PFA Climate Plus enables you to place your pension savings in extra climate-friendly investments. From the outset, shares in PFA Climate Plus will emit 60 % less CO2 than the global equity index. The goal is for PFA Climate Plus to become CO2-neutral by 2025 and remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than it emits by 2030. As with the rest of PFA’s investments, in PFA Climate Plus, investments are also selected on the basis of respect for social conditions and corporate governance – collectively referred to as ESG.
Same risk level and return potential
Same risk level and return potential
The PFA Climate Plus product is rooted in the basic idea that the risk and the expectation of revenue must follow the existing market interest rate product, PFA Plus. Basically, this means that, even if you choose to invest some of your savings in PFA Climate Plus, you will maintain the same risk level and long-term return potential.
Having said that, the return will evolve differently as the products are invested in different assets. While many of the assets in PFA Climate Plus are also part of the rest of PFA’s portfolio, the reverse is not the case. This is due to the extraordinarily high climatic requirements, which only a limited number of companies can fulfil. Accordingly, PFA Climate Plus contains far fewer companies than the regular PFA Plus product. This usually triggers major fluctuations, especially in the short term, since there are fewer assets to balance each other.
PFA Climate Plus is based on three concrete climate goals
For a number of years, PFA has worked systematically to integrate accountability and sustainability into our investment of the pension customers’ savings.
For one thing, our approach is based on the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Global Goals. In terms of supporting the green transition, PFA Climate Plus goes one step further. Basically, investing your pension in a climate-friendly way should be simple and flexible, and the climate objective clear and tangible. That is why PFA Climate Plus is based on three climate goals.
From the outset, the equity portfolio in Climate Plus will emit 60 % less CO2 than the global equity index (MSCI ACWI)1.
As we approach 2025, the ambition is for the entire product to be CO2-neutral2.
As we approach 2030, the ambition is for the entire product to be CO2-negative2, removing more CO2 from the atmosphere than the investments emit
1The MSCI All Country World Equity Index measures CO2 by Scope 1 and Scope 2 (see later in the text) in the listed equity portfolio in tons of CO2 emitted per million USD invested.
2 We attempt to achieve this goal by investing in forestry and technology that removes CO2.
PFA Plus versus PFA Climate Plus
PFA Plus versus PFA Climate Plus
PFA’s investments in general
PFA aims systematically to take societal issues into account when investing customers’ savings. We do so by continuously assessing companies’ accountability profile in relation to issues such as climate and the environment, corruption, tax practices, corporate governance and human rights. The assessment is based on PFA’s policy for responsible investments, which is rooted in PFA’s Board of Directors and which can be viewed on PFA.dk at any time.
If we consider that a company does not comply with PFA’s policy for responsible investments, in the first instance we talk to that company in an effort to influence its behaviour. If discussions do not lead to the desired changes, PFA will consider divesting itself of the company in question and, in extreme cases, place it on our exclusion list. Both the exclusion list and the discussions can be viewed under ‘Corporate Responsibility’ on PFA.dk.
Overview: PFA Plus and PFA Climate Plus
Overview of the difference between PFA Plus and PFA Climate Plus
The chart below illustrates a comparison of the two products on the basis of a number of parameters:
Parameters
PFA Plus
PFA Climate Plus
Responsible investments and active ownership
✔
✔
Extra focus on climate
–
✔
Fossil fuels
✔
–
CO2 emission in terms of the global stock index
-16 %
-60 %
Goal to be CO2 -neutral by
2050
2025
Alternative investments and properties
Approx. 23 % currently
Approx. 20 % over time
Risk in relation to PFA Plus
–
Comparable risk with PFA Plus*
Expected return in relation to PFA Plus
–
Same long-term return as PFA Plus
APR
0,6-0,99 %
0,6-0,99 %
Scaling down towards retirement
✔
✔
* The equity portfolio in PFA Klima Plus consists of fewer shares (approximately 50) and has a core theme of reduced climate impact. This means that the concentration risk is greater in PFA Climate Plus. At the same time, PFA Climate Plus has a so-called scenario risk if, for example, the political and business climate focus shifts significantly in relation to the current one.
Here you can see the climate criteria that apply to the various assets of PFA Climate Plus:
Shares
Like PFA’s other investments, the PFA Climate Plus portfolio is assessed on the basis of the requirements we have set for our responsible investment policy. There is also an additional regard for climate, which means, for one thing, that investments in oil, coal and gas companies are excluded. It also means that the equity portfolio will be far more focused on climate-friendly companies. Whereas the current equity portfolio in PFA Invest includes approximately 1,000 companies, currently the equity portfolio in PFA Climate Plus includes only approximately 50 companies.
Bonds
When it comes to bonds, to a far greater extent than in PFA’s other investments, PFA Climate Plus will use so-called ‘green’ bonds, issued for the funding of measures that help tackle the climate challenge. The same requirements apply to corporate bonds as to shares. There is no investment in bonds from oil, coal and gas companies, and bond issuers must have a climate-positive business model. PFA will also invest in ordinary government and mortgage bonds.
Derivatives
PFA Climate Plus will also use derivatives (financial contracts for assets) based on shares, interest rates, etc. to ensure optimal risk management. Equity derivatives are subject to the same requirements as the equity portfolio in PFA Climate Plus.
Alternative investments
Alternative investments and properties are a very important part of the existing PFA Plus product. The idea is also for PFA Climate Plus to invest approximately 20 % of the portfolio in alternative investments and properties. These investments must also meet the climate requirements that apply to PFA Climate Plus. Therefore, the development of the alternative and property portfolio is expected to be a gradual process.
How does PFA measure the portfolio’s CO<sub>2</sub> emissions?
How does PFA measure the CO2 emissions of the portfolio?
PFA’s work on climate targets depends on our ability to measure and monitor the CO2 emissions of our equity investments. This is not entirely adequate, since there is a lack of sufficient data for many assets. Fundamentally, therefore, PFA only systematically measures CO2 emissions from the equity portfolio; not from the likes of the bond portfolio or our alternatives.
Source: MSCI 2019
From the outset, shares in PFA Climate Plus will emit 60 % less CO2 than the world equity index (MSCI ACWI), while PFA currently emits 16 % less CO2.
CO2 emissions in investments are measured by tons per USD million invested. For MSCI ACWI, CO2 emissions were 135 tons per USD million invested in 2019, while in PFA Plus and PFA Climate Plus they stand respectively at 113 and 54 tons per USD million invested.
PFA obtains figures from the global share index, MSCI
PFA’s assessments and benchmark are based on data from the MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index), which annually publishes estimates for the CO2 emissions of individual companies. Even though MSCI is currently the market standard for measuring CO2 emissions from an equity portfolio, the data used is still subject to a degree of uncertainty. This is partly because a lot of data is retrospective and may be a year or two old; and partly because there are still many companies that do not even publish data on their CO2 emissions. In the latter case, MSCI itself assesses emissions by using comparable companies in the same industry and locality.
MSCI’s assessment takes into account three different aspects of a company’s CO2 emissions. These are known as ‘Scopes’. While there is reasonably reliable data for Scopes 1 and 2, Scope 3 is subject to great uncertainty and is difficult to calculate. Consequently, it is not currently included in the measurement or benchmark of PFA Climate Plus.
• Scope 1 is the CO2 emitted by a company’s activities – e.g. manufacturing, etc.
• Scope 2 is the CO2 for which a company is indirectly responsible – e.g. CO₂ from energy produced for the company.
• Scope 3 is the CO2 emitted by the company’s other indirect activities: in other words, sources that companies do not own, control or manage. This might be, for example, the application of a company’s products.
Use the Investment Guide to manage your climate profile
Use the Investment Guide to manage your climate profile
By using the PFA Investment Guide at My PFA, you can identify your willingness to take risks and your preferences for climate-conscious investments. The guide features a number of questions and, based on your answers, will provide an individual and qualified recommendation both for your choice of risk and for your climate profile.
