John Lappin https://www.alpha-week.com/ en Digital Assets Driving Significant Innovation, and Likely to Continue https://www.alpha-week.com/digital-assets-driving-significant-innovation-and-likely-continue <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Digital Assets Driving Significant Innovation, and Likely to Continue</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 11/14/2022 - 08:46</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><span><span><span>Digital Assets and the associated technologies now have the foundations in place to drive significant innovation, delegates at the WM Nexus Impact Investing Forum in London, have heard. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Charles Kerrigan, managing partner Finance and Fintech at law firm CMS UK, Haydn Jones, director and Senior Blockchain Market Specialist, PwC UK and Huy Nguyen Trieu, Co-Founder, CFTE, a fintech education platform also discussed the state of play in terms of regulations and the increasing number of use cases being demonstrated around the world. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The session was chaired by Tushar Patel, CIO and managing director at HFIM who asked the panel to set out what they saw as the opportunity from digital assets in terms of impact and business.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Traditional finance now more than passively interested</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Kerrigan said that as well as the well-known exchanges and crypto-native service providers that had made crypto a retail phenomenon, traditional financial firms are now interested in crypto and digital assets, even if just to satisfy customer demand.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>There are still many questions: is there an investment thesis for crypto and digital assets as a new asset class?  Does the underlying technology change existing or create new business models?</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“Blockchain can improve efficiencies in financial markets infrastructure, for example through tokenization of capital markets transactions - so incumbents want to get there first. They don't want what they do to be displaced because of a new service provider figures out how to use a new technology before they do,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He also noted a huge number of other organisations in the sector, including market makers, VCs, data analytics firms, specialist digital asset custodians, and others along with researchers, analysts and other service providers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Haydn Jones, director and senior blockchain market specialist, PwC UK said: “This is super clever technology, because it does something which no other technology does. Bitcoin allows you to put a store of value on the ledger and move it around. It's very, very clever.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Foundations are already built</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Nguyen Trieu said: “The technology, the architecture, what we call blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) is starting to give us a sound foundation and infrastructure. On top of that, you have the different asset classes. Tokens will be one of the simplest ones, then cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), NFTs. Some of them are starting to be quite mature so we can start to do simple finance, where you can pay, buy, make an exchange. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“On top of that, we're starting to have more complex finance - derivatives, staking, smart contracts. The objective could be DeFi (decentralised finance), creating a different system, not based on the traditional rails, but on these DLT rails. We are not that far, but we can see the direction. The metaverse could do this in a different way, but we can’t forget commerce. One of the end goals should be commerce.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The panel were asked what is driving innovation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Jones said: “When you look at a general ledger, Oracle, SAP, Sage, you're looking at a number. That's a numerical representation of a balance in a bank account. To change the balance in my bank account, I've got to execute a payment, usually via BACS, Chaps or Swift. And typically, there's usually a contract tied to the transfer of value between parties. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“So, with this technology, we can take a ledger, and we can programme contracts onto the ledger, that conditionally move money. A contract is a series of ‘if-then’ statements and so is computer code. So, what we have is the ability to put a series of if-then statements on shared ledgers that move value. In terms of democratising money, and taking it out of state control, it is hugely powerful. As to whether that is something we want, is open for debate.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He added that we are still really in the foothills of experimentation. But in terms of automating commerce, for example it gives the ability for big manufacturing companies to capture the provenance of the metals to prove it comes from a sustainable source.  </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>A dilemma for banks</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Kerrigan said high street banks generally had a policy that they didn’t touch crypto or bank firms that do.  But most consumer-facing businesses now have an NFT project or a Metaverse project.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“There is a smaller and smaller number of traditional corporations that are not now touching crypto in some way.  So that is another reason why the banks are checking their policy on crypto – they don’t want to refuse to deal with existing non-crypto corporate customers!”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The development of CBDCs is another significant trend in crypto adoption.  Libra, Facebook’s digital currency project, had a significant impact not because it happened, but because it prompted central banks to move forward their own projects. The result is that there is now a lot of institutional and policy support and interest.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>A zero-trust system</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Nguyen Trieu said it was important not to forget that one driver was the 2008 financial crash where people didn’t trust the traditional financial system anymore.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“At the end of the day, it's democratisation of finance. It really started in 2008, where a lot of people after the financial crisis didn't really trust the traditional financial system anymore.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“A lot of people who are involved in the space want something outside of the traditional financial system. Now, we can create a zero-trust system. And that's why this is such an interesting innovation, and you have so many people doing it.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The Panel was asked what problem blockchain solved.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Jones said he believed the single and most probable use case for blockchain is Bitcoin. That is because it can act as a global currency without all the technical and regulatory requirements of other platforms. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“Within the space of a minute, I can open a public address with a private key that is unique to me. There are more public/private key combinations in Bitcoin than there are atoms in the universe. That's immensely powerful. I can spin up a public address, I can have some Bitcoin in it, I can send it within minutes, anywhere in the world, and I don’t need a central bank. People are attracted to that.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“We can also run big corporates using this technology. We can secure intellectual property, music royalties. We'll see this next generation of companies that come through when people realise what they can do, and they can build big corporates that have very little in them other than smart contracts on general ledgers.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Innovation at the level of a system</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Nguyen Trieu added: “What we're really solving is what I call system innovation. How do we innovate at the level of a system?” </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Singapore for example has launched OpenCerts, a system where certificates and diplomas are validated on Ethereum and where collaborative work that may have taken a few years is done in a few months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>An initiative by Union Bank of the Philippines allowed lots of rural banks which couldn’t send money from village to village to suddenly be able to link to each other.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“It was something they could do very quickly, because it leverages on the technology that allows for trust in the system, and trust at the level of a participant. We will see much more of this kind of innovation.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Jones said that one problem with digital currencies is that they are not state-backed – if they get into problems, the Governor of the Bank of England is not going to pick up the phone and intervene. But CBDCs might offer a route with stablecoins as a bridge.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“The bridge might allow you to then plug in smart contracts from a company like Amazon or LexisNexis where you just download smart contracts and plug them into a stablecoin, and then build businesses off that.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>What of regulation?</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Kerrigan said: “Regulation is different in every jurisdiction. The technology is extraterritorial so firms need a plan to deal with rules in different countries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>In the UK, there isn't much direct cryptoasset regulation but all the usual rules apply: is a cryptoasset a security - because if it is, you need a prospectus or an exemption to issue it?  How can it be marketed - the financial promotions rules apply?  How to comply with anti-money laundering rules.  And the rest…”</span></span></span></p></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9731&amp;2=bookmark" token="D2lHddMw7OwORRptIMFIoMdM2eKYgRN3i0Xdja1jiJM"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 14 Nov 2022 08:46:34 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 9731 at https://www.alpha-week.com Bridging Family Office Generations Through Impact https://www.alpha-week.com/bridging-family-office-generations-through-impact <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Bridging Family Office Generations Through Impact</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 06/20/2022 - 14:02</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>The intense focus on impact investing can create a bridge between the generations and smooth the engagement process even of succession planning for family offices.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>But delegates at the WM Nexus Impact Investing Forum in London also heard that families of wealth need a coherent approach that, in part, requires them first to assess what purpose and impact mean to them, and what these concepts mean across the generations, as well as for society more broadly.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>Of course, there are important differences across different countries and indeed the discussion group reflected that with contributions from, among others, those with Singaporean, Lebanese and Kenyan backgrounds.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>Yet there are also common themes as well.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>Moderator Zita Nikoletta Verbényi, founder of The Legacy Atelier, suggested that families of wealth have been making an impact in the broadest sense of the term for many generations through their businesses, philanthropic and educational work. </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>“Impact-related activities have been around for millennia, and especially for these multi-generational business families and legacy families, sustainability and impact was always high on the radar,” she said.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>Yet even families and their offices with a long and established history face the challenge of finding new ways to achieve impact also through investing. Delegates suggested that discussions about impact and purpose can even prove supercharged across different generations. The optimistic conclusion however was that when a process is handled carefully you can find points of resonance and synergy.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>It was felt that defining purpose was also important in helping the next generation to discover those ‘aha’ moments and would ultimately bring rewards. It could help families and their offices build a framework that encompasses the foundational legacy but also adds new interests and even passions from the next generations as well.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>“You have to ask how much you are building upon the existing legacy framework of the family, but still bringing in new layers - enriching stories and new fields of impact and purpose”, said Verbényi.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>It did require existing family leaders to act consciously, purposefully, and intentionally to build upon their own legacy and meaning framework.