Fund EcoMarket
the sustainable, responsible and ethical investment information hub
the sustainable, responsible and ethical investment information hub
June 15th, 2022
London Climate Week event on 28 & 29 June I happily agreed to become involved with a major London Climate Week event run by Reset Connect some time ago. The event is now only two weeks away. I did so mostly because I am always keen to help and encourage intermediaries to learn about climate issues […]
May 23rd, 2022
…and has now been rightly suspended by HSBC. There is so much to say on this story, but let me start by saying I have no desire to ‘bash’ HSBC. Big banks are imperfect and have, in my view, propped up the fossil fuel industry for far too long – but that is not what […]
April 28th, 2022
A video recording of the 60 minute presentation M&G climate fund manager Randeep Somel, CFA and I gave earlier this week is now available on the M&G Wealth Platform (previously Ascentric). My main task was to introduce the impact investment fund spectrum – the similarities and differences between funds that focus on generating positive impacts as […]
December 15th, 2021
Net Zero is rapidly becoming part of business as usual in UK financial services
October 21st, 2021
This brief blog is to help you bookmark this important document which maps out much of what we can expect to see in the broad sustainable investment arena over the next few years: We are delighted at the growing level of attention being paid to sustainable investment by the UK Government in the run up […]
September 18th, 2021
We are delighted to invite you to sign up to our annual event which is being held in two parts this year: an all day Zoom conference on 6 October, and an informal London drinks reception on 13 October. Sign up links for both events are below. 6 October all day event 10 […]
July 12th, 2021
[Please see my more recent ‘Principles’ blog as the FCA Sustainable Investment Principles are now live.] As you will know, the focus on ‘ESG’ (environmental, social and governance) has ramped up dramatically recently right through the investment value chain. News is now emerging almost daily from all quarters – from the public facing NGOs (notably […]
June 17th, 2021
CCRA3 makes for sober reading – showing the UK is failing to take the necessary steps to adapt to climate change
May 27th, 2021
We all know that climate change poses a massive – indeed ‘existential’ – threat and that things will change rapidly as we work to acheive the goals agreed in Paris in 2015. We also know that renewable energy companies, and related industries, have a bright future – indeed it could be said that ‘they are […]
May 18th, 2021
Our recent ILP Moneyfacts article exploring ESG fund strategies and ‘divestment vs stewardship’
February 15th, 2021
This month’s Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts magazine has kindly published an article I have writen for them regarding the FCA’s proposed Sustainable Investment Principles which were first aired at our conference last year. You can download the article here: ILP Moneyfacts February 2021 Climate of Change As discussed in the article the principles remain […]
October 28th, 2020
I am delighted to report that we have just loaded the videos from our first ever online ‘SRI Services and Partners’ online Good Money Week event onto our YouTube channel. The sessions are listed in chronological order on a play list – here. 288 financial advisers and others attended on the day and the feedback […]
July 22nd, 2020
It is lovely to have contributed once again to ‘Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts’ editor Richard Eagling’s annual SRI feature – entitled ‘Green Power’ . In addition to lots of great commentary the market performance statistics are fantastic, with their analysis showing ‘All ethical funds’ performance outstripping ‘All non ethical funds’ over 1, 3, 5, […]
July 2nd, 2020
Usage of the adviser friendly sustainable investment fund database ‘Fund EcoMarket’ increased sharply over the last six months. Fund EcoMarket welcomed 7.9k unique users over the 6 months to 30 June 2020 – compared to 5.5k over the same period in 2019 (source: Google Analytics). The average session time was 4.31 minutes. Commenting on the […]
March 23rd, 2020
Sustainable Finance Taxonomy report ‘Financing a Sustainable European Economy’ Technical Report published 9 March 2020 On 9 March 2020 the EU TEG (Technical Expert Group) on sustainable finance produced their final report which sets out a ‘taxonomy’ of sustainable business activities. This significant development will help investors to recognise those business activities that should be […]
January 17th, 2020
BlackRock founder and CEO Larry Fink has been making headlines this week with the announcement on Tuesday (14/1/20) that BlackRock are making major changes to their business, putting sustainability – and in particular climate change – at the heart of their business operations. This is a welcome and important development. Some commentators have pointed out […]
May 2nd, 2019
On 1 May UKSIF celebrated its annual ‘Ownership Day’ with an event at the London Stock Exchange and the publication of a fund manager survey that looks into how different managers view the oil industry ‘Oil Pressure Gauge’ . Its focus is around ‘responsible ownership’ or what many now call ‘stewardship’ and the role it […]
April 18th, 2019
A growing number of funds are now marketed as being ‘sustainability themed’ or having sustainability related themes (often in addition to ethical, ESG or other SRI strategies). These funds employ many different strategies, methods and ‘lines of thought’. For most, sustainability is demonstrably central to their investment proposition (via various policies, themes and research criteria). […]
April 5th, 2019
The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (the international network of SIFs, that includes friends at UKSIF and Eurosif) has this week published its biennial global market report covering the period 2016-18 The report shows substantial growth in sustainable and responsible investment assets under management across all areas – with the exception of the EU as a […]
March 22nd, 2019
Source: FCA website 12 March 2019 First meeting of the PRA and FCA’s joint Climate Financial Risk Forum Press Releases Published: 12/03/2019 Last updated: 12/03/2019 On Friday 8 March, the PRA and FCA hosted the first meeting of the Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF). The objective of the CFRF is to build capacity and share best practice across financial […]
February 4th, 2019
SRI Services submitted a response to the FCA’s highly welcome consultation on Climate Change and Green Finance (DP18/8) last week. You can read our submission here. Alternatively – here are our 12 key points that we would like the regulator to formally recognise and act on. The role of investors is central to our ability […]
January 16th, 2019
As mentioned in my blog in October last year the FCA is consulting on climate change and green finance. SRI Services plans to respond to this important paper – both by welcoming it and by responding to those questions that fall within our area of expertise. DP18/8: Climate change and green finance DEADLINE – 31 JANUARY […]
November 8th, 2018
I am delighted to share the videos from our ‘Sustainability and Suitability’ SRI event for those who were unable to attend on the day. Keynote speaker Lord Deben’s climate change speech was a particular highlight.
