Van Lanschot Kempen offers private banking to wealthy private customers, entrepreneurs and family companies, and merchant banking to business professionals and executives, healthcare professionals, and associations and foundations.[1] At the end of 2016, Van Lanschot Kempen managed €57.5 billion in assets.[2]
Van Lanschot Kempen does not finance or invest in companies involved in the development, production, testing, storing, maintenance and selling of controversial weapons, including nuclear weapons, or of essential components for these weapons, including specifically designed delivery systems and fissile material.[3]
Van Lanschot Kempen’s exclusion policy applies to all types of investments and services offered by the bank itself. In 2016, 75% of the private banking and 85% of the asset management assets were screened by the responsible investment policy.[4]
Not all funds controlled by external asset managers on behalf of Van Lanschot are incorporated in the nuclear weapons policy. However, the bank explains to its clients whether or not the investments managed by external asset managers comply with its policy, and leaves the decision to divest with the client.[5]
Kempen & Co, Van Lanschot Kempen’s asset manager and subsidiary, maintains a public exclusion list on its website. As of the third quarter of 2017, it contains the following companies for involvement with nuclear weapons: Aecom; Bechtel; BWX Technologies; The Boeing Company ; Fluor; Honeywell International; Huntington Ingalls Industries; Jacobs Engineering; Lockheed Martin; Newsport News Nuclear and Serco Group.[6] The list is based on the findings of external research provider MSCI ESG Research.[7]
We commend Van Lanschot for adopting a public policy on nuclear weapons. We recommend Van Lanschot apply the policy to all financial products, including those managed by external asset managers. We look forward to engaging with Van Lanschot, so a strong and comprehensively applied policy may be listed in the Hall of Fame in a future update of this report.
[1] Van Lanschot Kempen, “About van Lanschot”, Van Lanschot Kempen website (https://www.vanlanschotkempen.com/en/about-us), viewed 16 January 2018; Kempen & Co, “About Kempen”, Kempen website (https://www.kempen.com/en/about-kempen), viewed 16 January 2018.
[2] Van Lanschot, “Annual Report 2016”, p.5, available at https://media.vanlanschot.nl/media/pdfs/van-lanschot-2016-annual-report.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018.
[3] Van Lanschot, “Maatschappelijk Jaarverslag 2014”, p.49, available at https://media.vanlanschot.nl/downloads/van-lanschot-maatschappelijk-jaarverslag-2014.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018; Van Lanschot, “Details van het verantwoord kredietbeleid”, p.8, available at https://corporate.vanlanschot.nl/media/1395/van-lanschot-vo-kredietbeleid-7-maart-2014.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018; Van Lanschot, written response to PAX dated 11 May 2015.
[4] Van Lanschot, “Maatschappelijk Jaarverslag 2014”, 31 March 2015, p.19, available at https://media.vanlanschot.nl/downloads/van-lanschot-maatschappelijk-jaarverslag-2014.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018; Van Lanschot, “Details van het verantwoord kredietbeleid”, 7 March 2014, p.8, available at https://corporate.vanlanschot.nl/media/1395/van-lanschot-vo-kredietbeleid-7-maart-2014.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018; Van Lanschot, “Factsheet Verantwoord Ondernemen”, March 2017, p.3, available at https://www.vanlanschotkempen.com/media/2607/factsheet-verantwoord-ondernemen-van-lanschot-kempen-03-2017.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018.
[5] Van Lanschot, written response to Profundo dated 27 May 2014.
[6] Kempen & Co, “Exclusions”, Q4 2017, website Kempen & Co (https://www.kempen.com/en/asset-management/responsible-investment/exclusions), viewed 18 January 2018.
[7] “ESG Integration”, website Kempen &Co (https://www.kempen.com/en/asset-management/responsible-investment), viewed 23 January 2018.
Last updated March 2018