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AP2 does not invest in

AP2 excludes investments that are subject to UN and EU sanctions, that have exposure to certain products and activities, as well as investments in countries with a very high risk of human rights violations. At a company level, we primarily work by engaging with companies to encourage change but may decide to divest if dialogue is not deemed likely to lead to improvements.

Products we exclude

  • Cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines

The Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines and the Convention on Cluster Munitions state that countries that have signed and ratified the treaties shall cease producing, trading in and using anti-personnel mines and cluster bombs respectively. The Council on Ethics of the AP Funds has recommended that the four AP Funds divest from companies that manufacture anti-personnel mines or cluster munitions. AP2 therefore does not own any such companies.

  • Cannabis
The Council on Ethics has recommended that the AP Funds exclude cannabis companies based on the UN conventions on narcotic drugs. Cannabis may, however, be used for medical and scientific purposes. AP2 has therefore decided to exclude companies active in cannabis for non-medical use.
  • Nuclear weapons
AP2 considers the modernisation and upgrading of nuclear weapons to not be aligned with the spirit of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which aims to make the world be free of nuclear weapons in the long term. Based on the legal provisions governing exemplary management by the AP Funds, AP2 has therefore divested from companies involved in the maintenance and modernisation of nuclear weapons systems.
  • Tobacco
Divestments from tobacco companies support the purpose of the Convention on Tobacco Control to significantly reduce tobacco consumption and the harmful effects of smoking. In line with the legal provisions governing the AP Funds by exemplary management, AP2 has divested from tobacco companies.
  • Fossil fuels
In 2020, AP2 implemented the EU Paris-Aligned Benchmark (PAB) for the Fund’s global equities and corporate bonds. This means that AP2 does not invest in companies that derive more than a certain share of their sales from coal, oil and/or gas, or in utilities where more than 50 per cent of revenues come from fossil fuels. The maximum share is 1 per cent for coal, 10 per cent for oil and 50 per cent for gas.

Countries we do not invest in

The Fund has developed a country framework to identify countries where there are financial, operational or sustainability-related reasons not to invest. Based on this framework, we have decided not to invest in countries where the risk of human rights violations is very high.

Companies we do not invest in

If a company is assessed as contributing to violations of international conventions or norms, the Fund’s starting point is to use its role as an active owner to influence the company to provide remediation to affected rightsholders and take relevant measures to prevent future violations. If the company is not open to dialogue and fails to take the necessary measures, the Fund may escalate the process and, as a last resort, decide to divest. The Council on Ethics may also recommend that the AP Funds exclude companies that knowingly violate international conventions to which Sweden is a signatory, if continued dialogue with the company is not expected to lead to improvements.

The Council on Ethics publishes its recommended exclusions on its website.