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>In terms of causes that inspire Next Gens, it was suggested that this can depend on their own particular passions, the current social, environmental, cultural, and economic matters, but also to a degree on the family’s structure and other family-unique characteristics.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>Yet Gen Xers don't necessarily see that solutions and frameworks are already there for them to be tapping into. In practical terms, families should be considering setting up a next generation group, if the next gens have not created these already by themselves, even collaborating already with next generation members of other families.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>“It can be really powerful, when the Next Gens put their intellect, talents and skill sets together, and collaborate on different projects with intersecting purpose and impact layers, creating cross-impact. Of course, the current family leaders and senior generation members also have a prevalent role, when it comes to instilling the family values and also sensibly guiding and inspiring the next generation when it comes to purpose and impact.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>The continued embrace of impact opportunities by asset management can create another bridge between the generations.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>“It's a wider concept than just impact investing. There is a lot more philanthropic and educational activities in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. It forms a wonderful bridge for family members to learn from each other and create better understanding, which really enhances their overall value framework as well. It raises the quality of the conversations that they've been holding between the generations.”</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>There is one significant difference, however.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>It was clear from the experience of delegates that the next generation really wants to see where money is going. They want to be on the ground, they want to go to remote areas, they want to shake hands with people, they want to see the impact.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span>“It's great to hear the quants, and understand what’s behind these numbers, how, when, with whom, why they were measured, and for what purposes. But it is also a lot more about the qualitative aspects of how lives are changing and how the impacts are really playing out on many levels, horizontally and vertically,” added Verbényi.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><em><strong>John Lappin</strong> is Contributing Editor at <strong><a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></em></p></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9411&amp;2=bookmark" token="HUm7GwLv54zq7C6zKIucXHlh0DbsI8fJrhUs9qgJiyo"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 20 Jun 2022 13:02:09 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 9411 at https://www.alpha-week.com Impact, The Meaning Of Success And The Female Investor: A Game-Changer For The Industry? https://www.alpha-week.com/impact-meaning-success-and-female-investor-game-changer-industry <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Impact, The Meaning Of Success And The Female Investor: A Game-Changer For The Industry?</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 06/06/2022 - 10:29</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><span><span><span>More women are taking control of their wealth, and yet less than 2% of capital goes to female founders.  And women often invest differently than men, historically and now. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>In this panel discussion with Amy Blackwell and Jessica Hackett, moderated by Wendy Marston, we explore what the changing landscape of wealth ownership means to the investment industry and why it may lead to an increase in impact investing. We also ask how is a female perspective changing the way wealth is invested and how businesses are run?  </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>The characteristics of female investors and impact investing</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Blackwell draws upon a recent report in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) to outline the historical and present traits of female investors, highlighting that historically women have had lower economic status and significantly worse pay. Women have also historically exhibited a lower-risk appetite and this has not gone away. There have been psychological studies showing that women feel less comfortable absorbing risk after becoming mothers, citing a feeling of duty and responsibility towards someone else. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>This is often seen as women being emotional or based on a lack of understanding, but some of these traits are now making them better impact investors. They are taking the time to think about the impact agenda and giving it as much importance as the financial aspect. This leads to better due diligence and longer investment time horizons, based on a higher level of trust and greater transparency, which often translates into higher returns and lower fees, according to the HBR study. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Hackett believes that women look back more on family experience considering when was the money earned and what has happened with that money over time. As well as taking a long-term view towards the future, they are also cognisant of the history of the family.  </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Blackwell agrees that family shocks in the past affect women and can make them more cautious. Legacy is a significant underlying factor in their decision making. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>According to Hackett, another trait that women tend to exhibit is that of being the peacemakers in the family and wanting to bring family members together, that inherent sense of nurturing that allows women to bring in other family members who have been excluded or ignored. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>For Blackwell, this manifests as a focus on governance and a better communication protocols. Women often come together within a family and say they aren’t communicated with properly. Whereas some people say that women cannot make a decision on their own, she believes this is reflective of the collaborative nature of women, and their desire to make the best use of each individual’s strengths and knowledge.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Blackwell adds that women want to be told the truth, good or bad and they don’t want to be placated and sent on their way. Women are drawn to impact investing because of the opportunities for instigating social and environmental changes and they want to see their investments make a difference. But in order for them to believe and buy into that opportunity, there needs to be an institutional rigour on how the impact is measured so there can be an honest conversation involving several key questions such as how many people get helped, how do they get helped, how long is it going to take, how are we going to measure it and how can we react if it is going wrong? Women understand that an initial thought about an investment may not be what works but that with trust and transparency over time the solution can be found. There is less ego wrapped up in the initial decision. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Developing trust and transparency</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Hackett believes this comes not just from honesty but also from listening and understanding what is really important to female investors. She recalls many meetings where the female family members have not even been acknowledged by the male advisors and asset managers in the room. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>And, as pointed out by one guest, this isn’t a situation limited to women, but is also experienced by people of colour. The key factor in building not only trust but also in creating a balanced portfolio is in looking at all diversity, gender, race, age, etc. The bringing together of different perspectives, knowledge and experience leads to better decision making. Businesses that take a collaborative approach do better than those where one man is shouting louder than the others.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Blackwell feels that if you are looking at impact investing, a key part of collaboration is to be stakeholder driven. She identifies two important considerations - first, is this really a problem as identified by the stakeholders? Second, are we asking these stakeholders about what they think is the solution? Because, she says, these individuals may not regard the problem we are trying to solve as the most pressing problem with implications for the solution proposed as well. Finally she says we need to make sure that whoever is likely to lose power has a soft landing that leaves their ego intact. She feels this way of thinking is more instinctive in women.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Are women better impact investors?</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>One guest questioned if women were better fund managers or if it just appeared so because of the difficulties for women to achieve senior positions, those that have made it are the best in their fields.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>According to Blackwell, in the last two years female-led investment teams have outperformed male led teams in both impact investing, private equity and asset management. The view laid out in the HBR report is that this is because of the characteristics exhibited by these fund managers - the pace with which they make the initial investments, the commitment to the long-term time horizon and the lower fees associated with being less reactive. That may be related to a female approach, or it may be a nuanced approach because they are the top of the top. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>However, within the industry it is true that the women who have been the most successful have been the ones most like men. Blackwell recalls that having gone into banking in the 1990s, the whole industry was white=male dominated. There was tension and conflict around the expectation to be feminine but also aggressive, to work harder than your male counterparts and not have kids. She feels the whole culture needs to be more inclusive, because this is when you get the right people on the board who are dynamic and collaborative, who bring the right skills and behave the way they are meant to behave rather than fitting a cookie cutter approach.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Hackett believes that this change is what is needed to create progress, while the same old cookie-cutter approach leads to stagnation. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Change at the heart of the financial industry</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It is projected that by 2030, 60% of wealth will be in female hands, and not just inherited wealth but also women building their own wealth. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Blackwell believes the asset management industry needs to be reflective of their client base and conscious of their concerns. She recounts: “When we talk to firms, they present their ESG framework, and at the end, we ask them if they took that tool that they use to review companies to invest in, if they turned it on themselves, would they invest in themselves? </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“With the majority of firms there is a huge pregnant pause. That kind of transparency and introspection is something that women are now insisting they have in their advisers. Firms are being forced to see their short comings.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Blackwell continues to explain the similarity between how women and next gens are using a more collaborative approach, developing an ecosystem of trusted advisers. For millennials, it comes from being team taught at school. They understand that they don’t need to know everything but rather they need to know how to put together a successful team.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Where the wealth management industry fails is that managers often function as silos – they have their assets, that’s how they are paid and bonused. Change is going to take radical thinking about how managers’ KPIs are set, how they are remunerated and how they are incentivised within these teams in order to actually service a family in an authentic way, one that doesn’t look like a box ticking exercise to a family. Many institutions think hosting great events is the way to engage with next gens, but next gens know this is a cynical exercise undertaken to try to keep them on board. These businesses would do better to spend this money in putting together teams in a more collaborative way and rethinking the way people are paid. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Hackett adds that firms also need to look not just at providing quarterly reports but adopt a long-term approach to servicing a family, taking a more holistic approach. Advisers need extend their skillset in order to be able to deal with the conversations about impact rather than trying to steer investors back into a traditional, financial-returns focus. What is needed is education and an openness from advisors. The impact conversation is a very different conversation than one that is focused on reporting financial returns. Hackett also believes there needs to be a greater use of technology, in order to define, identify and report on impact within portfolios and advisors need to be comfortable with using it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>The meaning of success</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>In Blackwell’s experience, she has often seen banks and institutions that claim to value philanthropy, perhaps even have a foundation or in-house donor advised fund. But what she has seen is a reticence to allocate the philanthropic capital because that depletes the assets under management. She believes that banks need to align their remuneration with what they truly value – if it is philanthropy then managers need to be incentivised differently, based on distributing capital and being a part of the stakeholders of the community in which they operate. There needs to be a rethink about what it means to be a good financial adviser. