Aspen Joins United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment

Aspen is pleased to announce that it has become a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

An investor initiative in partnership with the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative and UN Global Compact, the PRI is a global network of more than 5,000 organizations committed to integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their investment decision-making and ownership policies.

Aileen Mathieson, Aspen Group Chief Investment Officer, said: “The six Principles for Responsible Investment align closely with Aspen’s ESG strategy and will provide an important framework for factoring in ESG issues into our investment analyses, processes, policies and practices for those asset classes where we are able to do so.”

In 2020, Aspen joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) initiative, a voluntary leadership platform for the development and disclosure of responsible business practices. A key part of Aspen’s ESG strategy is to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and participating in the UNGC initiative further enables the Company to take meaningful action embodied in those goals.

Last year, Aspen was confirmed as a voluntary signatory to the UN Principles of Sustainable Insurance (PSI), and with today’s announcement of becoming a PRI signatory, Aspen has taken yet another important step in reaffirming its commitment to creating a more sustainable world though responsible business practices.

Mathieson added: “We look forward to growing investor interest in practicing responsible investment in support of a more sustainable society and are excited to be partnering with the PRI and other signatories to enhance their effectiveness in implementing the “Principles.”

Founded in 2005, the PRI was established when then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan asked a group of the world’s largest institutional investors to draft the Principles for Responsible Investment. It has since become the leading network for investors demonstrating their commitment to responsible ownership and long-term, sustainable returns. The six key Principles are:

• • We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.

• • We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.

• • We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.

• • We will promote acceptance and implementation of the principles within the investment industry.

• • We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the principles.

• • We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the principles.

Read more about Aspen’s commitment to ESG.