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'Ethical' Nordea funds dump BP holdings

Published: 7 Jun 10 15:57 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/27088/20100607/

Nordea's committee for responsible investment decided on Friday to divest its holdings in BP in all of its 'ethical' profile funds.

The committee added that it has agreed that all other Nordea funds will postpone investments in BP until the British firm has evaluated its systematic risk management. The decision will have a direct impact on about 20 Nordea funds sold in the Nordic countries that have invested in BP.

"The environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is an extraordinary situation given the size of the oil spill, BP's weak reaction, the initiation of a criminal investigation against the company and the risk of further accidents," said Sasja Beslik, head of Nordea's responsible investments and governance (RIG) group in a statement.

The committee justified its decision because BP did not follow its own safety and environmental regulations, according to the information available, and had failed to disclose information and was not explicit about the handling of similar activities from a safety and environmental standpoint.

Nordea's RIG group works with a thorough analysis of oil and gas companies to identify systemic safety and environmental risks associated with deep-sea drilling.

The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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05:13 June 8, 2010 by Sebastian_R
Rightfully so. And while they are at it, why not kick-out the other oil companies, too?

I'm really looking for an enthical ETF/Index Fund but they are hard to come by. Why aren't there more and better established ethical ways to get into stock market passivly
07:45 June 8, 2010 by rufus.t.firefly
Since moving to Sweden, I have noticed the word "leadership" is invoked almost obcessively. It is used without meaning or context and void of expectations. In fact, it is most often used to escape credit for bad conduct.

In this case, however, an act of genuine leadership has taken place. May this shining example be replicated over and over.
09:27 June 8, 2010 by Pont-y-garreg
The first sentence in this article makes no grammatical sense at all.
10:04 June 8, 2010 by flintis
They've not "dumped" them, they state they will make no further investment.
11:28 June 8, 2010 by StockholmSam
Hey Flintis, read the article in DN. Nordea has begun the process of removing BP holdings from its funds. So yes, they are dumping BP.
17:13 June 8, 2010 by nielsl
I guess a lot of funds are getting rid of BP's shares, because its in decline.

I don't see how this company does bad compared to for example shell or exxon.. all these companies have been responsible for big scandals in the african regions. Now it';s in the US its more visible, but honestly this sounds like a hypocrite move to me, unless they have no stakes in all these other oil companies.
23:01 June 8, 2010 by rufus.t.firefly
Maybe it is hypocritical. But maybe the other oil companies will notice.
12:13 June 11, 2010 by Audrian
BG stock prices are tanking by the day. Any sensible investor should cut and run with its money, because the worst has not yet come. Nodea's statements are opporunistic rather than principled. If it dis-invests from all oil companies, which are behaving the same way, it might make sense.
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