Ökoworld

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ökoworld AG is a company in the field of ethical and ecological funds based in Hilden ( Nordrhein-Westfalen ).

It goes back to a GbR that was founded in 1975 and was called Versiko for a long time . Ökoworld AG is the parent company of the capital management company Ökoworld Lux ​​SA , based in Luxembourg , which issues various funds; this includes the Ökoworld Ökovision Classic fund launched in 1996 , which is considered a pioneer in the field of ethical-ecological funds. In 2020, this fund had a volume of around 1.4 billion euros.

history

In 1975 Alfred Platow and the mathematician Klaus Odenthal founded the "Alfred & Klaus - collective insurance agency" in Hilden , which finally became Versiko in 1982 , initially as a GbR ; later it became a GmbH and finally an AG in 1995 .

Over the course of time, Versiko AG gained around 50,000 customers and at times had 70 insurance agents and financial advisors who also visited interested investors personally. Versiko AG went public on the open market in 1999 .

Also in 1995, was in Luxembourg , the Ökovision Lux SA registered as an investment company - with support from the Versiko AG and Ökobank . In 1996 the first fund was issued under the name Ökovision . This investment fund was later renamed Ökoworld Ökovision Classic .

In 2000 Versiko AG took over 100% of the shares in the capital management company Ökovision Lux SA, which was renamed Ökoworld Lux ​​SA in 2003.

On November 3, 2000 the Sonne + Wind Beteiligungen AG was founded, which called itself the "first German investment company for renewable energies"; Versiko AG was the main shareholder. Sonne + Wind Beteiligungen AG promised a return of at least 20% and raised new capital of 10.5 million euros. As references for the planned company model, CEO Platow named the stock corporations Plambeck (today PNE Wind ), Solarworld , Energiekontor and Umweltkontor. But the stock market launch planned for 2001/2002 was delayed.

Versiko Vermögensberatung set up a network of branches in ten cities.

Versiko AG suffered a setback with the decline of the Ökobank , which held 51% of the capital of Versiko AG, around the year 2000. A collaboration between Versiko AG and Fortis was also unsuccessful. The financial crisis that began in 2007 caused another slump, so that most of the 110 or so employees at Versiko AG were given notice and the branch network was abandoned. From 2010 onwards, customer support was only provided from the headquarters in Hilden.

In 2008, Sonne + Wind Beteiligungen AG went public despite the global financial crisis . Versiko AG initially remained the main shareholder. The hoped-for profits of the approximately 8 million shares, which had been issued with a nominal value of one euro, failed to materialize. The rate in 2016 was only 2.5 cents. Restructuring took place over time.

In December 2013 the supervisory board and executive board of Versiko AG recommended that the shareholders change the name versiko AG to Ökoworld AG; this proposal was accepted.

In 2014, the share of around 40% in Sonne + Wind Beteiligungen AG was sold by Ökoworld AG to Cresces Clean Technologies GmbH & Co. KGaA and a further cooperation was agreed. A restructuring followed, and finally the company was liquidated in 2017 after further problems.

Corporate structure

Alfred Platow and Torsten Müller form the board of Ökoworld AG . Alfred Platow is also the chairman of the board of directors of the investment company Ökoworld Lux ​​SA

Products and company philosophy

Ökoworld AG offers five different funds through its in -house investment company Ökoworld Lux ​​SA, which is based in Luxembourg , including Ökoworld Ökovision Classic, Ökoworld Growing Markets 2.0, Ökoworld Klima, Ökoworld Rock'n'Roll and Ökoworld Growing Water for Life.

In addition, Ökoworld AG offers services as an insurance broker and fund advisor (in-house products) as well as in direct sales for products in the field of pension provision (company pension scheme, classic pension insurance, fund pensions, investment funds).

The company's basic approach is a relatively independent review of companies with regard to sustainability , ethics and socio-ecological standards. There is also a committee called "Ökoworld Sustainability Research", which initially develops profiles of possible, suitable companies for the portfolio. From this pool, according to Ökoworld, "independent, voluntary experts from the fields of science, the environment and consumer protection continuously evaluate which of these companies currently meet the specified criteria." It is only from this selection that the funds are selected by the fund manager (with a view to yield prospects).

Assessments and criticism

One person affected compared the machinations of the Versiko agencies in the early 2000s with the AWD of Carsten Maschmeyer and MLP AG .

In 2011 Ökotest evaluated the Ökoworld Ökovision Classic fund in a comparative test with 73 equity funds; he received five green stars and an overall grade of 1.0.

In 2014, the consumer advice center examined the area of ​​ethically sustainable funds. The main fund Ökoworld Ökovision Classic was certified with a very high level of transparency; In addition, it was the only fund of the investigation to meet the investigation's exclusion criteria (exclusion of child labor, environmental degradation, etc.) 100 percent. The consumer advice center writes: "It is the fund ahead, which excludes most strictly shares of companies with problematic business practices."

The Ökoworld Ökovision Classic fund has a relatively high cost structure with a 5% issue surcharge and 2.45% annual costs; Alfred Platow attributes this to the "consistent investment strategy".

Awards (selection)

The Ökoworld Ökovision Classic fund has won the German Fund Award several times (2013, 2014, 2018, 2019). as well as the Austrian Fund Award several times (2014, 2018, 2019). Between 2011 and 2019, the fund was also awarded the European transparency logo.

The Ökoworld Klima fund won the German Fund Award and the Austrian Fund Award in 2020.

The emerging market fund Ökoworld Growing Markets 2.0 received the 2017 Financial Advisor Award from the financial magazine Cash-Magazin in the investment fund category .

In 2014, the Ökoworld Ökovision Classic and Ökoworld Growing Markets 2.0 funds were awarded the Austrian Ecolabel .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Funds under the microscope: What the pioneer among eco funds is doing. Retrieved August 13, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Ökoworld Ökovision Classic
  3. ↑ a b Nadine Oberhuber: The pioneer of eco funds. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , January 4, 2014, accessed on October 13, 2018 .
  4. ^ "Man of the Month": Alfred Platow, thought leader and "inventor" of ecological systems. Finanzpraxis.com, October 8, 2010, accessed October 26, 2018 .
  5. ↑ a b c Idea generator and founder of Ökoworld AG. Self-presentation. oekoworld.com, March 22, 2012, accessed October 26, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b Tarik Ahima: Wave of termination at Versiko. The daily newspaper , October 8, 2010, accessed on October 26, 2018 .
  7. ↑ RöhlfsPartner Management Consultants investment prospectus
  8. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 12, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. DER SPIEGEL 15/2016, page 64 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / bookhouse.me
  9. ↑ boerse-berlin.de accessed on January 12, 2017
  10. ↑ history
  11. ↑ Sonne + Wind Beteiligungen AG / Key word (s): Mergers & Acquisitions / Agreement
  12. ↑ ÖKOWORLD. Retrieved August 13, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Ökoworld: How does Ökoworld earn its money. August 13, 2020, accessed on August 13, 2020 .
  14. ↑ ÖKOWORLD Sustainability Research. Retrieved August 13, 2020 .
  15. ↑ ÖKOWORLD. Retrieved August 13, 2020 .
  16. ↑ a b c d History - PDF
  17. ↑ [1]
  18. ↑ 11 February 2019 by Stefan Terliesner Categories: Finances: Ökoworld Green Fund: "Ecology must also be economical". February 11, 2019, accessed on August 13, 2020 (German).