October 25th, 2018
We were absolutely delighted to welcome Lord Deben (John Gummer) to our SRI Services and Partners event on 3 October 2018. Lord Deben spoke elequently and passionately on ‘Why Climate Change Matters to Investors’ – his speech can be viewed here, on the Fund EcoMarket YouTube channel: (And yes, we concur with the view that […]
October 15th, 2018
SRI Services welcomes today’s announcement, which reads as follows: FCA opens a discussion on the impact of climate change and green finance on financial services Press Releases Published: 15/10/2018 Last updated: 15/10/2018 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published a Discussion Paper on climate change and green finance. The effects of climate change and the associated transition to […]
September 30th, 2018
The Bank of England has taken a leadership position on climate change for a number of years. Governor Mark Carney’s ‘Tragedy of the horizons’ speech in 2015 set the scene for how the Bank viewed the issue of climate risk. Their subsequent work on the FSB TCFD framework has put climate change on the agenda for […]
September 12th, 2018
The article below my ‘preamble’ is reproduced with kind permission from ‘Responsible Investor’ – published yesterday (11/9/2018). But first an introduction… Executive summary for retail professionals: In brief, the DWP has announced that they will expect pension trustees to consider ESG risks and opportunities – and specifically reference ‘climate change’ as an area they should […]
July 12th, 2018
Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts magazine’s front page piece this month is devoted to ‘sustainable, responsible and ethical investment’. The editorial, which you can read here focuses on the shifts in regulation that have been a lightbulb moment for investors – who are increasingly recognising the importance of environmental and social issues. The article includes a […]
May 25th, 2018
Yesterday was a big day for those of us who care about how investment and financial services impact the world we live in. The following is a direct ‘cut and paste’ version of a press released issued by the European Commission, complete with links. The potential implications of this are very significant for all in […]
March 15th, 2018
On 8 March 2018 the EU published its response to the Sustainable Finance HLEG (High Level Expert Group) report issued in January. Go to the new EU Sustainable Finance information here. The report is accompanied by an action plan and an event which will be live streamed on 22 March. I am yet to digest the report, however […]
February 15th, 2018
The EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance published by far the most welcome document I have seen in a very long time (if ever) at the end of January this year. The HLEG, which comprised 20 experts (6 of whom were from the UK) has brought together a range of proposals that relate to the […]
January 16th, 2018
As readers may already know the government has said it is committed to supporting the hugely diverse (and essential) area of ‘Green Finance’. Part of the process of developing this area involves calling for input in the form of a government inquiry. Written responses were requested for submission by 3 January – they can now be found here. […]
August 7th, 2017
This month saw the publication of two SRI/ethical investment articles in ‘Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts’ magazine. One was written by Moneyfacts editor Richard Eagling, the other by myself. See here for the ILP Moneyfacts annual ethical and SRI fund survey – Ethical Funds Survey July 2017 See here for my climate risk article (and in particular […]
July 28th, 2017
I have Raj Thamothram of Preventable Surprises to ‘thank’ for bringing this shocker of a story to my attention. In brief – this is a tale of the investment markets rewarding a company for turning its back on green issues and attempting to turn back the clock. There is much to say and many questions to ask – including how […]
July 19th, 2017
The EU has recently published its High Level Expert Group (HLEG) Sustainable Finance interim report. This ambitious and significant report covers issues ranging from financing greener infrastructure to the labelling SRI funds. Although mainly aimed at institutions the implication is that the final recommendations will also impact individual (retail) investors. The EU plans to start implementing changes at the start of 2018 […]
June 29th, 2017
The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure has today issued its much heralded final report the purpose of which is to establish a framework for company reporting that will enable investors to better assess and manage climate risk. The Financial Stability Board, chaired by Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney set up the TCFD (Task Force […]
June 16th, 2017
Actuaries sent risk warning by professional body (IFoA) regarding material risk of climate change for pension schemes and other clients.
London Climate Week event on 28 & 29 June I happily agreed to become involved with a major London Climate Week event run by Reset Connect some time ago. The event is now only two weeks away. I did so mostly because I am always keen to help and encourage intermediaries to learn about climate issues […]
Earlier this week I set out my initial response to HSBC’s head of Responsible Investment – Stuart Kirk’s – extraordinary presentation on climate risk (see blog linked below). In the interest of understanding different points of view – here is a collection of articles and opinions about his speech that we believe are relevant to […]
…and has now been rightly suspended by HSBC. There is so much to say on this story, but let me start by saying I have no desire to ‘bash’ HSBC. Big banks are imperfect and have, in my view, propped up the fossil fuel industry for far too long – but that is not what […]