Finansol

Finansol is the reference label for solidarity finance in France, i.e. funds that allocate assets or part of their income to support philanthropic or non-profit activities with a strong social matrix.

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Generalities

Label Finansol
Nationality France - French
Management label issued by FAIR, a non-profit association specialising in the promotion of ethical, human and solidarity-based finance.
Label type Thematic
Website https://www.finansol.org/
Market The label is aimed at solidarity products sold on the French market: banking and savings products, solidarity shares bought by 1.5m investors in France.
Products 156 products for companies and individuals at the end of June 2022
Links to funds https://www.finansol.org/quels-sont-les-produits-labellises/
Criteria https://www.finansol.org/_dwl/autres/finansol_liste-opc-parts-label-finansol.xlsx
Periodicity annual

Detailed data

Description Finansol is the reference label for solidarity finance in France, i.e. funds that allocate a part of their income or assets to support philanthropic and/or non-profit activities with a strong social matrix.
Genesis and development The Finansol label was created in 1997 to help distinguish solidarity finance products from other products, and to facilitate savers' research. Historically administered by the non-profit association Finansol, it is now managed by FAIR, the solidarity promotion association created by Finansol and Iilab, the French specialist in social impact finance.
Objectives The primary objective of the Label is to make solidarity-based products offered on the French market easily recognisable and to facilitate their promotion. Solidarity investments (and high social impact investments) enhance employment and business creation, social housing, ecological activities and entrepreneurship in developing countries.
Promoters and administrators The Label is managed by the Finansol Association (now part of FAIR) since its creation in partnership with numerous actors from the mutual insurance, banking and French public authorities. It is the only solidarity label recognisable on the French market.
SRI approach Labelled products have a high social and/or environmental impact and mostly relate to unlisted Society and thematic projects often excluded from traditional finance. Alternatively, at least 25 per cent of the investment income must finance social activities such as donations to non-profit organisations. Applicants must also meet high standards of transparency and be intent on actively promoting products to their networks.
Mandatory Criteria The label is only issued to savings products dedicated to investments with a high social and/or environmental impact and to products that devote at least 25% of their income to charity. The costs, the business plan, the beneficiaries of the investments, and the transparency of the products concerned (insurance contracts, mutual funds, savings accounts) are also examined.
Additional criteria There are no additional criteria
Allocation process The finansol label is reserved for FAIR members, who must submit their application annually, enclosing the required documents; an independent committee of experts examines the application and issues an opinion. The Committee meets four times a year to decide on new applications and once more to monitor the funds already labelled. The Board of Directors then decides on the Committee's proposal and awards the label.
External certification The Finansol label is awarded on the basis of a review of the documents provided, and the Label Committee verifies annually that the conditions for eligibility continue to be met.
Focus on transparency Transparency to customers about the content of the product is just as essential as providing FAIR/Finansol with the data required for attribution, and participating in surveys and statistical data collections of the Association.
Focus on periodic checks The control is carried out directly by the Label Committee without recourse to third party certifiers.
Related parties FAIR counts among its institutional partners the AFD (French Development Agency), Acted and the CDC through the banque des territoires. FAIR is a member of FEBEA (European Federation of Ethical and alternative Banks and financiers).
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