- 18.10.2019
- 3 min
- 2
Adopt a solidarity savings!
Making their savings meaningful by financing associations with significant social or environmental benefits is the aim of 423,000 French people who subscribed to a socially responsible savings product in 2018.
A background trend
The total assets under management corresponding to this civic-minded financing reached €12.6 billion in 2018, up 8.7% compared with 2017, according to the 17th edition of the socially responsible savings barometer published on 3 June by La Croix and the Finansol association. After an outstanding year in 2017 with record inflows of €1.8 billion, fundraising in 2018 was more modest at €1 billion. This was still considered very satisfactory by the Finansol Observatory, which explains this downturn by highlighting the “poor performance of the financial markets in 2018” while not denying “a background trend towards taking out socially responsible savings products”.
Combating exclusion
In 2018, these investments helped to create or safeguard 48,000 jobs, rehouse 3,050 people, supply 22,600 households with renewable electricity and finance 70 economic development operators (associations, cooperatives, etc.) in developing countries. While combating exclusion continues to be the priority for socially responsible financing, this latest barometer highlights the growing interest in financing environmental activities, which attracted a quarter of the investments over the past two years.
Crédit Agricole Assurances’ solution – the “Contrat Solidaire”
This multi-product insurance policy is used to finance initiatives that have significant impact at the social level: integration through employment and housing, access to healthcare, education, training, the environment, international social responsibility and local economic development through microfinancing. Socially responsible funds channel between 5% and 10% of their assets into financing socially responsible projects through the Finance and Solidarity mutual fund, for products managed by Amundi. This policy is accredited by Finansol, an association that aims to promote social responsibility in savings and finance and in which we are partners. In 2018, Crédit Agricole Assurances stepped up the marketing of this offering, increasing inflows by a factor of 5 and its assets under management by a factor of 2.4 in one year.
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