Recently Julian and Marian attended UKSIF’s Spring Conference at the Museum on the Mound in Edinburgh. UKSIF (UK Sustainable Investment & Finance Association) works to bring together the sustainable finance community so that we can all work together to promote and grow this important industry. With over 300 members (including Ethical Futures), UKSIF are very active in promoting the growth of ethical and sustainable finance. For more information on them, you can visit their website here. 

Julian was asked to take part in a panel alongside Tenisha Elliot from Columbia Threadneedle and Rosie Rawle from ShareAction to discuss the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the sustainable finance industry.  

To begin, they were asked for general thoughts on the topic. They all agreed that there is a need for action to combat the effects of the cost-of-living crisis. Rosie stated that the crisis has led to 4.7 million people being behind on bills. Julian highlighted that the crisis has led to a clear distinction between the haves and the have nots. He has found that there are many people who are aware of this and want to use their ability to invest to combat it. There is an appetite for change and people want to use their money to feed it. 

On sustainability and engagement as a whole, Rosie highlighted that we are currently experiencing the biggest wave of industrial action in modern times. There is enormous support with 50% of people supporting the postal strikes. She mentioned that we are currently in the longest squeeze on wages since the Battle of Waterloo and it is affecting everyone. The pandemic created the idea of key workers (i.e., nurses, postal workers, supermarket workers…) and now there is massive public support to help them. She stated that the average increase in CEO pay has been 39% but in contrast the average worker’s pay only increased by 6%. Tenisha followed this by arguing that those most affected by the crisis are those who can do the least. We need to help investors to use their money to encourage companies to make different choices. 

When asked how we make sure to bring all the issues together and avoid separating them, Julian highlighted the need to focus on the fact that we are in an economic cycle. All the points mentioned before are working together to make the cycle work. We need to show the worth of an ESG approach and rebuild the case for long term investment. Investing is about long-term gains that should focus not just on profit but people and planet. He stated that clients light up when he lets them know what they can do with their money. They feel empowered knowing the impact that their money can have.  

To sum up, Rosie stated that the cost-of-living crisis is an important issue and there is an urgent need for companies to be taking action to protect the lowest paid workers. In the longer term, we need to think about how we listen to workers. Tenisha said that it is clear that the crisis is top of mind for consumers and business and there is a need for top-down regulation. Finally, Julian said that people do care about this issue and that fundamentally, people want to good with their money. 

We would like to thank UKSIF for giving Julian the opportunity to take part on this panel. We feel it was a very important conversation to be a part of.