Responsible Institutional Investor

In order to further fulfill its social responsibility as an institutional investor, Taiyo Life determined that it was essential to exert its influence for the betterment of society and the global environment through investment and lending activities to a greater extent, and to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society.

In line with this thinking, in March 2007, Taiyo Life became the first Japanese life insurance company to sign the PRI.

Based on these principles, Taiyo Life gives due consideration to ESG issues, namely, environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) issues, and promotes asset management to achieve a sustainable society.

Daido Life supports the objectives of the PRI and became a signatory institution to them in November 2016. The company has long carried out initiatives that contribute to solutions to social issues through business activities, and by promoting financing and investment that takes into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in the area of asset management as well, it is contributing to the formation of a sustainable society.

T&D Asset Management, to fulfill its responsibilities of being entrusted as an institutional investor that manages investments, endorses the concept of the PRI, and signed them in March 2012. In accordance with these principles, T&D Asset Management tackles ESG issues in a manner consistent with meeting the long-term interests of customers, fully grasping the status of investee companies. Accordingly, the company is also committed to pursuing the sustained growth of these companies, particularly through holding constructive dialogues with them and through the exercise of voting rights, with the aim of increasing the medium- and long-term investment returns on the funds entrusted to it by customers.

The status of each Group company’s PRI initiatives is reported in PRI Transparency Report.

WEB https://www.unpri.org/signatories/transparency-reports-2018/3350.article

Taiyo Life, Daido Life, and T&D Asset Management practice the following types of ESG investment.

We invest in Green Bonds, which financially support various projects by local governments and incorporated administrative agencies. These projects include working on “Creating Smart Energy Cities” and “Adapting to the Effects of Climate Change,” and promoting the convenience of urban rail, which is expected to be effective in improving the environment, including reducing CO₂ emissions. We also contribute to the promotion of measures against global warming, by investing in funds for projects working to create solar power generation, which provides clean energy.

We financed a seawater desalinization project aimed at supplying drinking water in a public-private initiative by a state government in Australia. This financing is an initiative to contribute to the creation of social infrastructure in a region suffering from water shortages.

“EYE (Education, Youth, and Employment) Bonds” are issued with the objective of raising capital to supplement projects by the Inter-American Development Bank’s EYE Bond program. Through investment in EYE Bonds, we are helping to realize a sustainable society through support for education, youth protection, and employment in the region.

We invested in “Social Bonds” issued by JICA, a government agency that provides Official Development Assistance (ODA) such as funding for economic and social development in developing regions. The financing is used in projects such as infrastructure creation, job creation support, and the like, mainly in developing regions.

We invested in the Fund Supporting Good Health and the Japan Healthy Society Support Fund, with the aim of responding to the social issue of extending healthy life span. The former is for listed corporations in Japan that conduct businesses such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, sports clubs, and health foods that contribute to the promotion of human health, while the latter supports projects that contribute to the promotion of human health.

Taiyo Life and Daido Life invest in the “T&D Japan Equities ESG Research Fund.” The fund selectively invests in companies with an outstanding ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance, through stock selection based on ESG research. T&D Asset Management established and manages the fund (management began in July 2015).