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>For women, the terms of success are not just about the returns. Blackwell notes that when women talk about their investments they tell the story of their investments. Men focus more on the financials, and sometimes it’s a long time into the conversation before you even know what the investment was. For organisations, this is a big paradigm shift – to align with how their clients are viewing success and deciding who internally decides what that looks like. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>This redefining of success also needs to be reflected in the eradication of the pay gap. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Hackett believes the solution lies in greater transparency and recognising value in a wider group. If there is more transparency around salaries and remuneration, then both sides have to openly show the value. These may be difficult conversations, but they can help identify what drives value creation. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Marston wonders if we need to challenge the basic assumption about value and remuneration, that higher financial reward is the only outcome. Historically men have one role – they are the breadwinner – make money, bring it home and pay the bills. Women are relatively new on this scene, so they have to do that and all of the other things still. So maybe if you can have a job that pays 10% less but you can leave at 3 because you have to do the school run, maybe you start a bit earlier or do compressed hours. Perhaps there is more value in the flexibility or in the other benefits. Generally, there needs to be more flexibility in looking at the whole package and not just for women but also for men because maybe they also would like to have some of this flexibility too. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Blackwell agrees, recounting a new practice seen at some employers where employees are given the opportunity to “sell” 10% of their pay package and “buy” extra holiday, a practice that has high take up where offered. For many individuals, quality of life is a part of the package. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>One guest believes that culture comes from the top. The person at the top sets the tone, the goals and the values.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Blackwell agrees, but in looking at a top-down approach with all of these policies on diversity, they are often not felt at every level of business. The hardest part is often getting middle management on board and integrating these values so that they trickle down throughout all levels. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The greatest challenge, according to Blackwell, with a bottom-up approach is often a lack of confidence. When a woman goes into an annual review, they are often told they are worth X amount presented in a way that implies they should be grateful. And for many women, imposter syndrome is a real issue, preventing them from realising their own value. Also, with women as the peacemakers, creating conflict is often challenging and against their natural instinct. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>However, as outlined by one guest, we are seeing a change in this behaviour, with more women starting their own businesses, whether in emerging or developed economies and driving the shift of wealth. We are also seeing trends driven by LPs, putting pressure on GPs to extend carry to all members of staff and to keep founders in businesses for longer. Still there are women – single mums, trafficked women, asylum seekers – who have got themselves this far, but lack opportunity.  </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Blackwell says they have not had opportunity but they have something inside, an internal survival strength that gets women to that point and they need support to be able to take the opportunities. And this makes good business sense - if you look at micro loans, the percentage of loans to women that have been paid back versus percentage of loans to men, is significantly higher. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It comes back to collaboration and support. Women are better at helping each other. According to one guest, men also can benefit from a new paradigm of collaboration and support, pointing to the high levels of male suicide as how the old system is failing men. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>There is a belief that in order for women to rise, men need to fall. The conversation should rather be about the idea that if one person rises, everyone rises and therefore how do we make the whole system better for everyone. </span></span></span></p> <p><em><strong>John Lappin</strong> is Contributing Editor at <strong><a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></em></p></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9384&amp;2=bookmark" token="ZAo6-dO9HAyBVJD4TIuWxI71nEB9H4sthDsPJsSK8a4"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 06 Jun 2022 09:29:58 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 9384 at https://www.alpha-week.com Energy Crisis Shows Need For More Renewables https://www.alpha-week.com/energy-crisis-shows-need-more-renewables <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Energy Crisis Shows Need For More Renewables</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 05/23/2022 - 13:55</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><span><span><span>Energy prices have soared in the midst of the ongoing global political and economic crisis.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and a harsh, escalating programme of sanctions from the West have caused already rising oil and gas prices to rise further and faster.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Pre-invasion, commodity prices had already begun to increase significantly as first gas then oil prices rose in response to a global industrial recovery and rising energy demand while OPEC has been reluctant to increase production to ease price rises.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>With economies, consumers and businesses feeling huge cost pressures, fundamental questions are being asked about energy supply, distribution and efficiency.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The situation also poses challenges for investors in sustainable energy regarding energy security, the energy mix and market, storage and even the speed of the transition.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>These matters were debated at the WM Nexus Impact Investing Forum in London recently with policy advisers and investors including Dr Delia Dimitriu, Associate with Connected Places Catapult, who has advised the World Bank, the European Commission and countries across the ASEAN region, Jake Sumner, a strategic consultant and former adviser to UK government and opposition ministers and current adviser to local authorities and Angeles Toledo – lead fund manager of the Triodos Groenfonds and the Triodos emerging markets renewable energy fund.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Sustainable energy will bring energy independence</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Our experts were first asked had the multi-faceted crisis in energy shifted the terms of the sustainability debate?</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Toledo said the energy transition was more relevant than ever and, indeed, gives us the opportunity to establish energy independence from Russia.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Dimitriu had seen tangible progress at government level, but she warned that one government changing its mind could limit progress as we saw with India’s last minute demands regarding coal at COP 26 last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Identifying local based sources for renewable energy is the key. She is advocating for solar and waste to energy sources.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Dimitriu said change needed to come from the bottom up and local communities needed to see the benefits in terms of reduced costs and more jobs. That would apply in Europe too as it seeks to dramatically expand renewables.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Toledo said renewable investing was delivering across all criteria, making a positive environmental impact that was good for communities while also providing good risk adjusted returns. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“The costs of these renewable energies are dropping dramatically. Solar energy is even cheaper than oil. It is not just impact; it's economics,” she added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Agreeing with Dimitriu, she said we need to decentralise and democratise energy and produce it where it is consumed, something that would contribute to solving not just local problems but also address geopolitical ones.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Sumner said the world needed to wean itself off the volatility of fossil fuels that had blighted economies for decades. He said the case for renewables in terms of security of supply, and low cost and fast pace of delivery needed to be made much more firmly and clearly and in turn prioritised in the energy strategy.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He also warned the fossil fuel lobby was not letting a good crisis go to waste – arguing for the reopening of or opening up of new coal mines, championing oil fields and erroneously claiming renewables are responsible for price hikes. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“These are bogus arguments. It's the paradigm we've had before, around fossil fuels. It won't come on stream fast enough or deliver enough and it is going to undermine our security by not meeting climate targets.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He noted the business secretary had said such developments including fracking would not materially affect wholesale market prices.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“We should have full-throated calls for faster, renewable take up, and then look at taxation and legislation to encourage this. We should be doing everything to boost that supply and building the security and the social benefits that flow from it.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Toledo was worried that in the crisis, governments would take a short-term approach at the expense of long-term structural reform.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Immediate fossil fuel shutdown not credible</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>However Dimitriu said it was not credible to argue for the immediate shutdown of fossil fuels.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“As a climate expert, I have to be realistic in terms of achieving net zero up to 2050. Taking fossil fuels out overnight is not the answer,, but accelerating renewable energy production during this transition is a MUST” she said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“I have in mind the social aspects and logistics when I advocate for a low carbon to netzero transition. But it needs to be short, so 2030 should be a milestone for several European (developed) countries. I am not at all in favor of maintaining fossil fuels, but setting up a realistic and aggressive plan to phasing them out while scaling up the production of renewables should be the answer, in my opinion.”She said governments need to subsidise cleaner ways of using fossil fuels for at least eight more years and to monitor it. Technologies had been developed - she gave the example of Shell that had created solutions for aviation fuel – that emit carbon at levels closer to zero.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Dimitriu added: “If it's cleaner than it was 10 years ago, five years ago, it may function for a period of time, because otherwise, we don't have independent energy.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Progress lost and progress to be made</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>At times however, governments and corporate vested interests could frustrate progress, for example, undermining solar power’s potential to bring independence to communities around the world so far, Dimitriu added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Sumner said that in the UK in the previous decade or so, onshore wind had been effectively blocked while fracking was given s its own bespoke permissive planning environment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He said the total cost of not developing renewables was not being factored into cost appraisals, including jobs not generated and health benefits not gained. He noted the UK had among the worst housing stock in Europe in terms of insulation yet the zero carbon homes target which would have come into being in 2016 was scrapped and more recently the green homes grant had been poorly rolled out, funding cut and then scrapped.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Toledo said it was really important not simply to pursue one source but to move forward on all renewable fronts. That meant wind, solar, hydro, batteries and tech in relatively early stages such as hydrogen and even carbon sequestration.