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Many private investors, but institutional investors like pension funds, insurance companies and social organizations as well, have a vast amount of their assets administered by external asset managers. These asset managers can be part of a bank or insurance company, or independent financial institutions. Regularly it is not obvious for investors what these asset managers precisely do with the entrusted money. Do they, for example invest in notorious environmental polluters or human rights busters? Or do they invest in companies who actively work on sustainable production and production methods?

Profundo analyses what asset managers do with the investors' entrusted money and which social and environmental standards they use for their investments. Profundo also researches the possible role of asset managers concerning the financing of sustainable operating corporations. Besides we consult asset managers on the completion of their responsible investmentpolicy.

Date	Projects
9 June 2007 Asset managers, Banks, Climate change, Coal, Oil & gas, Renewable energy	Assessing climate impacts of Dutch banks Study on the investments by Dutch banks in producers of oil, gas and coal and in renewable energy sources. Client: Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) Document(s): Financial Times: Bank is a climate laggard, say Friends of the Earth, 11 June 2007 The Guardian: Green campaigner sees red over those eco-unfriendly big banks, 7 July 2007 Report Milieudefensie: Investing in Climate Change - Dutch Banks Compared 2007, June 2007 Press release Friends of the earth Netherlands: Climate Change? Not with my money, 9 June 2007 Press release Friends of the Earth netherlands: Dutch customers start moving to climate-conscious banks, 22 June 2007 Social Funds: ABN Amro: Honored for its Global Sustainability Work and Called Out for Its Climate Change Finance, 29 June 2007
10 June 2007 Asset managers, Oppressive regimes, Tobacco, Weapons	Investments in controversial companies by Dutch charities Quick scan into the investments by Dutch charities in controversial companies, which are involved in human rights violations or serious forms of environmental pollution or which are producing controversial weapons or tobacco. Client: Zembla
10 January 2003 Asset managers, Banks, Palm oil, Pulp & paper, Soy, Timber	Finance, Environment and Sustainable Development Presentation on Finance, Environment and Sustainable Development. Client: UNEP Finance Initiative Document(s): Presentation: The Risks of Financing Forest Conversion European Seminar Report: Finance, Environment and Sustainable Development
10 November 2007 Asset managers, Oil & gas, Oppressive regimes, Pension funds	Investments in Sudan Opinion article written with Frans Bieckmann (The Broker) on the political and economic options to put pressure on the regime in Sudan to achieve a lasting and fair peace in Darfur.
10 October 2007 Asset managers, Banks, Copper, Gold, Human rights, Oil & gas, Oppressive regimes	The financing of companies violating human rights Study on the involvement of financial institutions in the financing of companies which violate human rights or labour rights, or which are doing business with oppressive regimes. Client: BankTrack, Netwerk Vlaanderen Document(s): Press release Netwerk Vlaanderen:New report reveals alarming investment practices by financial groups: 12 December 2007 Report Urgewald: Deutsche Bank: Ein fragwürdiges Markenzeichen, May 2008
1 July 2004 Asset managers, Cocoa, Palm oil	The new shareholders of LonSum Study on the institutional investors owning the Indonesian oil palm company PP London Sumatra Indonesia (LonSum). Client: Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland
1 October 2003 Asset managers, Banks, Weapons	Belgian banks and the global weapons industry Research on the financial involvement of Belgian bank groups in the global weapons industry. Client: Netwerk Vlaanderen
10 December 2007 Asset managers, Pension funds	Responsible investment by Dutch pension funds and pension insurers Benchmark of 30 large Dutch pension funds and pension insurers with regard to the content, implementation and transparency of their responsible investment policies. Client: Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO), Consumentenbond Document(s): IPE: Real SRI engagement small among funds, 13 december 2007 Responsible Investor: How a TV documentary on cluster bombs became an ESG benchmark, 17 January 2008 Report VBDO: Responsible Investment by Dutch Pension Funds and Pension Insurers, December 2007
9 October 2007 Asset managers, Banks, Weapons	The financing of three producers of uranium weapons Study on the involvement of international financial institutions in the financing of three American producers of depleted uranium weapons. Client: Netwerk Vlaanderen Document(s): Netwerk Vlaanderen: Too Risky for Business? Bank of New York investeert in uraniumwapens, 5 November 2007 Press release Netwerk Vlaanderen: International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons & Netwerk Vlaanderen, 6 November 2007 Report Urgewald: Deutsche Bank: Ein fragwürdiges Markenzeichen, May 2008
10 June 2007 Asset managers, Banks, Copper, Gold, Human rights, Oil & gas, Weapons	Financing of some controversial companies by Dutch banks Quick scan on the financing of some controversial companies, weapons producers and companies seriously polluting the environment, by Dutch banks. Client: Zembla
1 October 2005 Asset managers, Banks, Human rights, Oppressive regimes	Belgian banks as shareholders of companies that are involved in human rights violations Research on the shares held by Belgian banks in companies that are involved in human rights violations. Client: Netwerk Vlaanderen Document(s): Press release Netwerk Vlaanderen: AXA invests heavily in new US landmine producers, 18 October 2005 Press release Netwerk Vlaanderen: AXA invests heavily in new US landmine producers, 18 October 2005 Press release Netwerk Vlaanderen: Belgian bank groups invest in companies that abuse human rights, January 2006 Press release Netwerk Vlaanderen: Shareholders protest against ING investments in human rights abuses, 25 April 2006
