Eurizon strengthens its commitment to responsible investments by introducing in its range of offers, Eurizon Fund – Absolute Green Bonds, the first instrument set up by an asset manager of Italian origin specialized in international bond markets which allows finance projects related to the environment.
Eurizon Fund – Absolute Green Bonds is a sub-fund that selects bonds, mainly investment grade, using the criteria defined by the GBP (Green Bonds Principles) in order to support the growth of investments with Green environmental issues to combat climate change, sustainably manage the consumption of natural resources, control and decrease pollution, etc.
It was also discussed at the Salone del Risparmio in Milan, where he spoke Andrea Conti, Head of Macro Research at Eurizon Capital: “Since 2017 Eurizon has integrated ESG criteria into its investment decisions, to create long-term value by supporting the development of a valid and sustainable economic system. Eurizon Fund – Absolute Green Bonds is an example of this”.
Conti then spoke above all of the PIRs, the individual savings plans, which "have not created a bubble on the minor stock lists of Piazza Affari: the valuations of Italian mid-cap companies are in line with the European ones". "The only critical point of the PIRs was to say that valuations are on the bubble, but this is not true," explains Conti. “The numbers show that the valuation of the mid caps of the Italian index, where the Pir effect has been most unloaded, at this moment are in line with the German and French ones. It is true that in general in the world mid caps have done very well. The Italian ones didn't go any better and therefore there wasn't a PIR effect”.
Innovative tools such as Pir they can help savers invest in riskier assets, given that “about a third of Italians' financial assets are invested in deposits or short-term liquidity instruments, with very low or sub-zero returns. And this - Conti underlines - is a heritage of the country that is not put to work. Risk is missing an opportunity. It's the money of those who are nostalgic for 6% Bots, which we will probably never see again".
And after having contributed to developing the financial culture of Italians and having brought them closer to neglected stock sectors, now we need to develop the business side. Companies, continues the head of Macro Research at Eurizon Capital, "must do their part and act as a driving force: the culture of wanting to be quoted must develop, of wanting to grow and become bigger and therefore to be able to invest more in research”. At the moment "the average size of our companies is very small and we have an excessive share of companies that are too small" compared to GDP.
