NN Investment Partners Lead PM Green Bonds, Bram Bos on What Makes Green Bonds 'Green', Greenwashing and 'Labelmania' (#006)

SRI360 | Socially Responsible Investing, ESG, Impact Investing, Sustainable Investing

Bram Bos is Lead Portfolio Manager of Green, Social and Impact Bonds at NN Investment Partners. He has over 20 years of portfolio management experience, including previous roles at Unilever, APG Asset Management, Nomura, and Fullerton Fund Management.
Bram’s early career began in his native Holland, took him to Singapore for several years and then back to Holland, where he went on to build the green bond franchise at NNIP following its inception in 2015, back before interest in green bonds really exploded. The flagship NN (L) Green Bond Fund focuses exclusively on green bonds and combines a clear green profile with an above market performance since its inception. The fund is currently the world’s largest open-ended green bond fund in the market, with over €3.8 billion total assets under management.
Bram was awarded a Masters of Science and Financial Economics at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and previously sat on the Fixed Income Advisory Committee for the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment.
In this episode, we discuss what makes a green bond “green”, the criteria he uses at NNIP to ensure green bonds meet international standards, what makes green bonds attractive to investors and of course, the concept of ‘greenwashing’.
Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/bram-bos

About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, Scott Arnell interviews a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys—and what motivated and attracted them to commit their life energy to SRI—to insights on how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.
SELECTED LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Connect with Bram Bos: LinkedIN
• NN Investment Partners
• APG Asset Management
• Fullerton Fund Management
• Temasek Holdings
• Unilever Sustainable Living Plan
• Principles for Responsible Investment
• ABN AMRO
• Climate Bonds Initiative Taxonomy
• European Green Bond Standard
• Sustainalytics
• ISS
• MSCI