Responsible investing in practice

Our Asset Management has been steadily contributing to the Group’s vision. As an early adopter of responsible investing, it signed the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and formalised its commitment to this practice in 2007. In 2012, Swiss Re became a signatory of the UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance. In 2017, we reached a key milestone on our journey: as one of the first re/insurance companies we integrated ESG benchmarks into our investment portfolio. This was a significant step forward from considering ESG as an "add-on" approach only.

Swiss Re's Responsible Investing strategy relies on the three cornerstones Enhancement, Inclusion and Exclusion, of which Enhancement is the most meaningful. Integrating ESG considerations into investment portfolios can make economic sense.

As a founding member of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (AOA), launched in 2019, Swiss Re committed to transitioning its investment portfolio to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, while setting intermediate targets for every five-year period until then. Managing the risks and opportunities arising from climate change is included in Swiss Re´s Responsible Investing strategy, and involves setting targets, taking action, measuring and reporting.

Swiss Re Asset Management operates within a well-defined framework. Strong governance is key to including sustainability considerations along the investment process in a structured and controlled manner. The Responsible Investing strategy is based on clear principles, procedures and responsibilities consistent with Swiss Re's Code of Conduct and formal commitment to sustainability. 

The Board of Director Risk Committee reviews Swiss Re’s Asset Management activities and, as part of this, receives regular updates on the approach to enhancing responsible investing.  

The overall responsibility for the Responsible Investing decisions lies with the Group Chief Investment Officer (Group CIO), who is informed about sustainability developments through appropriate channels, including the Asset Management Investment Committee (AM IC). The AM IC reviews the RI strategy and related reports as part of the investment process, advises the Group CIO on strategic investment decisions and improvements related to Responsible Investing. The AM IC is updated on RI developments and activities in the investment portfolio at least once a year. 

Swiss Re's Head Responsible Investing (Head RI), with the support of a dedicated team, is responsible for the development, implementation and reporting of the Responsible Investing strategy across Asset Management. As part of this, the Head RI steers the ESG Advisory Board, a body formed by representatives of all investment units. The ESG Advisory Board members report on responsible investment activities in their respective investment units, develop and review improvement ideas, share knowledge and monitor implementation progress of Responsible Investing activities. 

The Swiss Re Responsible Investing policy describes the approach to responsible investing, specifies roles and responsibilities in the organisation, and defines implementation, monitoring and reporting standards for responsible investment considerations in the Group's investment portfolio. 

The policy is reviewed periodically and updated if required. It is complemented by the Swiss Re Asset Management's Stewardship policy, which consist of guiding principles on voting activities as well as the Engagement Framework and is consistent with regulatory developments such as the Shareholder Rights Directive 2017/828 (SRD II). It rounds off the integration of the Enhancement approach and specifically expresses Swiss Re's commitment to being a shareholder. More information on Swiss Re Asset Management's stewardship activities can be found under Enhancement.

• Overview of Swiss Re Asset Management's Responsible Investing Approach
• Overview of Swiss Re Asset Management's Stewardship Approach
• Swiss Re Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement
• Swiss Re Europe S.A. EU Taxonomy Sustainability Report 2023
• Swiss Re International SE EU Taxonomy Sustainability Report 2023

Based on Swiss Re's Responsible Investing approach as well as its environmental and social performance, Swiss Re has received top sustainability ratings and is part of the major sustainability indices. More information on Swiss Re's sustainability ratings and index listings can be found in the Investors' section. 

PRI is the leading global investor platform for learning, engaging and sharing of best practices in responsible investing with the mission to enable a sustainable global financial system. 

In December 2023, PRI released the assessment results for the reporting year 2022. Swiss Re received four out of five stars for all reported categories except for confidence building measures, for which Swiss Re received three out of five stars. 

2022 PRI Transparency Report 

The 2022 PRI Assessment Report is available on request. To receive access, please reach out to the contact listed below.

As a founding member of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (AOA), Swiss Re co-led the development of all AOA Target Setting Protocols so far. Swiss Re also co-led the development the AOA’s first progress report and contributed to the second and third version. In 2023, Swiss Re's Group CIO was elected as a member of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (AOA) Steering Group from 2024 until the end of 2025.