Asset Manager: Responsible Investment Branding Fokus
RIBI™ 2025 evaluates 600 asset managers globally on their ability to translate commitment to responsible development into their brand.
Photo credit: A Chosen Soul / Unsplash+
More than half (53%) of asset managers express an organisational purpose to anchor their identity.
Less than half (45%) of asset managers create differentiation from within, with at least one value or belief creating a standout difference in a competitive market.
DPAM ranks first in the top 10 of Responsible Asset Managers worldwide, for the second time in a row, according to Hirschel and Kramer (H&K) Responsible Investment Brand Index (RIBI) 2025. The firm also holds the first position in the Europe ex-UK Top 10 and Benelux Top 10 rankings.
In its seventh edition, the Responsible Investment Brand Index (RIBI™) highlights the ability of 600 asset managers globally to translate their efforts towards responsible investment into their core brand. The index is an indispensable tool and source of information within the asset management industry.
The two RIBI assessment dimensions are:
• Commitment (vertical, hard factors): five weighted-average criteria, such as the level and quality of engagement and stewardship, and strategy and organisation around responsible investment. The evaluation source is based on the Principles for Responsible Investment Transparency Reports: up to 300 parameters are factored in to make up the five top-level criteria of the Commitment rating.
• Brand (horizontal, soft factors): eight criteria, such as the expression of a Purpose statement, and expression of a value system, link to societal ambitions. This evaluation is based on research and expertise.
This year, the assessment methodology retains the same philosophy as the previous six editions of RIBI. However, they have added more granularity. They have conducted a RIBI analysis of asset managers by size, distinguishing between Boutiques (AUM under €20bn) as in previous editions, and extending to Mid-Tier (AUM €20-100bn), Major Institutions (AUM €100-500bn) and Giants (AUM above €500bn). It shows that, on average, the larger the asset managers, the better they are at expressing their responsible investment beliefs in their brand. At the same time, some smaller asset managers are doing it well (to the extent that, three boutiques make it into the global top 10).
As in previous years, the index allows companies to be classified into four categories: Avant-gardist, which are above-average on Commitment rating and Brand rating; Traditionalist, who are above-average on Commitment rating and below-average on Brand rating; Aspirants, above-average on Brand rating and below- average on Commitment rating, and the Laggards, below-average on both ratings.
DPAM, as Avant-gardist, is one of the two companies that have consistently made it to the worldwide top 10 in all seven editions of RIBI. The 2025 results show both stability as well as slight progress in terms of Commitment, and a slight increase in terms of Brand. While the percentage of Avant-Gardists (20%) is the same as last year, the universe of companies evaluated has grown, meaning that 30 asset managers have actually joined the leading Avant-Gardist category this year. As was the case last year, Europe remains firmly in the lead on both dimensions, with the US, although strengthening its position, lagging. The situation in Asia Pacific is very diverse.
Ophélie Mortier, Chief Sustainable Investment Officer (CSIO) at DPAM, comments: ‘Even in this challenging context where we face short term pressures, we remain convinced of the importance of responsible investment and double materiality. Our duty towards our clients, stakeholders and society drives our purpose as an asset manager. We focus on the smart integration of material factors to look for sustainable franchises, independent from economic cycles, the regulatory environment or political pressures. Our objective remains: making better informed decisions for better returns. We believe in what is meaningful for all investors beyond concepts and acronyms.’
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For more information about the Responsible Investment Brand Index™ 2025and its methodology, please visit: www.ri-brandindex.org