26 June 2001 Asset managers, Banks, Pulp & paper	Paper Tiger, Hidden Dragons - The financing of Asia Pulp & Paper Research into the financing of the large Indonesian pulp and paper producer Asia Pulp & Paper (APP). Client: Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland Document(s): Report of Friends of the Earth EWNI: Paper Tiger, Hidden Dragons, 26 June 2001 Press release Friends of the Earth EWNI: Rainforest Paper Floods UK Market, 26 June 2001
27 March 2008 Asset managers, Banks, Nuclear energy, Uranium	Mined U - Financing of new uranium mines Study on the involvement of more than 80 international financial institutions in the financing of 14 uranium mining companies, together accounting for more than 90% of the world's uranium production. Client: WISE Document(s): Report Urgewald: Deutsche Bank: Ein fragwürdiges Markenzeichen, May 2008 Report BankTrack/Greenpeace Netherlands: Financing of new uranium mines, March 2008 Press release World Information Services on Energy (WISE), 26 March 2008
12 April 2004 Asset managers, Banks, Weapons	Cluster Bombs, Landmines, Nuclear Weapons and Depleted Uranium Weapons A study on the financial links between Belgian banks and the producers of controversial weapon systems. Client: Netwerk Vlaanderen Document(s): Report Netwerk Vlaanderen: Cluster Bombs, Landmines, Nuclear Weapons and Depleted Uranium Weapons - A report on the financial links between banks and the producers of controversial weapon systems, April 2004 Press release Netwerk Vlaanderen: ING disinvests (partly) from controversial weapons, 24 March 2005
11 February 2002 Asset managers, Banks, Pulp & paper	Paper Tiger, Hidden Dragons 2: APRIL Fools Research into the financing of the large Indonesian pulp- and paper producer APRIL. Client: Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland Document(s): Report FoE EWNI: Paper Tiger, Hidden Dragons 2: APRIL Fools, February 2002 Press release FoE EWNI: FOE report slams UK merchants buying rainforest-sourced paper from Singapore-based APRIL, 11 February 2002
5 June 2008 Asset managers, Banks, Human rights, Oppressive regimes, Weapons	The financing of companies violating human rights Research into the financing of companies involved in human rights violations by a number of banks active in Belgium. Client: Netwerk Vlaanderen Document(s): Press release Netwerk Vlaanderen: Risk of harmful investments is too high for Belgian customers, 4 June 2008
10 April 2008 Asset managers, Banks, Pulp & paper	Financing the Pulp & Paper Sector in Indonesia: Lessons learned? Presentation during the Indonesian Pulp & Paper Roundtable in New York. Client: Environmental Paper Network Document(s): Report Random House Inc.: Pulp & Paper Indonesia- Assessing Risk and Oppertunities, April 2008
4 February 2008 Asset managers, Banks, Oil & gas	The financing of Canadian oil sands exploration and production Research into the financing of oil companies active in exploration and production of Canadian oil sands. Client: WWF United Kingdom
20 March 2008 Asset managers, Banks, Copper, Gold, Hydropower, Oil & gas, Pension funds, Weapons	Trends in the financing of four sensitive sectors Strategic analysis of the financing trends in four sensitive sectors: mining, dams, oil and gas and the weapons industry. Client: BankTrack Document(s): The Times: Mind the Gap finds banks wanting, January 2008
8 December 2008 Asset managers, Pension funds	Benchmark Pensionfunds Second edition of the benchmark of Dutch pension funds and pension insurers with regard to the content, implementation and transparency of their responsible investment policies. Client: Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) Document(s): IPE: 1 in 5 pension providers still not SRI-proof, 8 december 2008
3 November 2008 Asset managers, Banks, Pension funds, Pulp & paper, Sustainable management, Timber	FSC and financial institutions FSC Netherlands together with Profundo talks with financial institutions (banks, insurers and pension funds) about their possibilities to support the FSC-inititative. In May 2007 ING netherlands and pension fund PME decided to use only FSC-paper. Besides that PME uses FSC as a criteria for its investments in woods. Last November the Dutch governmental pensionfund ABP also decided to shift to FSC-paper totally from 2009 onwards. Client: FSC Netherlands
23 April 2009 Asset managers, Pension funds	Asset Managers - Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution An inquiry into SRI services offered by Asset Managers to Pension Funds. This research aims to explore the socially responsible investing (SRI) services offered by asset managers active on the Dutch pension market. The VBDO hopes to broaden the understanding of Dutch pension funds regarding the SRI services that asset managers can offer them. Clients with a fiduciary duty to ensure long-term returns, including pension funds, need to understand the ability and willingness of different asset managers to be responsible investors. The study concerns the services that companies offer to Dutch pension funds at present (January 2009) and to the activities companies have undertaken the past year (2008). Client: Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO)
18 June 2008 Asset managers, Pension funds, Sustainable management	Exclusion as an instrument of responsible investment Workshop about exclusion as an instrument of social responsible investment policy at the VBDO Seminar of June 18, 2008. Client: Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO)
28 October 2009 Asset managers, Banks, Pension funds, Weapons	Worldwide investments in cluster munitions Research on investments in producers of cluster munitions by financial institutions worldwide. Client: IKV Pax Christi, Netwerk Vlaanderen Document(s): Report IKV Pax Christi & Netwerk Vlaanderen: Worldwide investments in cluster munitions - a shared responsibility, October 2009. Press release IKV Pax Christi & Netwerk Vlaanderen: Top financial institutions still invest US$20 billion in cluster bombs Banks and pension funds should disinvest from banned weapon, 29 October 2009.