AXA Group plans to dispose of all its exposure to tobacco companies, currently valued at around €1.8bn, while the insurer will no longer make new investments into the sector.
The French insurance company said it has made the move as a result of the changing role of health insurers, which will see it increase investments into companies which focus on the prevention of diseases. The company will sell its equity holdings in tobacco companies worth €0.2bn immediately. It will also stop all new investment in tobacco industry corporate bonds and run off its existing tobacco industry bond holdings, currently valued at around €1.6bn. Thomas Buberl, deputy CEO and incoming CEO of AXA, said: "We strongly believe in the positive role insurance can play in society,...
To continue reading this article...
Join Investment Week for free
Signup and gain exclusive members-only insights - all free of charge!
- Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
- Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
- Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
- Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
- Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes
