MAPFRE launches first fund in Europe for the inclusion of people with disabilities

• MAPFRE Inclusión Responsable has been listed in the United Nations Global Compact report as an example of best practice

• The participating company that shows the best commitment to social inclusion will be presented with an award

MAPFRE AM, MAPFRE’s asset management unit, along with its French partner, La Financière Responsable (LFR), have launched a new fund that invests in companies that promote the inclusion of people with disabilities. Until now, both firms have been marketing this product exclusively in France, where it has generated considerable interest, and a decision has been made to replicate it in Spain and the rest of Europe. This is the world’s first asset fund of this type, with which MAPFRE is expanding its range of investment products with ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria, so far comprising MAPFRE Capital Responsable and MAPFRE Good Governance.

MAPFRE Inclusión Responsable, which has been included in the report of the United Nations Global Compact

MAPFRE Inclusión Responsable, which has been included in the report of the United Nations Global Compact as an example of best practice, combines the search for financial profitability with the promotion of improvements in society at large. The management team has carried out a historical simulation that shows that over the last five years, the portfolio of companies selected for their promotion of inclusion was almost four times more profitable than the market as a whole. Furthermore, the index, which is focused on companies classified as ESG Investments, has prevailed over the European general index (Stoxx Europe GR) in the last five years and has done so with less volatility.

The fund uses a proprietary methodology developed by MAPFRE and LFR

The fund, which was announced yesterday at an institutional event at the Spanish Embassy in Paris, uses a proprietary methodology developed by MAPFRE and LFR. At the event, José Luis Jiménez Guajardo-Fajardo, Group Chief Investment Officer at MAPFRE, stated that “a company committed to disability often has a consolidated financial situation and level of profitability.” Specifically, this methodology is based on seven themes with 40 variables, such as Commitment, (the disability policies applied by companies), Inclusion and Integration, Projects (specific initiatives), and Accessibility (architectural barriers), among others. As a result of the analysis, which includes continued contact with the companies, four levels of compliance will be identified: emerging, promising, committed or leading.

In addition, MAPFRE strives to reward the companies that are most committed to the inclusion of people with disabilities. At the suggestion of MAPFRE AM, a jury will award a distinction to one of the fund’s portfolio of participating companies, based on one of the seven criteria of the methodology used for management. In June 2020, the jury will meet to deliberate the prize that will be delivered on December 3 of next year, coinciding with the International Day of People with Disabilities. At the same meeting during which the award is decided, the jury will grant a MAPFRE Inclusión Responsable Recognition Award to an institution for its commitment to the inclusion of people with disabilities.

The company currently has 902 employees with disabilities working within the Group

The promotion of inclusion is a policy that MAPFRE itself actively pursues. The company currently has 902 employees with disabilities working within the Group, representing 2.5 percent of the overall global workforce. For 2021, the company has made a public commitment that individuals with disabilities will represent at least 3 percent of the global workforce.

All of this makes up a part of MAPFRE’s commitment to a sustainable value-creation model. Along these lines, it joined forces with the company SpainSIF in May of this year, a platform that promotes responsible investment in Spain. MAPFRE is also a signatory of the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), with the objective of aligning its investment policy with MAPFRE’s commitment to responsible social action.