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“It's not just the government, it is not just the investment, not just the research and development, but also the consumer. It's also what we do in our everyday life,” Toledo added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Sumner said it can be problematical putting the onus primarily on individuals to meet the emissions reductions needed with systemic change needed so people can make the right choices. And a lot depended on how change was presented – in last year’s West Midlands mayoral election what cut through were not stories about net zero targets but about green manufacturing – where people can see a job for their children and improved air quality. The role of local authorities in policy development and implementation on climate action is key but are often cut out and the have not been given sufficient powers and funding to get where we need to be on net zero.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Dimitriu said a local approach also made sense in waste-to-energy technologies. Scaling up production should be accelerated, since the best known technologies are known to be in the UK.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“The end user in a community needs to be part of this. Starting from the source, you have a value chain, you have the source waste, then you have different processes, or technologies. But in the end, it is the end user who is permitted and enabled through local action to use this renewable energy putting local production to local use.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Dimitriu added: “What is needed, like in any political system, is more transparency. And with the crisis, they - national &amp; local governments - have to be more transparent. With consumer pressure, they have to unlock this pathway and be more open.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Another benefit of local schemes would be more transparency on costs and the prices end users pay. Sumner cites the Orkney Islands community-owned wind generation scheme.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>All the panellists worried about the effectiveness of energy grids with Dimitriu having seen the problems close up during her work with the World Bank. Grids are often very old, they need to be maintained and upgraded. Micro-grids need to be established, she said for local and regional use.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Toledo added: “From the investment perspective - more and more projects, particularly with companies, the Unilevers and Heinekens of this world, are now installing solar panels to produce their energy, meaning commercial industrial solutions with mini grids.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Is it too late to invest in renewables?</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It was put to the panel that we faced problems now, but with solutions that could not come on stream in time to resolve them.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>While there wasn’t an easy answer, the panel suggested the speed with which new projects were being completed was increasing. The investment case was strong in any case, said Toledo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“It's a sweet spot for investors because the main risks are, in the beginning, construction, but they're also typically debt not equity. But once that construction has taken place, and the project starts becoming operational, it's really a cash cow,” she added. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Delegates asked the panel about intermittency.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Sumner said that among other things, during a greater push towards wind and solar, hydrogen could act as a bridging technology to deal with intermittency and be stored to use in housing, trains and more. And if the retrofit of housing including insulation, took place this would help reduce energy demand.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Toledo added: “On intermittency, we're seeing a lot in terms of projects with batteries. In the beginning, it was challenging, because batteries don’t bring reliable cash flows for investors. But we have been able to structure battery projects along with wind farms in such a way that the cash flows are very well assessed, and it becomes bankable. Batteries are a solution right now. It is very exciting to see the costs are dropping dramatically and very good news for the world.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The panel discussed some disappointment that the EU taxonomy had seen lobbying to include transition fuels in Germany’s case gas, and in France’s nuclear. Toledo would liked to have seen only renewables included.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>But that aside, what reforms would the panel really like to see?</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Sumner said the main focus had to be on the fact that renewables offer the more secure path not just given the Ukraine situation but also against the even greater threat of climate change.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Toledo said she would like tougher measures – for the government to bring more pressure to bear in terms of taxing carbon. “That's really where we see a quick win - taxing the polluters.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Dimitriu said she wanted to see security for the future put at the heart of change and a redefinition of the quality-of-life indicators. “Start with security, then we have to rethink our priorities,” she said.</span></span></span></p> <p><em><strong>John Lappin</strong> is Contributing Editor at <strong><a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></em></p></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9366&amp;2=bookmark" token="ppPHqjPniFDnBe4LmPeJ4vBEEWWfMP5VWCv-Qjt65FY"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 23 May 2022 12:55:46 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 9366 at https://www.alpha-week.com Is Top Down Or Bottom Up The Solution To Sustainable Consumerism https://www.alpha-week.com/top-down-or-bottom-solution-sustainable-consumerism <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Is Top Down Or Bottom Up The Solution To Sustainable Consumerism</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 05/09/2022 - 13:09</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>The UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 aims to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, but how easy are those patterns to achieve in practice?</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>The challenge was debated at the WM Nexus Impact Investing Forum in London recently by Yodaly Sierra-Rubio, founder Eco2wallet.com and a lecturer on energy finance at the University of London, Peter J<span><span>ä</span></span>derberg, founder and CEO, JC Impact Invest and a Elle L, music artist, environmentalist, regenerative brand consultant and ambassador.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>What are we trying to achieve?</span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>First the panellists grappled with what such a change would mean even for capitalism itself.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Sierra-Rubio said: “Traditional capitalism is about getting a commodity transformed, to use it as a resource and exchange it for money. The questions are how can we embed sustainability into that equation? And how can we make it easy for anyone to understand sustainability, in terms of money in their pockets, how to use it responsibly?”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Sierra-Rubio said the UN is aware that it cannot impose a restriction on ways of living, especially because the very first SDG is to end poverty, effectively a capitalistic SDG. Goal 12 is the financial relationship towards capitalism.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“At no point are they telling you spend less; they're telling you spend smarter.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>J<span><span>ä</span></span>derberg expressed some frustration with the current terms of the debate – even with recasting capitalism as impact, sustainable, integral. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“My conclusion is you should identify the problem, but don't talk too much about it. Let's spend energy on a solution or solutions.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Elle L said that she is concerned that we're not regulating the word sustainability at all. “That for me is a real cause for concern because misinformation drives us in absolutely the wrong direction. Consumer information is empowering. But the wrong information, of which there's a lot out there, is dangerous.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Fashion as a study in good and bad</span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Elle L said: “The reason why we talk about production and consumption in the same breath is because they're so closely linked. We’re producing more because there is demand but we're demanding the wrong thing and too much of it, and there's so much waste.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>She said her focus was on regenerative fashion, but the flip side was fast fashion, booming at an alarming rate, incredibly polluting and driven by online demand and online modeling. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Indeed, a lot more business had been driven online during the pandemic. The conundrum was there was also eco-anxiety. The question was whether the latter could be addressed.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“We need to move to quality timeless purchases and looking at business models that give back to the environment. We need transparency to be empowered with our purchase decisions, but we also need to take the lead here, because it is a conversation that affects every single one of us.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Are the SDGs the right approach?</span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>J<span><span>ä</span></span>derberg felt all 17 SDGs are “too vague and take the wrong perspective,” with too much focus on the human perspective though SDG 17 partnerships for goals involving collaboration and trust was arguably the most important.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Sierra-Rubio added: “I think the end goal is how to create good practices, acknowledging that we're still going to consume resources and not forcing people into mandatory carbon or resource diets. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“I agree that the SDGs are human centric. But if you think about it, the ones that are having to make a decision about the resources of the Earth are the humans.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>What other solutions might drive change?</span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Her focus is giving people tools for responsible consumption, but the challenges are obvious including willingness to help the environment but much more reluctance to pay for the tools to do so. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>So, for example, for the Eco2wallet.com, she said they were providing new visibility in terms of purchases – a tenner payment on Uber meaning three trees chopped down but – bought on the card – at least one tree planted. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“People will have the option of making a decision in terms of responsible consumption on a tool where they don't have to pay extra.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Sierra-Rubio also noted the creation of an Open Payment System scheme intended to be an open source of carbon calculations for consumption, a sort of wikipedia for carbon though she also noted a lack of collaboration from manufacturers and financial institutions were hinderances. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“The whole idea is anyone should be able to understand not only their financial expenditure, but also you should have the tools in an open source scheme that help you to make a decision.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>She added that one of the current barriers is that the system is mostly private and for corporations.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>She suggested carbon taxes and a carbon trading schemes had actual prices that seemed far away from the reality of the consumption.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>J<span><span>ä</span></span>derberg was also concerned that a focus on carbon sequestration and storage is misleading. Carbon makes up only 4% of the whole natural world impact. Biodiversity is more like 55%. “There are no biodiversity credits and there should be.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>He did discuss an investment not yet brought to market - a system where the consumer can go into any supermarket in the world and ask “Should I buy tomato A or tomato B? What is the sustainable footprint, the nutritional content?” And the answer is open sourced, grass roots driven and embedded in the blockchain so it can never be corrupted.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>He added that he felt it was a challenge to get people to understand that mindful purchasing makes sense, and he’s worried about governments and corporates being morally corrupt and younger people deciding that ethics don’t pay.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Elle L added: “I agree, how you make people care is a really fundamental issue. There are a lot of people that are concerned about affordability and feel excluded from this conversation, or have zero awareness and so therefore think they're making better decisions when they are not.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“How do you make people care? With sustainability, I try to use the term regenerative because we need to think about regeneration on land and sea really, then we're really moving in the right direction.