Unveiling Investor Responsibility Amidst Russia's War on Ukraine

Russia's War on Ukraine: Top Equity Market Investors and Human Rights

Dashboard 1: Investors in Publicly traded Russian companies: HTML Embed

Russia’s war on Ukraine has resulted in unspeakable and horrific human rights abuses, thousands of civilian casualties, and devastated and destroyed communities and economic infrastructure throughout Ukraine directly impacting global economic and food security.

Responsible Alpha wanted to determine transparently if investors in the Russian economy had ESG Human Rights Policies to better understand investor exposure to these horrors.

This ESG Human Rights Policies dashboard describes the overlap between ESG Human Rights Policies and the top 100 investors invested in $100 billion in Russian companies exposed to Russia's war on Ukraine, representing 85 percent of Russia’s market capitalization.

Most of these investors have ESG Human Rights Policies yet may not be following their own policy guidance given their exposure to Russian investments that, in some cases, have enabled Russia's war on Ukraine.

Since Russia’s war on Ukraine began, some of the Russian companies highlighted below, but not most, have been sanctioned by the U.S., EU, UK, or other governments.

While most of the Top 100 investors profiled are signatories to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, many are also signatories to the UN Global Compact - both of which Responsible Alpha formally supports and participates in – while almost all the Top 100 have ESG Human Rights Policies.

To participate in the UN Global Compact, the organizations ask participants, such as these Top 100 investors, to align their strategies and operations with the UN Global Compact Ten Principles which specifically include supporting human rights in Principle 1 and Principle 2:

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Investors and firms cannot reasonably claim to be UN Global Compact compliant by pointing to their environmental policies or investments while ignoring how these same investments support regimes uncommitted to or hostile towards promoting peaceful and inclusive societies and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions.

As such, the investors who are UN Global Compact participants should clearly state how their positions support these principles to which they have publicly committed.

This can best be achieved by formulating and executing a robust ESG Human Rights Policy that is responsible for their investments direct or indirect role supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Dashboard 1: Investors in Publicly traded Russian companies: HTML Embed

Click on the ESG human rights policy links in the dashboard above to learn more.

Bloomberg Russia Large & Mid Cap Price Return Index member companies:

Alrosa explores, mines, manufactures, and sells rough diamonds and markets its products in the EU and globally.
EN+ Group is a vertically integrated aluminum and power producer operating throughout Russia.
Gazprom operates gas pipeline systems, produces and explores gas, and transports high-pressure gas throughout Russia and the EU. Gazprom is also engaged in oil production, refining, gas storage, and electric and heat energy generation.
Inter Rao is a diversified energy holdings company with assets in Russia, the EU, and other countries.
Lukoil explores for, produces, refines, transports globally through pipelines and fleets, and markets oil and gas. Lukoil also manufactures petrochemicals, fuels, and other petroleum products and operates refineries and gasoline filling stations in Russia and the U.S.
Magnit retails food by operating a chain of discount supermarkets.
Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works produces steel products and markets its products worldwide.
Mobile TeleSystems operates as a global telecommunications and digital services provider offering fixed-line services, including fixed voice, broadband internet, and pay-television solutions.
Moscow Exchange operates public trading markets for equity, bond, derivative, foreign exchange, money market products, and other services to support the Russian securities market.
Norilsk Nickel produces nickel, palladium, platinum, copper, cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium, and sulfur.
NovaTek produces and distributes natural gas. NovaTek explores, processes, transports, and markets natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons.
Novolipetsk Steel is a vertically integrated steel company.
Ozon Holdings is a holding company that operates an online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of merchandise in Russia.
PhosAgro is a globally vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producer that produces ammonia and nitrogen-based fertilizers.
PIK Group develops residential real estate, sells completed units, and maintains residential real estate created by itself and other companies.
Polymetal International provides precious metal mining services, including gold and silver mining. The company operates globally.
Polyus provides mining services, including the exploration, extraction, and production of gold.
Rosneft produces, markets, and distributes petroleum and natural gas products globally.
RusHydro owns and operates hydroelectric plants.
Sberbank offers commercial, corporate, and retail banking services, including securities brokerage, credit, foreign exchange services, and credit cards.
Severstal is a steel and mining company with three main business divisions: resources, Russian steel, and international business operations.
Surgutneftegas explores, extracts, transports, refines, and markets petroleum and natural gas and related products. It has both ordinary and preferred shares that are part of the Index.
Tatneft explores for, produces, refines, and markets crude oil. Tatneft operates a chain of retail gasoline filling stations and exports petrochemical products to the EU. It has both ordinary and preferred shares that are part of the Index.
TCS Group Holding is a digital provider of online financial and lifestyle services via its ecosystem, serving all its customers remotely via online channels and a cloud-based call center.
VK Co. operates social media networks throughout Russia and bordering countries.
VTB offers commercial, corporate, and retail banking services, including securities brokerage, credit, foreign exchange services, and related products.
X5 Retail Group is a food retailer company that operates soft discount stores, supermarkets, branded stores, and convenience stores operated by franchisees.
Yandex is a leading internet provider and media channel in Russia, providing search engines, news, shopping information, blogs, photographs, and videos.

The 28 companies listed in the Index – two of which have each ordinary and preferred shares that are members of the Index – had a market capitalization of over $100 billion on February 24, 2022, the date of the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine. These 28 companies are from the mining, steel, aluminum, retail, gas production and transport, precious metals, hydroelectric, energy, banking, financial exchanges, telecommunications, internet service provider, and real estate sectors.

