Your investment impact is growing – Inyova Impact Investing

At Inyova, our mission is to make impact investing the new normal. We believe every investor should have the power to drive meaningful, positive change with their savings.

And here’s the good news: you, along with the community of Inyova investors, are about to gain even more power to create real impact. This article explains how. You’ll discover:

What it truly means to make an impact with your investments (and what doesn’t count)
How your upgraded portfolio multiplies your power to influence change
How your investment will stay closely aligned with your personal values

How you create real-world impact with Inyova

Many people believe that buying a stock of a sustainable company has a positive effect on the real world – or put more simply: that it has an impact.

But on closer look, that is not true.

Imagine you buy a share in Vestas, a renewable energy company. That money doesn’t go to Vestas – it goes to another investor who’s selling their shares. The company doesn’t receive new funding, and your action doesn’t help build new wind turbines or expand clean energy. So, in the vast majority of cases, buying or selling a stock has no effect on the real world.

So, passive ESG or stock market ETFs don’t automatically create an impact. They’re mostly a “feel-good investment”.

“The majority of sustainable investments have no impact on the real economy!”

– Dr. Falko Paetzold, Professor of Sustainable Finance, University of Zurich

In order to create real-world impact, it takes more. This is where Inyova’s approach to impact investing comes in.

The power of active ownership

When you own stock, you become a part-owner of that company. That gives you the power to influence its direction.

Using this power is what we call active ownership. You, as an investor, can help companies become more sustainable and long-term oriented by:

📣 Speaking up at shareholder meetings
🗳️ Voting for greener and fairer practices
✉️ Joining forces with other investors to push for change

At Inyova, we’re already doing all of this for you today. Over the last years, our impact initiatives contributed to important positive change, including:

Zurich Insurance tightening its oil and gas policies
Swiss Re committing to greater transparency in its climate transition
Learning Technologies Group divesting from nuclear weapons training
and more!

And it’s about to get better: with the upcoming upgrade, your impact will be even stronger than before.

How your impact is about to grow

So what does this upgrade mean for your impact? Let’s take a closer look.

Maximum impact for you

Before: You could only take part in impact campaigns if you owned the relevant stock.

Now: You’ll own all the companies we actively engage with – so you can join every campaign, vote, and push for change. Your voice is always part of the action.Reliable, long-term performance is an essential criterion for any financial investment – and in today’s rapidly changing world, achieving this goal requires smarter strategies.

What does this look like in action? Here’s an example: following the combined efforts from Inyova impact investors, NGOs, and the public, Zurich Insurance tightened its oil and gas policies.

If you were part of the 31% of Inyova impact investors whose portfolio included Zurich Insurance stocks when we engaged with them, then your participation has contributed to this outcome.
If you were part of the other 69% of Inyova impact investors who didn’t own Zurich Insurance stocks, you weren’t able to participate in this impact initiative.

This is where things are about to get exciting: now, with everyone invested in the same set of companies, your investment and your voice are united – enabling you to push for positive change across ALL Inyova impact initiatives!

The best part? You don’t need to lift a finger. We’ll act on your behalf to make sure your voice is heard.

Maximum impact through Inyova

At Inyova, we know that power is in numbers. The more investors and assets we bring together, the greater our chances of creating meaningful impact.

By uniting all our Inyova investors in the same portfolio, we concentrate your voting power and influence on the companies in that portfolio.

That means:

✅ A stronger voice at shareholder meetings
✅ More weight behind every campaign
✅ Greater chances of success when we engage with decision-makers

Together, our influence just became 10x stronger.

Staying true to your values

Maximising impact is the way to help shape a more sustainable future. However, we know from many personal interactions that Inyova investors also care deeply about investing in line with their values.

And this makes financial sense: by backing companies that have the potential to help solve the world’s biggest challenges – from clean energy to sustainable food and healthcare – your investment is not only values-aligned, but also positioned for long-term success. These are the businesses built for a clean and sustainable future.

The good news? With your new portfolio, you’re investing in a sustainable and innovative future.

Investing in a sustainable future

To select the right companies for your portfolio, we look at what a company actually does – the products and services it offers and who it serves. This is what we call a company’s handprint. It helps us understand how a business contributes to solving global challenges.

These are the 10 handprint themes your new portfolio focuses on:

Energy: renewables, smart grids, batteries, efficiency, electrification, CCUS, bioenergy, hydrogen
Transport: EVs and key components, public transport, shared mobility, cycling, SAF / biofuels
Water: access, treatment, savings
Food & forestry: plant-based, organic, certified (FSC/PEFC), green fertilisers/pesticides, regenerative
Circular economy: material efficiency, recycling, recycled materials, refurbishment, longevity
Buildings & infrastructure: green building certification (e.g. BREEAM), insulation, efficient HVAC, smart meters, green construction/building materials
Health: pharma, equipment, access, hygiene, food, sport
Education: access, materials, platforms, services
Social justice: access, representation, services, facilities, equipment
Sustainable finance: access, green loans/bonds, impact investing, microfinance

Why these 10 themes? Our approach is guided by a clear vision for a sustainable future by 2050, our Sustainable Vision 2050, which is based on globally recognised frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the IPCC’s climate recommendations, and the scenarios provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and UN PRI’s Inevitable Policy Response (IPR).

In addition, we now strategically select businesses where we can actively drive meaningful improvements through active ownership. What does this mean? Here’s an example:

Let’s say we’re looking at a large consumer goods company with a high use of virgin plastic. Our research may suggest there’s an opportunity to transition to recycled plastic, as this is becoming more cost-effective, and new regulations penalising virgin plastic use are on the horizon. This company has the potential to improve both their sustainability profile (impact opportunity) and long-term financial performance (financial opportunity), making it a potential candidate for your portfolio.

Keeping it clean: our exclusion criteria

Some industries simply don’t align with a sustainable future – and we keep them out of your portfolio.

Here are the six key areas we screen for exclusion:

Weapons
Fossil fuels and other harmful energy sources
Health & addiction-related risks (e.g. tobacco, gambling)
Animal welfare and biodiversity
Exploitative labour or business practices
Violations of international norms

We exclude companies involved in these areas – either because they raise serious ethical concerns, or because they carry a high financial risk of becoming stranded assets in the transition to a more sustainable economy.

To make these decisions, we use a strict exclusion framework based on a combination of global norms such as the UN Global Compact and OECD Guidelines, eco labels, and regulatory guidance – combined with data and our core values.

In short: in addition to creating impact, your investment is aligned with a more sustainable future.

So what can you expect next?

We’ve updated our approach to help you invest in companies that align with your values, drive real progress on global sustainability challenges, and deliver competitive long-term returns – creating a portfolio that truly invests in a future we all want to live in.

You can lean back. Your portfolio will be upgraded automatically. We’ll notify you by email once the switch is complete.

In the meantime, you’ve also received a contract update. This includes updates around Inyova’s FINMA status and investment strategy. You can review the full update here.

Ready to find out more?

Here’s where you can explore more details:

Have more questions? Email us at [email protected] or call 044 271 50 00.

Your investment is powerful. Use it to create the future you believe in.

Disclaimer: Past performance of financial markets and instruments is never an indicator of future performance. The statements or information contained in this document do not constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. Inyova AG assumes no liability whatsoever with regard to the reliability and completeness of the information contained in this article. Liability claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information provided, including any kind of information which is incomplete or incorrect, will therefore be rejected. Furthermore, the statements contained in this document reflect an assessment at the time of publication and are subject to change. References and links to third party websites are outside the responsibility of Inyova AG. Any responsibility for such websites is declined.