Taking a private approach to ESG investments

The focus this week is on the growing popularity of including private investments in individual investment portfolios beginning with a guest feature by Vincent Manuel, the Global CIO, of Indosuez Wealth Management. 

Manuel believes that due to a lack of listed mid-sized sustainable companies, private equity currently offers increasingly popular opportunities in the ESG space for HNWIs as well as institutional investors. And as ESG investing evolves, private equity can provide an attractive channel to invest in niche and innovative business models.

"While public equity markets are crowded with multi-line multinationals with a less clear focus on specific solutions, private equity is attracted by resilient, sustainable models such as the circular economy," says Manuel.

Investcorp meanwhile announced the launch its new iPartners platform this week, which allows UHNWIs to browse, assess and invest in the company's private equity, real estate and other alternative investment offerings online. Developed in conjunction with iCapital Network, "iPartners will solidify the firm’s leading ultra-high-net-worth investor franchise," says Hazem Ben-Gacem, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Investcorp.

Also out to enhance individual investor access to private equity investment opportunities is Neuberger Berman with the launch of the NB Crossroads Private Markets Access Fund. The registered, continually offered, closed-end fund, which has USD208 million in initial capital – including USD34 million from Neuberger Berman employees – provides access to institutional-quality private equity investments, emphasising direct equity investments in private companies as well as secondary investments in private equity funds.

Staying with the theme of alternative investment opportunities, we also report on a new survey by money management app Ziglu which reveals that almost a third of Brits are curious about investing in cryptocurrency but are too baffled by it to take the plunge. Of the crypto-curious, 64 per cent say they would invest if they had more information, and 36 per cent if mainstream financial institutions started offering crypto to retail customers.

“Our survey highlights the importance of financial inclusion, and that is why we will continue to spread the word not just about how crypto works but also how easy and safe it can be now to buy and sell," says Mark Hipperson, Founder and CEO of Ziglu.

Spreading the word is one of the aims of the newly launched International Federation of Family Offices (IFFO), an international alliance that seeks to bring together national family office associations from every country, in order to contribute to the international development of family office activities.

Backed by AFFO – the French Family Office Association – and AIFO – the Associazione Italiana Family Officer, the IFFO is aiming to unite professional associations in order to provide a framework to promote exchanges, best practice and sharing of insights and opportunities, and to understand how the Family Office profession is carried out in each country.

And finally, in our second guest feature this week, Russell Andrews (pictured), Head of Solutions UK, Europe & Asia, Asset Management Distribution at SEI, a fintech firm specialising in wealth and investment management solutions, considers strategic business reviews and the application of 'mental models' when designing a successful strategy.

Wealth Adviser
 

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