BNPP asset-management arm will ditch tobacco from all funds

By Simon Jessop

LONDON (Reuters) - BNP Paribas Asset Management, the fund arm of the French bank, has become one of the first global asset managers to exclude tobacco investments from all its actively managed mutual funds.

The move, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2018, sees it join several leading insurance companies in selling out of the industry because of the health, social and environmental costs linked to tobacco.

Around seven million people die every year from tobacco-related causes, BNP said, citing World Health Organisation statistics, and the total economic cost associated with tobacco is believed to be more than $1 trillion a year globally.

The exclusion, which already applies to BNP's range of sustainable-investment funds, covers funds across asset classes with a collective 228 billion euros ($277.57 billion) in assets.

"BNP Paribas Asset Management is one of the first global asset managers to exclude tobacco from its mainstream investments, and as a leading player we are committed to being a responsible investor in all aspects of our business," Frederic Janbon, chief executive of BNP Paribas Asset Management, said.

Among others to sell out of tobacco are insurers AXA and Aviva and reinsurer SCOR .

($1 = 0.8214 euros)

(Reporting by Simon Jessop, editing by Sinead Cruise, Larry King)