Carl Spaengler KAG, an Austrian investment company, has signed F&C Asset Management to manage its share voting and governance socially responsible investment engagement overlay programme. F&C will use its Responsible Engagement Overlay programme to manage seven of Spaengler’s mutual equity funds with assets under management worth EUR260m, bringing F&C managed equities to EUR 60 billion.
Markus Ploner, Managing Director at the Salzburg-based KAG said his company had been looking at this option for some time, and in the end went with F&C because of its “reputation and quality of its product.”
The signing of the the Spaengler contract is the first mandate for F&C in the Austrian market.
“This is an indication that awareness of governance and SRI issues across continental Europe and beyond the pension fund community is growing and we are looking forward to working with Carl Spaengler KAG, a highly respected investment company with a long history and strong roots in the Austrian financial community, on this project,” said Michel Bernard, Director, Institutional Funds at F&C Asset Management.