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>She added that she felt that there was a fantastic opportunity to bring the interconnection between nature and purchasing power into everyday decision-making. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“If we could use something like Instagram, which harnesses and accentuates popularity, we could look at moving bigger business ideas to incentivise and reward good behaviors. But I just don't think we're there yet.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>J<span><span>ä</span></span>derberg, answering a question about what investors can do discussed one of this major concerns – that most money going into sustainable finance goes to secondary markets, which he feels does not have a material impact. However he feels a lot can be done if people are willing to face reality, awareness and ethics. Young people that truly want to change the world need to look at where their money goes. Does this money actually add something in reality, is there additionality? </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>The next question is what is the efficiency - “How much of your money is creating something new that really helps the world”.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>In comparison he says a sustainable stock might add 0.5 or 1 per cent, which does leave him rather scornful of politicians, regulators and even the taxonomy. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“We shouldn't rely on politicians or government. It's the grassroot movement of everyone, we are all responsible for this, this earth, we are always wanting for our family, for our friends for selves. And we can't put that on somebody else.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>According to Elle L, “Incentivising consumers may not seem the best solution, because why should we have to incentivise individuals to make good decisions, but I think it can really help shape identity in collaborations, community and awareness.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Sierra-Rubio said she was opposed to concepts such as carbon diets but actually carbon shaming might work including financial carbon shaming where you translate the CO2 into a monetary value.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>“The easiest way to reach out to the people is transforming CO2 into money. Try to make it relatable and personalize it. One of the easiest way is to do so is through tokenization, so people can actually trace their own personal expenditure with a monetary value of their expenditure over a set time period. I think this is going to be mainstream in 10 years-time.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"><span><span>Elle L added: “It’s an evolving topic. It's multifaceted. And I think that that's why you do need the information to shape those decisions. But you need great marketing techniques and you need a financially sustainable business. I've seen so many great businesses with great intentions but they fail at the fundamentals, which is to make money, because they lack expert help at the senior level.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9344&amp;2=bookmark" token="-IYOS8ww6tFIu64rWwyJGPL22Eoqftt1kDRJroRYsiY"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 09 May 2022 12:09:36 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 9344 at https://www.alpha-week.com The Global Economic Consequences Of The Invasion Of Ukraine https://www.alpha-week.com/global-economic-consequences-invasion-ukraine <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>The Global Economic Consequences Of The Invasion Of Ukraine</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 04/04/2022 - 11:46</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><span><span><span>The invasion of Ukraine is above all else a human tragedy, but it is also a failure of the current international system with significant implications for economies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Even as tensions rose at the start of this year, few predicted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nor such an extensive economic response from the West with sanctions targeting a host of Russian institutions most notably the Russian Central Bank.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Although the humanitarian crisis is front of mind, investors do need to analyse what this means for them and their clients.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Delegates debated the macro-economic implications at the recent <em>WM Nexus Impact Investment Forum</em> in London with Miquel Burquet, partner and portfolio manager at Marlowe Capital, and Abrdn emerging market economist Edward Glossop.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>How much pain will Russia feel?</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Burquet said his view is that the Russian economy is not going to collapse.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“In the end, the Russian economy is a straightforward commodities producer. Sanctions would hurt a more sophisticated, services-centered economy such as the UK or the Netherlands. But an economy which is far simpler is more difficult to hurt.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“The debt level is quite low, around 17% of GDP. They have these huge reserves, half of them are frozen, but you still have the other half, so worst case is they will get hurt, but bounce back.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Glossop said sanctions may put some political pressure on President Putin and his inner circle. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Yet he noted that sanctions do not necessarily lead to internal forces toppling the leader even when they lose access to some of the funds used to pay political patronage – citing Venezuela as an example.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He said abrdn has seven scenarios to help frame its thinking which ranged from a broad diplomatic outcome through to a Russian regrouping and doubling down of military aggression.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Impact on the West</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Unsurprisingly, both speakers agreed that the channel through which the crisis was transmitting on the West was commodity prices and thus higher inflation which is putting pressure on central banks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Burquet saw three scenarios – a very unlikely soft landing, a set of interest rate rises leading to a recession and some rises but with Fed pulling back as the ‘House of Cards’ started to shake. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He tended to the second or the third where the US “might have to live with high inflation and high interest rates for a number of years”. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He said Europe faced a similar scenario, but with a greater risk of stagflation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Glossop added: “Ordinarily speaking, central banks would look through such a shock and focus on demand-side impacts such as the tightening financial conditions that we have already seen.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>But, he said, context is everything. Inflation was already very high for example at a 40-year high in the US.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“The US Federal Reserve and other central banks are well behind the curve, and do not have the luxury of looking through the shock and are set to hike interest rates quite substantially this year,” Glossop added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Fed Chief Jerome Powell has a goal of a soft landing but, he added it is easier to discuss a soft landing than to engineer one as history shows.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Comparable crises</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Marlowe Capital has just published a comparison between the tightening in 2022 and the Volker shock in the late 70s and early 80s. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It brought two recessions with many sectors suffering, though it did eventually see control asserted over inflation providing the basis for the subsequent 80s rebound. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Burquet added: “They managed to control high inflation at that time, with interest rate tightening. The problem is that right now, this financial system is far more complex. They start tightening, and then some of the bubbles that have been created around technology for example [may start to burst] and that may force them to stop the tightening.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He noted that during the 70s crisis, the destruction of inflation adjusted value was greater than during the Great Depression.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Glossop felt it was less likely that the Fed – given its pivot to a hawkish stance since around November last year – would tolerate or acquiesce in persistent high inflation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He added: “The Fed doesn't target financial conditions; it targets inflation.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Is China free to take a different path?</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Glossop said there is a view in some circles that China is the one economy that could chart a different course.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“The People’s Bank of China is the one central bank that can decouple from the Fed and global monetary conditions, so if the Fed is tightening, if the ECB is tightening, the PBOC in China can ease monetary policy, and that can help to continue to boost equity markets,” he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He sees two challenges to the view that China easing could boost markets – the current zero Covid strategy and its impact on growth and the difficult balancing act in China of maintaining a strong pace of growth while also reducing perverse incentives and moral hazards in the property sector.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>What of the ESG approach?</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Glossop said that abrdn will no longer be investing t be investing in Russia and Belarus for the foreseeable future on ESG grounds</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“We did substantially reduce exposure to Russia and Ukraine around the start of December, when there was an intense buildup on the border, not necessarily because we thought that conflict would definitely happen, but because there was substantial risk.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>There was some debate about taking ESG approach during the crisis – it does tend to bring a focus on companies with stronger balance sheets and more resilience. There is also likely to be ongoing client demand to avoid Russia.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The crisis has also brought a greater focus on supply chains – but for now it also a matter of whether supply is actually available at all.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“Russia and Ukraine are massive producers of certain goods and components that are critical to the global economy such as palladium, xenon gas and even wheat where Russia and Ukraine are big exporters of these things. So, it's only going to exacerbate the supply chain difficulties and shortages that we've seen over the past couple of years,” Glossop added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Real estate depending on money in the market and central banks</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Delegates also asked the panel to consider the prospects for real estate. Burquet said: “My view is it will depend on what happens with the amount of money in the market. In addition, countries want to reduce the balance sheets of the central banks. That will be a very, very tricky game to do with inflation, and combined with interest rates. Just looking at these factors, it is unlikely that real estate prices keep going up as they have done in the past. That's the only thing I can say.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Glossop said: “If the Fed and other central banks are trying to get ahead of the curve by increasing nominal interest rates above inflation, and neutral rates, which is what we expect, then that is less good for real estate. Not to say it's bad, but I just don't think there’s a particularly bullish case.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Emerging markets – commodity exporters/importers a clear dividing line</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The panellists said, unsurprisingly that current conditions are not great for emerging markets, though with a divide between energy and commodity importers and supplier regions such as Latin America and EMEA. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Glossop noted that most emerging markets started the tightening cycle earlier and will reach peak inflation earlier which could signal local currency bond market rallies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>High oil prices are likely to add a percentage point or so to inflation in the US and elsewhere, but it was important to watch Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Glossop added: “When do they expand supply to try and try and bring prices back down? Because in the past, Saudi has been comfortable with oil prices at $60 a barrel. That is good for their macro. They can run sustainable budget and current account balances. And then in the US, it squeezes the high-cost producers, so it's good for Saudi and other low-cost producers, they can expand market share. So prices at over $100 may not be sustained for too long.