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Why Zurich wants to Lead the Way on Impact Investing

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Impact Investing Forum 8,963 members

Elizabeth Pfeuti Follow Elizabeth Why Zurich wants to Lead the Way on Impact Investing

Elizabeth Pfeuti
European Editor at aiCIO, Asset International Top Contributor

http://ai-cio.com/channel/newsmakers/cio_profile__why_zurich_wants_to_lead_the_way_on_impact_investing.html?terms=impact+investing

CIO Profile: Why Zurich wants to Lead the Way on Impact Investing ai-cio.com

Cecilia Reyes, CIO of insurer Zurich, has explained why impact investing is the strategy of the future.

Like Comment (5) Unfollow Reply Privately5 days ago Comments 5 comments

I'm glad to see Zurich making this commitment to the sector and 1 billion out of a 208 billion is a good start. I am hopeful others will follow in their foot steps. As an asset class, impact investing has a lot to offer investors. Elizabeth - thanks for posting the article.

Like Reply privately Flag as inappropriate 3 days ago

It would be good to see them do something about their own impact on global carbon emissions, perhaps through investing in emission reduction project's credits, rather than just the profits some of these projects can produce. Arguably the most important projects will not get World Bank funding or impact investment because they only produce credits - REDD+ projects being a prime example.

With deforestation responsible for more than 15% of annual global carbon dioxide emissions an insurer like Zurich would presumably benefit from direct assistance to these, whilst also benefiting from the repetitional benefits available to a class leader than goes carbon neutral early.

Is it enough to just invest in (highly profitable) green bonds?

Like Reply privately Flag as inappropriate 2 days ago

Way to go Cecelia. Bring it on. Lead the way. Thanks Elizabeth.

Like Reply privately Flag as inappropriate 1 day ago

It is interesting to me that the top people in the investment and wealth management business are increasingly talking about the non-financial dimension of investment. This is a big change relative to a generation ago.

I would argue that they would be doing a lot more in the CSR, impact, sustainability and green arena if there were meaningful metrics that addressed all these matters in a coherent way.

I am working in this space, and it is encouraging that I am not alone. I keep being told of others who are trying to make sense of the non-financial dimension of socio-economic and business performance. I am optimistic that some of these ideas will emerge as a way for radical reform of the way the accounting gets done and the reporting gets done.

Exciting times

Peter Burgess - TrueValueMetrics
Multi Dimension Impact Accounting Delete 15 hours ago

You do good work Peter. Hopefully others will follow, an association will be setup and some standards adopted. Kudos to you, your peers, and the wealthy for now stepping into the field.

Best to you all.

Like Reply privately Flag as inappropriate 5 hours ago