Storebrand excludes Russian companies from its portfolios

Due to the escalating situation in Ukraine, Storebrand has decided today to freeze all Russian investments and divest from Russia.

“By its actions, Russia has undoubtedly committed a violation of international law and the right of states to self-government. An action that is clearly condemned by the international community. We have evaluated our investments and believe that it is our duty as a responsible asset manager to act,” says Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO of Storebrand Asset Management, adding;

“We are deeply concerned about the situation, which is resulting in severe harm to people affected in the region. The escalating situation could have far-reaching implications for the world community and the world economy for a long time to come.”

Storebrand has excluded several companies that have been specifically evaluated deemed to be state-controlled or have a strong risk of directly or indirectly contributing to violations of human rights. Further, Storebrand has extended the exclusion to all companies based in Russia, given the state of governance in the country and therefore the high risk of these companies directly or indirectly contributing to human rights violations.

The decision, which takes effect immediately, means that Storebrand is excluding 19 companies representing holdings with a value of approximately NOK 1,4 billion.

The exclusions are based on human rights violations, the introduction of sanctions from the international community and the Norwegian government's decision that the Oil Fund will sell out of the country.

Storebrand believes that there are also good grounds for excluding government bonds pledged by the Russian state, in the light of the serious violation of international law. Storebrand does not currently hold any Russian government bonds.

“The fact that we are going step further and excluding all Russian companies is a measure that we believe is necessary given the current situation. A decision which is reinforced by international authorities’ sanctions against Russia and the Norwegian authorities' decision to sell out the Norwegian Petroleum Fund and other asset owners. This is an extraordinary decision, but we are in an extraordinary situation,” Saugestad concludes.

Storebrand intends to sell all the relevant holdings as soon as possible. However, restrictions or disruptions in the market may limit how fast we can make the transactions, or may make it more difficult to sell at all. If any such case occur, the holdings would be frozen until they can be sold.

The divestments apply to:

• Russian state/government Bonds
• State-controlled companies
• Companies subject to UN and EU sanctions as a result of the Russian invasion
• Companies directly or indirectly involved in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine
• All Russian investable entities excluded by the Norwegian Government, Norges Bank Investment Management, and Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global