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Burquet added: “For developed markets, we think that the most politically stable and macro economically stable area is North America. It is subject to these short-term uncertainties but the upside cycle that started after the 2008/9 crisis is still there, although modified by this high inflationary environment.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>What happens next?</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>As for developments in the crisis itself, Glossop said that currently the EU is essentially handing over a few billion dollars every single month, to Putin to finance his war via gas payments. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>So, it is possible there will be more pressure for an EU gas embargo , which would then bring more pressure to bear on European economies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The best case scenario remains a diplomatic solution, perhaps an agreed neutrality or Finlandisation as was the case during the Cold War. Yet it remains difficult to see this yet, given Putin's past form of using military as a foreign policy tool so it is not a base case.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>As for the chance of Putin being ousted, neither felt it likely with Burquet noting a recent study comparing China and Russia, which showed that in marked contrast to Xi, with wide constituencies to please, there are very few people Putin needs to keep onside; therefore a cheap monetary policy and the potential for bubbles formation is more likely to arise in China than in Russia.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It is clear from the discussion that you can analyse the global impacts of both the invasion and the economic response. The uncertainly comes from the conflict and its hoped-for resolution which remains much harder to predict.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11px;"><em><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">The above discussion took place at the recent Impact Investing Forum hosted by WM Nexus. If you would like further information on the Forum, or to discuss further any of the issues covered with any of the participants, please contact Alina Legendi  at </span><a href="mailto:alina.legendi@wmnexus.com">alina.legendi@wmnexus.com</a>.</em></span></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9275&amp;2=bookmark" token="uqIRkrW3e-S5GqT8DcpQGDlCjD8JjbdnCuh04W-Pwcg"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 04 Apr 2022 10:46:20 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 9275 at https://www.alpha-week.com Family Offices – Keeping All The Generations Onside https://www.alpha-week.com/family-offices-keeping-all-generations-onside <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Family Offices – Keeping All The Generations Onside</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 02/07/2022 - 09:14</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><span><span><span>Family offices have always faced challenges in terms of managing wealth across different generations. Yet as more offices embrace impact investing how much do intergenerational differences come into play and how can such differences be managed effectively?</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The issue was debated at the WM Nexus Impact Investment Forum in London by Matthew Fleming, partner and head of family governance and succession at Stonehage Fleming, and Rennie Hoare, partner and head of philanthropy at C. Hoare &amp; Co.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Aligning values and investments</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Fleming discussed the issue of helping families reflect on their priorities and the extent to which they could and should align their values and their investments.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Indeed, he can speak from experience. He noted that when the Fleming banking and wealth management business was sold in 2000, the family office moved from being an office with a clear purpose aligned to one business to one that had to revisit its purpose and which suddenly held a lot in liquid assets post sale.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Yet he said it had been a privilege to be part of a family that had got a lot of things right including intergenerationally though there had been challenges.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“Over time, we have coped with every sort of individual and collective crisis that you can possibly think of. As a result, we are able to have informed conversations with the families we're lucky enough to look after now. That enables us to challenge families about this idea of purpose in an authentic way.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Fleming suggested every generation has to take responsibility for revisiting this purpose. An overall responsible framework provides a good framework but “as a generation, we want to be in possession of what goes on underneath that”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He added that talking to clients and trustees about purpose is an invigorating and liberating process although it can discomfort those within the family office structure responsible for controlling risk and meeting financial targets.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It may lead to slightly more awkward relationships in the short term, but if the right people are starting with conversations in the right way, it leads to incredibly good, strong, long term relationships. You can also begin to use it as basis on which to build other decisions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Hoare said he saw two important intergenerational challenges. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>One was finding family members who could come into the business with the right values and culture. The other was the sustainable and thus successful stewardship of financial capital.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The case of his own office was instructive. There are a possible 2,400 descendants who could be recruited into the core business. The ownership is structured so that there is unlimited liability, which also concentrates minds.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He said: “It makes sense to have a small ownership group you know well. It’s about not putting short term risk and excessive profit taking into the business at the expense of medium to long term sustainability. It means sustainable revenue generation to keep the business relevant but also looking at the family members, pruning it from 2,400 and bringing them through into an extremely tight ownership group of seven partners.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Fleming said any intergenerational approach requires a process.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“You've got to go through the process as a family, deciding what your values are, but if you impose them on the next generation, they are wholly unsuitable. The next generation have to be involved in the creation of and in the revisiting of those values,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Ensuring that the deployment of financial capital was aligned with personal values is a difficult challenge that takes time and effort, but it provides a very strong framework and reference point. You have to invest time in it, he added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong>Emphasis on the right leadership</strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It was acknowledged that establishing a firm and fixed set of values across a bigger family or multi-family office is difficult if not impossible. It might be a case of settling on a set of values that everyone understood.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>A delegate asked how do you get a balance between democracy and dictatorship?</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Fleming suggested that benign dictatorship might work short term but would not work long term, hence the emphasis on putting the right leadership in place.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>His office had a structure that ensured the access and influence is controlled and devolved to a smaller group within the family who have absolute authority, and who also have to engage with the next generation appropriately.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“It is an extraordinary responsibility becoming a trustee in a multi-generational family office,” he added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Hoare said it was important to really understand people’s aspirations and challenge assumptions such as older family members assuming the younger generation would not be interested in investment matters and the younger generation assuming the older generation would not want to relinquish any control at all. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“When you speak to both sides independently, it's completely different. Both may really want to get involved, but they've never had that transparent conversation,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“Quite often as a trusted adviser you can point out that there's much more common ground than they think.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The approach has also informed a process of moving towards 100 per cent allocation to impact starting with an initial allocation of 10 per cent in 2011.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“There's no way we could have got to 100% in one day. It took a decade. But having money actively exposed to these themes, and doing it incrementally allowed us to build up understanding.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Fleming said that having spoken to all the families they work with in terms of the perception of the threats to the wealth, investment performance was not a major concern. Instead, challenges that often had an intergenerational component came high on the list.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Key questions included family offices and their advisers asking whether they had a shared purpose and an appraisal framework for decision-making giving guidance to future generations. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Had they got the right leadership in place? Were they engaging the next generation? Were the next generation appropriately upskilling? </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It is clear from the debate that developing values that can be understood across the generations can provide a framework and foundation for other decisions including creating a long-term sustainable investment strategy.</span></span></span></p> <p><em><strong>John Lappin</strong> is Contributing Editor at <strong><a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></em></p></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9144&amp;2=bookmark" token="SaJpMEG5gOp8lQYyRcNfR91ukLsDyn2FJMPoT8OMNYI"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 07 Feb 2022 09:14:24 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 9144 at https://www.alpha-week.com North American Banks Showing Promise For Marlowe Capital https://www.alpha-week.com/north-american-banks-showing-promise-marlowe-capital <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>North American Banks Showing Promise For Marlowe Capital</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 01/10/2022 - 09:39</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><em><strong>Partner Content provided by <a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></em></p> <p><span><span><span>The US and Canada offer the best macro-economic conditions for recovery of their banking sectors and thus a way for investors to benefit significantly from the post pandemic recovery.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Marlowe Capital’s partner and portfolio manager Miquel Burguet made the case at the recent WM Nexus round table “<span><span><em>Capturing the Post-Pandemic Economic Boom in North America</em>”.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He said the key is finding highly predictable macro-financial situations for banks with impact on their balance sheets, profit and loss accounts and stock prices over the cycle – typically around a five-year period.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He added: “Around 70 per cent or more of the earnings of a bank are a function of the macro-economic environment in which that bank operates.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Marlowe’s analysis suggests that banks in the US and Canada are best placed to benefit on this basis, not just from the post-pandemic recovery, but also the longer, albeit pandemic-disrupted recovery from the global financial crisis.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>That requires screening out the short-term noise.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“The US macro picture is quite messy in the short term around inflation, interest rates and GDP, but if you look four or five years or so through the cycle, we see a clean recovery and a ‘releveraging’ economy fuelled by the stimulus of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. On top of everything there is a big space for American banks to lend more and hence, stimulate the US economy further.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He notes that Canadian GDP expansion is expected to be 4% in 2022, after extensive monetary and fiscal stimulus. Though private debt and public debt are relatively high, he adds: “Markets trust Canada. They are seen as serious people that pay their debts.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Such sentiment is always useful, but significant research goes into identifying these markets utilising Marlowe’s full embrace of academic macro-economic thinking. Since its foundation in 2017, the firm has had a close relationship with and access to the resources of the London School of Economics Systemic Risk Centre. In return, the SRC receives a percentage of the profits generated by the asset manager.