the thirteen funds that have received this prestigious label from the Luxembourg Finance Labelling Agency (“LuxFLAG”).

According to the agency’s rules, the LuxFLAG ESG Label granted to the NEF Ethical Balanced Dynamic sub-fund will be valid for one year, i.e. until 30th September 2018.      

The ESG label aims at reassuring unitholders that 100 % underlying assets of the labelled fund are screened against Environmental, Social and Governance principles.

We believe ethical finance plays a key role in the prospects of the economy, both because of the responsible approach of investors availing themselves of these vehicles and because of the advantages in terms of competitivity and reliability that companies and countries complying with its principles benefit from in the medium term” adds Samanta Graziosi, confirming NEF’s commitment to this sector.

NEF’s ethical investment vehicles currently consist of three sub-funds: NEF Ethical Balanced Dynamic, that consists of stocks to an extent of 25 to 45% of the portfolio, NEF Ethical Balanced Conservative, entailing a part in bonds that may vary from 60 to 90%, and NEF Ethical Total Return Bond, whose assets are entirely invested in global bonds. NEAM has started the procedure to obtain the LuxFLAG ESG Label for the NEF Ethical Balanced Conservative and NEF Ethical Total Return Bond sub-funds as well.

Created by NEAM S.A. in 1999 when the company was established, NEF is a multi-manager umbrella fund which, after an accurate selection process, assigns the management of its various sub-funds to some of the most important investment companies on the international scenario. Fund diversification opportunities are offered by the three aforementioned Ethical sub-funds as well as five Bond sub-funds, seven Equity sub-funds and a balanced sub-fund focused on the Italian market. In addition to Luxembourg, the fund is distributed - to both private and institutional unitholders – in Germany (through the Attrax platform), in Spain (through the Allfunds platform) and in Italy by the Banche di Credito Cooperativo. The assets managed amount to a total of approximately 3 billion Euro.