Sustainability investment war chests growing

Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based deVere Group says it is committed to having $2 billion of its assets positioned in “socially responsible investment vehicles” within five years. It doubles the amount mentioned by the firm earlier this year.

The firm, which describes itself as one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory, asset management and fintech organizations, says it is doubling its commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments.

DeVere says its “dramatic doubling” of its pledge comes as world leaders head to Glasgow for the start of COP26 (Paris Accords) conference, “an event seen as a critical turning point in the struggle to avert the worst effects of climate change.”

Recycling is only one of several sectors that can attract investments pledged to lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fend off rising temperatures.

“Climate change – and the major, far-reaching fallout of it for economies and communities around the world - is the greatest risk multiplier,” states deVere Group CEO and founder of Nigel Green. “There’s no question that it is the defining issue of our time.”

Green adds, “In the 2020 annual risk report from the World Economic Forum (WEF), the top five risks in terms of probability were environmental, and the top four of five risks in terms of impact were both social and environmental in nature. As a society, we have a small window of opportunity to slam on the brakes to save our planet.”

Beyond altruism, Green says recent research “underscores that the majority of environmental, social and governance investments are continuing to outperform their non-sustainable counterparts and have lower volatility.”

As well as its $2 billion commitment, deVere is a signatory to the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), an alliance of global finance companies committed to “aligning all relevant products and services to achieve net zero greenhouse gases by 2050 and to set meaningful interim targets for 2025.”

Canada’s largest banks are among those signing on to NZBA, with an October media report noting that the nation’s “big six” banks– the Bank of Montreal, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the National Bank of Canada, the Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and Toronto Dominion – are all signatories.

The report from the Environment News Service indicates the NZBA is now up to 43 signatories, including “major asset owners and managers as well as banks with the power to mobilize trillions of dollars behind the transition to net zero.”