1. Investment expertise
  2. Responsible Investment
Menu
Investment expertise

Responsible Investment

Responsible Investment

Responsible Investment, which began as a niche some years ago, is now at the forefront of many of our clients’ minds and increasingly embedded in our approach. At UBP we firmly believe that long-term risk adjusted returns can be enhanced through ESG integration, active ownership (engagement and voting) and a focus on the impact our investments make.



UBP’s commitment

UBP’s commitment to sustainable wealth management for our clients led us to become a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) in March 2012. Since then, the world of responsible investment has evolved substantially, as has our approach.

As part of our continued commitment to upholding the principles of the UNPRI, in 2018 we both expanded and enhanced our Responsible Investment Policy to provide a robust foundation across the full range of our products and mandates within the Bank.

The financial rationale is clear – that a comprehensive approach to ESG considerations can support both risk management and alpha-generation. However, we are also firmly of the view that finance has a key role to play in creating a sustainable economy.

In order to tackle the world’s biggest challenges; governments, the corporate world and the financial sector must work together and it is this aim which has led to our collaboration with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. In 2018, we became a member of their ‘Investment Leaders Group’, a select network of pension funds, insurers and asset managers committed to advancing the practise of responsible investment. UBP is also a member of Sustainable Finance Geneva and Swiss Sustainable Finance.

Investment Policy

UBP’s ESG approach invokes the following four practices – screening, promotion, active ownership and thought leadership.

  • Screening: A firm-wide Exclusion List encompasses a number of controversial business areas in which we feel it is inappropriate to invest, while a Watch List monitors companies flagged as embroiled in ESG controversies and thus of greater investment risk.
  • Promotion: The curation of a Sustainability Champions List of companies identified as either contributing to solving the world’s societal and climate challenges or which are being innovative in their efforts to improve their ESG practices, which our investment centres are encouraged to consider in their investment decisions.
  • Active Ownership: as part of our strategy to be active managers of capital, we engage with companies via a our partner to resolve address controversial practices while encouraging our investment centres to undertake bilateral engagement to support best practice, encourage disclosure and promote change where necessary. Our voting policy (available in the “Key documents” section below) takes into account ESG matters.
  • Thought Leadership: keeping pace with the change is not sufficient – we are committed to our role as responsible investors and aim to shape industry developments rather than follow them. We promote and participate in responsible investment within the investment community through our active involvement in the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s ‘Investment Leaders Group’.

Key documents

Policies

Reporting


Contact us

Want to know more about Responsible Investment?

Get in touch with our experts

Head of Impact Investing

Victoria Leggett

Head of Responsible Investment for Asset Management. Victoria joined UBP in 2010 as a portfolio manager and has 15 years of investment experience. She previously worked as a European Equity Analyst at Threadneedle having started her career in Corporate Finance.

Expertise

Value creation through responsible investment

UBP continues on its way to enhanced ESG investment standards

Expertise

Impact investing - Contributing to a more sustainable future

What are the key features of impact investing?


Read more

Institutional clients

With a team of more than 200 people, UBP Asset Management has built an on-the-ground presence in the world’s major markets through organic growth and selected partnerships.

Our fund range

Funds

View all our funds.

Insight 14.03.2024

India: A New Driver Emerges

Driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic programme, India has embarked on a phase of infrastructure investment akin to China’s in the 1990s. In our latest edition of UBP Headlines, our Group Chief Strategist Norman Villamin takes a deep dive into the booming Indian market, exploring its investment opportunities.

Legal Aspects

Sustainability-related Disclosures at UBP

Further information can be found here