At the Geneva Forum for Sustainable Investment, All News journalist Nicolette de Joncaire caught up with Patrick Odier to discuss some of his thoughts on progress, challenges and future trends in the sustainable investing sphere. Impaakt were mentioned as a tool to combat ESG flaws.
We've summarised some of the key takeouts of the interview in English below.
You can read the full interview on All News.ch here.
When asked about his key message to the GFSI:
"We are therefore well prepared to see that without the active role of capital, there will be no successful sustainable transition. Our ecosystem is favorable to the acceleration of this transition and must be convincing to investors. We know the objectives and we need to develop the measurement and quality control tools to have a real impact."
When asked - how do we check that a sustainable investment product really keeps its promises?
"In terms of financial performance, it needs sufficient history as with any other product. The interest of savers and investors is enormous and the returns particularly good since 2020. But we need, on the extra-financial aspect, more transparency to avoid greenwashing. It can be complicated to measure the impact. ESG ratings are useful but insufficient, as they reflect the past and intentions rather than the future and actual changes in practice. The impact should be assessed qualitatively and not just quantitatively. In Geneva, Impaakt, for example, has set itself the task of developing a methodological framework for measuring the impact of companies in a coherent format, through the development of a community of analysts around the world."
When asked about the advice he would give to clients when it choosing sustainable investments:
"We must support and encourage these companies to implement measurable and sufficiently ambitious objectives for transforming their business model and not exclude them.
It is then up to the professional to inform and demonstrate the impact of investment decisions on the objectives thus set. The portfolio must therefore be based on its performance but also on its impact - contribution to the rise in temperature, exposure to wasted resources, water pollution for example. Investors or savers must be able to follow the progress of the results of their choices, both in terms of performance and in terms of reaching the sustainable objectives that they have set for themselves. Each can have different priorities. It is a matter of defining them on the basis of reliable and transparent data that must be provided by the asset manager."
You can read the full interview on All News.ch here.