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It also mines research from across top universities and accesses cutting edge finance research seminars to inform its investment thinking. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“We look at the 35 top professionals in the world, in macro economy, capital markets, asset pricing, monetary policy and the banking sector, not only at LSE, but Chicago, Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Cornell and Princeton among others. When they publish something on their website, we analyse it, and if it's relevant, we add it to the thinking around our global investment process.” </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Burguet suggests they can incorporate any relevant thinking in a matter of weeks which could otherwise take as long as five years to move from an institution to research circles to more general awareness across economics and markets.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The firm also boasts a very strong macro-economic team and brings PhD researchers, posts docs and Assistant Professors of Finance into the team as Investment Advisors while they keep working in their research institutes. “This is a business – academia partnership that is quite innovative in the asset management space”, he says.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Burguet suggests the approach could be unique in Europe sitting in the space between strategies that use macro-economic analysis but do not apply it specifically to banks and financial funds that have less of a macroeconomic emphasis.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The approach is focused on developed markets and between 200 to perhaps 300 banks stocks, mostly commercial banks but potentially some investment banks. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Analysis therefore encompasses North America, Europe and developed Asia, though the risks and complexities have meant the Eurozone and neighbouring economies have been generally excluded.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Once the markets are determined, stock selection comes into play.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The firm aims to ‘load up’ on up to 30 years of track records or the maximum track record available, which also helps them select stocks including considering a bank’s resilience to unexpected shocks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>They are also taking advantage of some long-term trends that stretch beyond 30 years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“In Canada, there are five big banks. It is probably the most stable, and one of the most profitable banking markets in the world in the last 100 years,” he says.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>In the US, states used to charter banks to compete with neighbouring states and discouraged banks from operating across state borders. Legislation passed in 1994 sparked the consolidation, but the process is still ongoing in many ways with 5,000 bank groups still in existence. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Among US banks, he sees two very favourable groups - strong small and mid-sized producers with 25-year track records that combine conservatism and aggression and some very well-known national champions such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan with huge domestic advantages but which can also out-compete national champions from say France, Germany, and Switzerland.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Part of the approach is to understand the cycles in banking and particularly the relationship between stock prices, perceived and real risk and the point in time of the macroeconomic cycle. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Ground-breaking research conducted at the Systemic Risk Centre has been the basis for this. Burguet calls the model developed at the SRC linking these three factors “banks fragility mispricing model”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“Post any crisis, the perception of the risk of a particular bank may be very high; consequently, the stock prices of these banks are going to be low. But in many cases, the real risk of this bank is very low: some of them have been recapitalised, their non-performing loans have been cleaned and they have the whole upside during the next long cycle. Still, they are typically perceived as risky and are very cheap. Typically, we'll take a long position in these lenders after a reorganisation and follow the cycle.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He says this does not imply forecasting the peak and the bottom, but positioning entry when the trend is established, the dynamics are more stable but internal rates of return can still be very significant. Exit comes at the upper part of the cycle – typically around four to five years, with stocks selected for the mix of returns – resilience to shocks. The investment portfolio saw a strong recovery after the initial pandemic/lockdown shock for example.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The current strategy sets out to achieve 8.5 per cent compounded annually or plus 250bps compared with the global index after fees, though they have achieved 8.8 per cent over four years of the previous strategy.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The aim right now, he says, is to find markets impacted by an expanding economy and bank stocks within them that “have space for earnings expansion, space for balance sheet expansion, and price earnings ratios that have potential for revaluation through the cycle”.</span></span></span></p> <p><em><span><span><strong>John Lappin</strong> is Contributing Editor at <strong><a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></span></span></em></p></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9046&amp;2=bookmark" token="bRGiSvnySpWx4cX2dChEfiRxAFs2sZZtX0bMBffTjWk"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 10 Jan 2022 09:39:19 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 9046 at https://www.alpha-week.com Impact Investing Opportunities Blooming Outside Of Traditional Sources https://www.alpha-week.com/impact-investing-opportunities-blooming-outside-traditional-sources <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Impact Investing Opportunities Blooming Outside Of Traditional Sources</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Tue, 12/14/2021 - 11:04</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><em><strong>Partner Content provided by <a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></em></p> <p><span><span><span>The vast majority of private funding continues to follow established channels - usually in Silicon Valley, and to a lesser extent, hubs such as the UK’s Golden Triangle. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It is also dominated to an extreme degree by male founders, with women founders attracting less than 2% of funding and women of colour less still, according to the European Investment Bank's </span></span></span><em>Funding women entrepreneurs: How to empower growth </em>report it published in June 2020.</p> <p><span><span><span>With the rise in impact investing, does this mean that ideas, geographies and a different type of founder are being overlooked, meaning, in turn, that the world is missing out on hugely beneficial impacts?</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Three investors - who have set out to challenge this funding-as-usual approach - Catja Thum, Impact investor and philanthropist with family office 3C, Sharon Vosmek, CEO of Astia and Mark Beaumont partner at Scotland-based Eos Advisory debated the subject of ‘Achieving impact through entrepreneurship’ at the WM Impact Investing Forum.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Vosmek noted that the pandemic and resulting economic crisis had aggravated these funding disparities even as women-founded and led businesses had become more relevant.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“The UN and most economists know that if you include women in companies, in the economy more broadly, in ownership rights, in wealth, you ultimately end up impacting all other ESG and SDG measures. The broader impact of women in society is most acutely felt and achieved when women are able to fully participate. We’re able to see the results of the investments playing out in the companies and the innovations they bring to market.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>A sense of mission is essential, but not at the expense of returns.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Thum said: “We focus on social entrepreneurship and social enterprises. The hybridity of these enterprises is a fascinating mix, mission driven, but also with profit.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>She describes this as a triple bottom line – the bottom line is profit, the double bottom line for social enterprises is profit and mission outcome, or profit or people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>The triple bottom line is social, environmental and financial summed up as profit, people and environment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>She added: “We are mainly looking at female founders and founders of colour, and how to close the gap of funding for this group. We want someone with a mission who's very driven, who has discovered a niche where they can address a social lack.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Beaumont added: “There is an opportunity as a seed stage investor to have the greatest say in the overall structure, in those formative years of what the business grows up to be, so when you're putting in a commercial team, really understanding diversity and understanding different strengths by geography, backgrounds and opinion is so valuable.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Beaumont set his firm’s approach in the context of Scotland’s relative lack of early-stage financing despite a strong university, laboratory and industrial research base. Eos Advisory set out to change that.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He said: “It is about getting the relationships right with founders, understanding the IP relationships with universities and bringing in inward investment from much bigger commercial markets.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“It's been a fascinating evolution over the last seven years - taking a lot of academic deep science businesses and steering them towards global markets. We are about finding founders with a great vision, but then bringing in great co-investment, which is very different to the private equity approach which is a lot more territorial.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>All the speakers had examples of investments which had succeeded during the pandemic often because their niche provided an answer to its challenges.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Vosmek said: “Hawthorne Effect brings innovation to clinical trials enabling and unleashing tools that allow local clinicians to gather the data for trials, ensuring that participants don't need to travel back to an academic setting to continue to track their progress.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It has proved of huge worth when applied to gathering and understanding data from Covid testing and vaccinations in the US. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>It was driven by Jodi Akin, CEO &amp; Founder of Hawthorne Effect, whom Astia already knew from previous work.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“We knew that she would do it in a very thoughtful and sophisticated way, both based upon her prior experience in industry, but equally based on her passion for the space. It's one thing to have innovation. It's absolutely necessary to have deep science. But equally when we're talking about impact companies, making sure that the entrepreneurs are grounded in the solutions they're creating, often leads to a stickier result. We’ve now seen that when a pandemic strikes the company can actually grow and thrive, as it provides solutions that are far more relevant and far more needed.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Beaumont’s firm has had success with 14 businesses out of 14 to date though he admitted that such a success rate is unlikely to be sustainable. However, he echoed Vosmek’s sentiment about really knowing and understanding the founders.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“Fundamentally, you're backing people and innovation, and IP. So unlike later stage investments when you're looking at financial track records, it's a very different due diligence process.” </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>He cited the example of Enough Foods, which came out of Strathclyde University.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“Enough Food exists in exactly the same space as Beyond Meat. What I'm interested in, is how can these companies in the food and water security area create enough protein for a growing world population? </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“How do you create protectable technologies, which are scalable, and build the right market traction? At other times it’s about being able to bring in investors from bigger commercial markets. We're good at finding the opportunities, we're good at analysing them and growing the companies. But if you're going to become a global success, you often need to work with investors in Japan, Germany, US and other markets.