The top 100 investors displayed in the dashboard, excluding Russian domiciled investors, are from the banks, brokerage, insurance companies, investment advisors, and mutual fund sub-industries.

All data is sourced from Bloomberg Finance, L.P., the United Nations Global Compact, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and company websites. Data were accessed in April and May 2022. Data may not reflect confidential investor policies or current positions as data only reflects aggregated publicly-available information.

Dashboard 1: Investors in Publicly traded Russian companies: HTML Embed

Russia's War on Ukraine: Top Equity Market Investors and Human Rights

Russia’s war on Ukraine has resulted in unspeakable and horrific human rights abuses, thousands of civilian casualties, and devastated and destroyed communities and economic infrastructure throughout Ukraine directly impacting global economic and food security.

Responsible Alpha wanted to determine transparently if investors in the Russian economy had ESG Human Rights Policies to better understand investor exposure to these horrors.

This ESG Human Rights Policies dashboard describes the overlap between ESG Human Rights Policies and the top 100 investors invested in $100 billion in Russian companies exposed to Russia's war on Ukraine, representing 85 percent of Russia’s market capitalization.

​​To participate in the UN Global Compact, the organizations ask participants, such as these Top 100 investors, to align their strategies and operations with the UN Global Compact Ten Principles which specifically include supporting human rights in Principle 1 and Principle 2:

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and

Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

As such, the investors who are UN Global Compact participants should clearly state how their positions support these principles to which they have publicly committed.

This can best be achieved by formulating and executing a robust ESG Human Rights Policy that is responsible for their investments direct or indirect role supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine.

​

Click on the ESG human rights policy links in the dashboard above to learn more.

Bloomberg Russia Large & Mid Cap Price Return Index member companies:

​

Alrosa explores, mines, manufactures, and sells rough diamonds and markets its products in the EU and globally.

EN+ Group is a vertically integrated aluminum and power producer operating throughout Russia.

Gazprom operates gas pipeline systems, produces and explores gas, and transports high-pressure gas throughout Russia and the EU. Gazprom is also engaged in oil production, refining, gas storage, and electric and heat energy generation.

Inter Rao is a diversified energy holdings company with assets in Russia, the EU, and other countries.

Lukoil explores for, produces, refines, transports globally through pipelines and fleets, and markets oil and gas. Lukoil also manufactures petrochemicals, fuels, and other petroleum products and operates refineries and gasoline filling stations in Russia and the U.S.

Magnit retails food by operating a chain of discount supermarkets.

Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works produces steel products and markets its products worldwide.

Mobile TeleSystems operates as a global telecommunications and digital services provider offering fixed-line services, including fixed voice, broadband internet, and pay-television solutions.

Moscow Exchange operates public trading markets for equity, bond, derivative, foreign exchange, money market products, and other services to support the Russian securities market.

Norilsk Nickel produces nickel, palladium, platinum, copper, cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium, and sulfur.

NovaTek produces and distributes natural gas. NovaTek explores, processes, transports, and markets natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons.

Novolipetsk Steel is a vertically integrated steel company.

Ozon Holdings is a holding company that operates an online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of merchandise in Russia.

PhosAgro is a globally vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producer that produces ammonia and nitrogen-based fertilizers.

PIK Group develops residential real estate, sells completed units, and maintains residential real estate created by itself and other companies.

Polymetal International provides precious metal mining services, including gold and silver mining. The company operates globally.

Polyus provides mining services, including the exploration, extraction, and production of gold.

Rosneft produces, markets, and distributes petroleum and natural gas products globally.

RusHydro owns and operates hydroelectric plants.

Sberbank offers commercial, corporate, and retail banking services, including securities brokerage, credit, foreign exchange services, and credit cards.

Severstal is a steel and mining company with three main business divisions: resources, Russian steel, and international business operations.

Surgutneftegas explores, extracts, transports, refines, and markets petroleum and natural gas and related products. It has both ordinary and preferred shares that are part of the Index.

Tatneft explores for, produces, refines, and markets crude oil. Tatneft operates a chain of retail gasoline filling stations and exports petrochemical products to the EU. It has both ordinary and preferred shares that are part of the Index.

TCS Group Holding is a digital provider of online financial and lifestyle services via its ecosystem, serving all its customers remotely via online channels and a cloud-based call center.

VK Co. operates social media networks throughout Russia and bordering countries.

VTB offers commercial, corporate, and retail banking services, including securities brokerage, credit, foreign exchange services, and related products.

X5 Retail Group is a food retailer company that operates soft discount stores, supermarkets, branded stores, and convenience stores operated by franchisees.

Yandex is a leading internet provider and media channel in Russia, providing search engines, news, shopping information, blogs, photographs, and videos.

​

​The top 100 investors displayed in the dashboard, excluding Russian domiciled investors, are from the banks, brokerage, insurance companies, investment advisors, and mutual fund sub-industries.

​

To participate in the UN Global Compact, the organizations ask participants, such as these Top 100 investors, to align their strategies and operations with the UN Global Compact Ten Principles which specifically include supporting human rights in Principle 1 and Principle 2:

The top 100 investors displayed in the dashboard, excluding Russian domiciled investors, are from the banks, brokerage, insurance companies, investment advisors, and mutual fund sub-industries.