- SHS has been investing according to ethical standards for more than 25 years and its ESG policy is an important aspect of investment decisions. Now it is also becoming a member of the PRI (UN Principles for Responsible Investment)
- The Tübingen-based healthcare investor has committed itself to contractual compliance with the requirements of the UN Investor Initiative for Responsible Investment.
- SHS enables investors to combine their capital investments with social responsibility
More and more investors are interested in investment opportunities that offer more than just a financial return - they are looking for an investment opportunity that also creates social value in order to be able to invest responsibly beyond the basic option of investing money. The healthcare sector in particular is one area where there are very good opportunities to make social responsibility investing (SRI) the benchmark for investment. For example, the promotion of health, the prevention of diseases, as well as the alleviation of pain and the preservation of quality of life are targeted goals here. Whether in the field of oncology, laser surgery, heart attack and stroke prevention, the treatment of migraine, epilepsy and depression, or to improve measures in the Corona pandemic, the opportunity to support advances in health care and thus create better health conditions for themselves and others is a reason for many investors to invest in an SHS fund, in addition to the focus on returns. As a result, portfolio companies funded by SHS have been able to help more than seventeen million people in over eighty countries. But SHS would like to do even more in the future and document this. The Tübingen-based investment company recently became a member of the Principles for Responsible Investment, an investor initiative founded in 2006 in cooperation with the finance initiative of the UN Environment Programme UNEP and the UN Global Compact. It is supported by the United Nations and aims to enforce the jointly formulated rules of responsible investment. With this in mind, SHS will continue to ensure that its portfolio companies comply with the required standards. Dr André Zimmermann, Partner at SHS and Head of ESG, explains:
"SHS is proud to call itself a PRI certified company and requires itself and its portfolio companies to comply with the required measures. We continuously seek to improve our ESG record, for our investors but also out of a conviction to be part of a good cause."
Regarding the more detailed enforcement of ESG standards at SHS portfolio companies, SHS partner Manfred Ulmer-Weber explains:
"Before we consider a company for investment, we conduct ESG due diligence among other screening aspects. If the company does not meet the expected specifications, SHS does not participate. While investing in an ESG compliant company, the common goal is to add value to the company while also further improving the ESG score of the company in question. Those companies that were already in partnership with us before we joined PRI are no exception. They go through the same procedure to ensure a hundred percent standard. “
Finally, SHS partner Dr. André Zimmermann uses an SHS portfolio company as an example:
"An exemplary example of responsible investing is our investment in phenox GmbH in Bochum. Here, many stroke patients are helped every day to prevent or mitigate the consequences of such a stroke of fate through innovative minimally invasive treatment methods. The company is just one of many SHS portfolio companies dedicated to curing patients and reducing their suffering. We are pleased to support such companies with growth capital. “
PRI CEO Fiona Reynolds comments: “We are very pleased to welcome SHS as a signatory to the PRI. Engagement from asset managers in sustainable investing is tremendously important, and we applaud SHS in Germany for recognising the importance of ESG in its investment and ownership decisions. We look forward to working with the team.”
About PRI:
The PRI works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. The PRI acts in the long-term interests of its signatories, of the financial markets and economies in which they operate and ultimately of the environment and society as a whole. Launched in New York in 2006, the PRI has grown to more than 4,000 signatories, managing over US $121 trillion AUM.
More information at: PRI | Home (unpri.org)