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Thum gave the example of a niche lending business 3C had backed, looking to make loans more accessible to SMEs. “AskIf was one of the very few lenders accredited with the British Business Bank, able to give out Bounce Back and CBIL loans. They had a debt portfolio which - in normal business days - would probably have taken a year or two to lend out but with everyone scrambling for the CBIL loans etc, they were able to hand the money out quickly as the other banks and fintechs were not accredited to do so.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Yet despite these proven and dramatic examples, hurdles remain.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>Vosmek said the methods used by VCs exacerbate the situation – introductions may be required but within a male-dominated network. They rely on hunches which likely encourages bias.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>She has an antidote. “We’ve created a documented, rigorous, algorithmic approach to assessing investment opportunities. We call it the Astia Expert Sift. It relies on a global community of over 5000 individuals, expert advisors. It is highly curated. We use advisers systematically to ensure the removal of gender, race, geographic and age bias in the investment screening process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span>“It makes us unusual investors. We know that we lead with our values, which means we measure for bias at each stage in the assessment of the company. Equally, it performs well for finding best in class investments and has done so across geographies in a really beautiful way.”</span></span></span></p> <p><em><strong>John Lappin</strong> is Contributing Editor at <strong><a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></em></p></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9003&amp;2=bookmark" token="fimAShwQ4x79zJX3MGtnZJ6TxSoLK1HOuIgpwHq_23M"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Tue, 14 Dec 2021 11:04:07 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 9003 at https://www.alpha-week.com ESG Reporting A Quagmire But Regulation, Technology And Client-Centric Solutions Offers Hope For More Consistent Future https://www.alpha-week.com/esg-reporting-quagmire-regulation-technology-and-client-centric-solutions-offers-hope-more <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--features.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>ESG Reporting A Quagmire But Regulation, Technology And Client-Centric Solutions Offers Hope For More Consistent Future</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--features.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 11/22/2021 - 09:43</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--features.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><em><strong>Partner Content provided by <a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></em></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>ESG and impact reporting is a relatively new discipline facing increasing and sometimes confusing regulation but with growing innovation as well.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Delegates at the WM Nexus Impact Investing forum heard Gregory Chouette, COO at Landytech, Danielle Woolf, principal ESG consultant at Danesmead Partners and Frank Tob<span><span>é</span></span>, investor, board member at SuperNova discuss how to build investors’ trust in data and reporting.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span>The debate was chaired by governance and management consultant Niall Husbands, who asked how do investors find data they can rely upon amid an alphabet soup of acronyms and in what forms can data be provided to facilitate investors’ trust.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Chouette said that areas subject to regulation are growing dramatically.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He said the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation is a big contributor to t</span></span></span><span><span>his</span></span><span><span><span>. “From January 2022, you need to start tracking investments. You need to demonstrate they are in a framework by June 2022, and in January 2023, essentially you need to start reporting. That's the requirement. If you don't do that, this will have a major impact on your business. You can't operate in the EU market.” </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong><span><span><span>Two worlds</span></span></span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span>He said that </span></span><span><span><span>there are two worlds in terms of ESG and reporting – the big companies – Schroders, Blackrock – they have people doing ESG “all day”.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For now, the smaller operations, unless they have a specific interest, don’t care but t</span></span></span><span><span>hey will have to.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span>He said</span></span><span><span><span> family offices approach this from an investor’s viewpoint looking for something that fits with their values and avoids greenwashing but in terms of ESG frameworks, t</span></span></span><span><span>he task</span></span><span><span><span> is really only beginning.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Tob<span><span>é</span></span> was cynical about the whole approach. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He said: “There are 350 standards. In practice, that’s a contradiction in terms, you can't have 350 standards. Then somebody else comes to say we're going to do the standard of standards. Now that’s 351 standards.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He framed t</span></span></span><span><span>he</span></span><span><span><span> two worlds a little differently. The financial industry has interpreted ESG as a risk management tool, which takes money and returns as a leading principle. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In contrast, amongst clients, there's a growing need and demand for value aligned investing w</span></span></span><span><span>here</span></span><span><span><span>, “not returns, but the values represented in a portfolio are the leading principle”. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He warned that these drivers are constantly being confused with each other with a great deal of misunderstanding especially around ESG scores. That is exacerbated further because you get different scores for companies from different managers. “You ask why they are different, and you are told it is proprietary.” </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Woolf conceded there are issues but suggested some of it was driven by financial services’ need for and even love of standards. “We love to be able to quantify things and measure things and predict things. But what we're trying to do is applying that approach to something that is really subjective. It's difficult to fit this ESG concept into our approach. What we really want is someone to say this is right and this is wrong. But t</span></span></span><span><span>hat isn’t available.</span></span><span><span><span> We have to start somewhere.” </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>She agreed that there are far too many standards. “Part of our work is trying to help our clients understand the difference between standards versus say organisations that are facilitating collaborative engagement.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The panellists also noted the differences between a very far-reac</span></span></span><span><span>hing</span></span><span><span><span> regulation such as SFDR and other regulators whose regulations focused on much simpler disclosure.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Chouette said he agreed that the user experience could be horrible in terms of understanding what factors and weightings were being used. </span></span></span><span><span>However he said</span></span><span><span><span> disclosure requirements are useful as you have “to put what you are doing on the table, you have to report, you have to be transparent and you have to give a granular methodology”.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He suggested one approac</span></span></span><span><span>h was to</span></span><span><span><span> provide the factors but not necessarily doing the aggregation and letting investors create their own weightings.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Tob<span><span>é</span></span> agreed: “I would start with the client and asking him or her what the most important items are he or she wants to look at. That's different for everyone. Then base your report or the insights on outcome-based metrics. Try and do as little judging on this side as possible. No waiting, no scoring, no anticipating, no extrapolating - these kind of things are where it gets blurry. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>“There are very concrete and good metrics that a company can be judged by.  Carbon footprint is pretty much set in stone. These are validated by external companies, you get your scope ones, twos and threes. It’s not perfect, but it's a pretty reliable outcome.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He said another is percentage of women on the board. “You can call them and ask them are you on the board?”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He says there are list of what he called B-rate metrics say around biodiversity strategy. “Well you can hire someone to a role, but do they report well.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For certain asset classes, the challenges are even more complex. For example, Woolf discussed the challenges of hedge funds in terms of the short and long side of trades particular around CO2 which some were simply netting off the short side from the long side. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>She noted discussions by academics suggesting that if the hedge fund sector didn’t come up with a smart solution one was likely to be imposed.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Woolf added: “There's been a huge amount of focus on trying to prove this calculation, but it's really getting away from what actually needs to be happening, which is engagement with the companies to reduce the impact and not just sort of calculate your way out of it.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><strong><span><span><span>Data wit</span></span></span></strong><strong><span><span>h confidence</span></span></strong></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Husbands asked: “What can be done to make investors trust data with confidence when they allocate their capital to a ‘cause’?”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Chouette said: “It’s such a nascent industry. A lot of that data is being compiled right now and sometimes the quality is poor. But overall, I wouldn't be that dismissive. There are some companies out there that are doing great reports. It's very expensive. That is one barrier to entry. But some of the firms are doing a decent job.” </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He added that there are more open-source providers and indeed firms looking at the blockchain to help provide validation and verification.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The panel t</span></span></span><span><span>hen</span></span><span><span><span> discussed the downside risks of greenwashing to share prices especially w</span></span></span><span><span>hen they faced</span></span><span><span><span> regulatory actions and even, in some jurisdictions, potential criminal action.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Tobe added: “It also requires the regulator to take a stance on what is a good company, and what's a bad company.” He notes that this is politically tricky, yet </span></span></span><span><span>he believes</span></span><span><span><span> investors will be patient w</span></span></span><span><span>hile industry practice catches up</span></span><span><span><span>. “What you're trying to capture is reality, stuff coming out of a chimney. Things that are infinite in motion, right? It's maybe a bit philosophical.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>“Yet I think the blockchain can work. There are triangulation methods, satellite imagery to validate certain data points. You could even apply Wikipedia techniques edited in committee. That could be the same for ESG as well, unleashing the power of the masses.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For now, the challenge remains, but with innovations, regulations and the power of investor pressure, solutions may well be on the horizon. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><em><strong>John Lappin</strong> is Contributing Editor at <strong><a href="https://www.wmnexus.com/">WM Nexus</a></strong></em></p></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--features.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/directory/wm-nexus" hreflang="en">WM Nexus</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=8956&amp;2=bookmark" token="EslQYHhscBkhcvQHjnpIaEAQo6OPCyDlcog1hR3Tv_Q"></drupal-render-placeholder> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--features.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig x field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <a href="/author/john-lappin" hreflang="en">John Lappin</a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field--field-author.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-content-role--features.html.twig * field--node--field-content-role.html.twig * field--node--features.html.twig * field--field-content-role.html.twig * field--list-string.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-content-role field--type-list-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Content role</div> <div class="field__item">Public</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/gavias_vinor/templates/fields/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 22 Nov 2021 09:43:02 +0000 AlphaWeek Staff 8956 at https://www.alpha-week.com