Nordic asset manager Storebrand AM is set to divest tech and retail giant Amazon’s stock in some of its funds.

The divestment was announced in the manager’s Sustainable Investment Q2 Review, although the matter was first reported by financial news service Responsible Investor.

According to RI, the divestment only concerns the manager’s Swedish funds, as Storebrand AM CIO Bård Bringedal told the media that data provided by ISS ESG brought up the issues with the retail giant. ISS ESG is used as the data provider for sustainability in the Swedish market for Storebrand AM’s Swedish products.

In the sustainability review, Storebrand writes that “the Storebrand Standard” was used when considering the exclusion.

“The enhanced exclusion criteria means that we, for selected investment products, directly exclude a company flagged by the external data provider, whereas under the Storebrand Standard we make our own assessment before making a decision to exclude. Our decision is based on the company’s shortcomings in living up to our criteria regarding corruption and the misuse of market dominance,” the manager’s report states.

The misuse of market referred to took place in Italy, where the country’s Competition Authority fined several Amazon subsidiaries for an abuse of dominant market position. As of March, Amazon had failed to communicate measures to address this issue.

“Through involvement in several investor alliances, Storebrand has been engaging with Amazon on these and other issues and has attempted to file shareholder resolutions. Our engagement on the issues continues, including voting on relevant issues at the Amazon shareholders annual general meeting during the second quarter,” the report reads.

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