Responsible investment
As responsible managers of capital, we must, on the one hand, consider how sustainability challenges affect our investments. Ensuring that investments meet regulatory, social and environmental criteria in the ever-evolving investment landscape is key to seizing the opportunities and navigating the risks arising from sustainability challenges and thus for securing stable, long-term returns.
In our view, companies with an appropriate management structure and the ability to mitigate environmental and social risks ultimately have a more viable business model. Responsible investment allows us to support our clients in making informed choices and to provide them with investment solutions that enable them to combine attractive performance with personal values and convictions.
At the same time, we are equally aware that our investments have an impact on the world around us. Channelling capital towards responsible investment solutions allows us to manage this impact and helps us to play a role in contributing to a sustainable economy.
Since signing up to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) in 2012, we have continually enhanced our expertise and product offering in responsible investment. UBP’s Responsible Investment Policy (RI Policy) has been regularly expanded and enhanced to reflect our growing commitment in this field. It outlines UBP’s approach to exclusions, ESG integration and sustainable investing, including impact investing.
Impact Investing
Addressing the world’s most pressing environmental and societal challenges requires more than doing business responsibly: it requires disruptive and innovative solutions that address challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, poverty and inequality.
We are therefore determined to identify companies and sectors that can deliver a positive impact alongside financial returns. This allows investors to align their financial objectives of investing in companies that show strong growth potential with their ethical desire to support companies that are having a concrete, positive impact.
The power of the financial sector lies in identifying companies that will thrive in the transformation that is under way and directing investments towards them. Besides the positive environmental or social impact, we see impact investing as a way to generate superior returns over the long term by focusing on the engines of the new economy.
UBP is seizing this opportunity as a pioneer in impact investing. We have an established range of strategies generating both social and environmental impact, with the latest addition focusing on companies that are protecting and/or restoring biodiversity.
Our success in impact investing rests on a highly efficient analysis framework structured around six themes which tie in with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): climate stability, healthy ecosystems, sustainable communities, health and well-being, basic needs, and inclusive and fair economies. Our proprietary scoring system “IMAP”, which considers the intentionality, materiality, additionality and potential of companies, is also key, helping us to assesses the impact-intensity of a company’s business model. Engaging with investee companies is a cornerstone of our impact investing approach as it is the best way to understand the true “intentionality” of a company.
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