Ethos Foundation, which specializes in socially responsible investing (SRI), and BCV, Switzerland’s fifth-largest universal bank, have entered into a long-term strategic partnership through which they will offer sustainable investment products. In the first phase, six Ethos funds will be managed by BCV’s Asset Management department.

Geneva/Lausanne, 8 October 2020 – In this partnership, Ethos will analyze the companies in the funds based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, applying a methodology and skills developed over more than 20 years. In addition, Ethos will exercise voting rights at shareholders’ meetings in accordance with its own guidelines and engage in dialogue with companies in its funds in order to encourage them to improve their ESG practices.

BCV’s Asset Management teams will contribute their expertise in financial analysis and portfolio management to the partnership. The Bank will also actively promote Ethos funds by listing them in its product offering and including them in the asset management agreements and portfolios that it manages for its clients. At the same time, some BCV products – mainly bond funds – will incorporate Ethos’ ESG analyses and criteria.

Ethos CEO Vincent Kaufmann said, “With BCV, we can count on a partner with deep roots in Switzerland, one that’s close to its clients and, above all, one that recognizes the importance of ESG investing. We have also found a partner that shares our desire to offer Ethos funds to as many institutional and retail investors as possible.”

“Ethos plays a leading role in SRI in Switzerland,” said Stefan Bichsel, the head of BCV’s Asset Management and Trading Division and member of the Executive Board. “For BCV, this partnership is another step towards incorporating ESG criteria into all our products and will strengthen our SRI strategy going forward.” BCV CEO Pascal Kiener added, “This partnership makes perfect sense for BCV, given both our mission and the corporate social responsibility strategy that we have been applying through the years.”

Ethos and BCV will work together closely in order to strengthen this partnership over the coming years and create a new center of expertise in sustainable finance in Switzerland. In the first phase, six Ethos funds – three equity funds, two bond funds, and one asset allocation fund – will be held with BCV, managed by BCV Asset Management, and administered by Gérifonds, the BCV Group subsidiary in charge of fund administration. These changes must still be approved by the relevant authorities, and the exact timeline will be finalized accordingly.

Contacts

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV)

Daniel Herrera, Communications Director
Tel.: +41 21 212 28 61
Email: daniel.herrera@bcv.ch

Gregory Duong, Investor Relations
Tel.: +41 21 212 20 71
Email: gregory.duong@bcv.ch

Ethos

Sébastien Dubas, Communication Manager
Tel.: +41 22 716 15 55
Email: communication@ethosfund.ch

This press release is being issued outside the trading hours of the SIX Swiss Exchange in order to comply with the principles of ad hoc disclosure pursuant to the SIX listing rules.

 The above text is a translation of the original French document; only the French text is authoritative.