Phoenix Group and index provider FTSE Russell have collaborated on a series of ‘climate aware’ benchmarks to support decarbonisation of the UK-based savings and pension provider’s equity portfolios. The FTSE Phoenix Climate Aware index series will support the development of national and regional benchmarks aimed at increasing the resilience of customer portfolios to climate-related transition risks, by reducing exposure to firms with poorly developed transition plans. Index construction will follow core principles set by Phoenix, which prioritise the pace of the decarbonisation trajectory and the inclusion of forward-looking data, to ensure a focus on climate risk management and engaging for change. Index design will also take account of Phoenix’s exclusion policy. In line with the firm’s net zero transition plan, Phoenix will undertake a phased introduction of the benchmarks across regions for customer portfolios, starting with US equities. “Creating these new benchmarks will also allow us to ensure that our asset management partners follow a consistent approach to implementing our climate risk management strategy across the assets they manage on our behalf,” said Sindhu Krishna, Head of Sustainable Investment at Phoenix Group. Solange Le Jeune, Head of Equity Sustainable Investment Product at FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, said the new indexes would enable the “mainstreaming of decarbonisation strategies and portfolio-level improvements on forward-looking climate parameters”, with minimal deviation from the parent benchmarks.
