Code of Conduct

Part of the BVA’s mission is to improve the quality of operation of the private equity and venture capital sector and to contribute to the collective observance of high ethical standards by its members.

This Code of Conduct sets forth a number of statements and principles that each member of the BVA is expected to acknowledge and to adhere to in the execution of its activities. Some statements however are only applicable to the providers of private equity and/or venture capital, the so-called full members.

Abiding to this Code of Conduct is a prerequisite to becoming and/or remaining a member of the BVA.

The board of directors of the BVA will monitor compliance of its members with the Code of Conduct and will review any complaints of non-observance of the Code. The board of directors of the BVA is authorised, after due analysis, to impose sanctions if an infringement of the Code is established, including a suspension or cancellation of the BVA membership.

THE BVA CODE OF CONDUCT

  1. Integrity and trust
    All interactions between the members, between members and their investors and between members and their portfolio companies and other stakeholders, shall be based on integrity and trust. Members shall behave in a responsible, honest and trustful way by making clear agreements, honouring them and acting with due fairness. Competitive advantage and business success shall be pursued by excelling in skills and not through unfair practices. Conflicts of interest shall be avoided or properly identified and diligently managed in accordance with applicable legal and professional standards.
  1. Compliance with laws and regulations
    Members shall comply with the applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they operate and shall require the same attitude by their portfolio companies.
  1. Confidentiality
    Members shall treat the information they receive from each other, from investors, portfolio companies or target companies as confidential in so much as they are made aware that, or should expect that, the information is confidential. Any disclosure or use of such information shall be restricted to what has been agreed with the owner of such information and as required by applicable laws and regulations.
  1. Monitoring and control
    Members shall put in place procedures and guidelines for internal and external monitoring and control, in their own organisation and in their portfolio companies, adapted to their size and activities and they shall fully cooperate in the implementation thereof.
  1. Communication
    Members shall always communicate, with due regard to confidentiality, adequate information in a way which is clear, transparent and not misleading. Full members shall, in accordance with their respective fund documentation, regularly report on their activities towards their investors in a timely, relevant and adequate way.
  1. Value creation and active involvement
    Full members shall actively support their portfolio companies in creating sustainable value for their stakeholders in a way that also benefits the economy and society. All members shall duly consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) opportunities, factors and risks in their operations, including the BVA Charter for Gender Equity.
  1. Respecting and fostering the image of the private equity and venture capital sector
    As private equity and venture capital have an important role in today’s economy and society, our public image is of utmost importance and members shall abstain from acts that could damage the image of the industry. The BVA’s engagement with regulatory bodies, other stakeholders and society at large requires trust, evidence- and data-based exchanges of industry knowledge. Members shall therefore assist the BVA in the collection of data pertaining to their businesses and portfolio companies so far as they are relevant to the industry and with appropriate safeguards for confidentiality. The BVA shall treat this information confidentially and use such information only in the context of its activities and for the purposes as communicated to the members from time to time. To the extent that the BVA requests the disclosure of commercially sensitive information of its members, the BVA shall ensure that such information is appropriately anonymised, aggregated and/or further processed as required by mandatory law before any further disclosure or use.

Gender Equity Charter

BVA’s Gender Equity Goals

The BVA strives to broadly promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the Belgian private equity and venture capital industry and has made DEI a topic for attention in the years to come. As part of these efforts, the BVA seeks to promote gender equity and to achieve the following objectives.

At the level of the member organisations:

  • to reach a percentage of 25% of people of a different gender in the investment decision-making body[1] by 2030.
  • to reach a percentage of 40% of people of a different gender in the investment teams[2] by 2030.

At the level of the portfolio companies:

  • to reach a percentage of 25% of people of a different gender in the executive bodies of enterprises with more than 250 employees, by 2030.
  • to reach a percentage of 25% of people of a different gender among the people that found, co-found or manage financed companies by 2030.

[1] “investment decision-making body” means any administrative or management body or committee of a fund or a fund manager which has authority by law or according to the articles of association to approve or reject an investment or divestment proposal, i.e. investment committee, board of directors, executive committee or any other body or committee with the same authority.

[2] “investment team” means the group of individuals involved in the preparation and implementation of investment and divestment decisions, and managing the investment portfolio, including in particular partners, founders, CEOs, CIOs CFOs, Executive Directors, directors, principals, investment or portfolio managers as well as tax or legal managers, financial analysts, risk managers, and ESG professionals, when they are primarily deal-facing.

Charter for Gender Equity

The members of the BVA that sign this charter publicly affirm their commitment to pursuing a policy for gender equity at all levels of their organisation and within portfolio companies to contributing to reaching the gender equity goals set by the BVA. As part of this commitment, they undertake to implement the following actions:

Commitments
At the level of its own organisation, each of the undersigning parties commits to:

  • Ensuring fair and non-discriminating recruitment, assessment, and promotion practices, in particular by:
    • ensuring that the job offers are not gendered and do not contain gender stereotypes,
    • striving for gender parity when considering applications until the end of the process,
    • eliminating gender bias during interviews, for example by excluding gendered questions to ensure that women are not asked different questions (private life, etc.), and
    • ensuring – as far as possible – an equal gender representation in the recruitment teams during the evaluation, interview and selection procedures.
  • Eliminating gender pay gaps for equivalent positions and skills, including the alignment of variable compensations and carried interests, as well as transparency of the remuneration policy.
  • Applying best practices regarding gender-inclusive language in communication practices.
  • Fighting against gender stereotypes and ordinary sexism, in particular by :
    • ensuring that communication, public and internal, does not contain verbal expressions or pictures reflecting or promoting gender stereotypes,
    • helping the staff with training or other means to identify and eliminate unconscious bias, and
    • putting in place a whistleblowing system.
  • Applying strict policies against sexual harassment in the workplace and having zero tolerance for inappropriate sexist behaviour of any kind and in any form.
  • Adopting and implementing policies for families, in particular by:
    • promoting the right for all the staff to request flexible working arrangements to balance work and family life,
    • encouraging secondary caretakers to take leave for childcare,
    • ensuring continuation of the salary to the extent not covered by government-funded social security, and
    • ensuring that optimal conditions apply for the departure on and the return from leave for parental leave (flexible schedules, remote work, …).
  • Developing and structuring all programmes, consultation processes, policies, trainings, seminars and workshops in a gender-responsive manner, so as to ensure the gender-inclusive participation. Avoid “all male panels”. Ensure that work is done with women and not only for women.
  • Participating in programmes and activities launched or promoted by the BVA to make progress towards gender parity, such as testimonials of women professionals in schools, awards programmes for women in finance, networks of women entrepreneurs, …
  • Considering to adopt a parity or diversity charter and/or create a parity or diversity committee within its governance structure.
  • Choosing business partners that are committed to equity and diversity.
  • Adopting and monitoring gender equity indicators and communicating them periodically to the BVA (which will anonymise them).
  • Sharing knowledge and best practices with each other, particularly through the meeting of the BVA ESG committee.

At the level of the portfolio companies, each of the undersigning parties commits to:

  • Monitoring the number of files received which are led by women founders, co-founders and/or women managers.
  • Monitoring the number of investment files which are led by women founders, co-founders and/or women managers.
  • Communicating about this charter, the shared goals and the commitments to achieving these goals and raising awareness among portfolio companies about the importance of equity and diversity.
  • Encouraging companies to put into practice the principle of balanced representation in their decision-making and advisory bodies and promoting best practices with respect to gender balance beyond what is stipulated in applicable law (if any).
  • Including (gender) parity topics in the ESG audits and in the annual ESG reports.