I love clients who push me towards new ideas in sustainable investment. Currently, I’m working with a lovely couple in Toronto who hold the honour of being my ‘deepest’ green clients so far. They are adamant that not a single dollar be invested in fossil fuels, and won’t tolerate any banks who themselves hold investments in coal, oil, and natural gas. I can’t, in good conscience, let them lose out on the strong financial returns and diversification benefits that come with exposure to the financial sector. So I got creative within these constraints, and here’s what I’ve come up with:
First, I checked the most progressive banks in Scandinavia like SEB and Nordea. Unfortunately, they have heavy holdings in the Norwegian oil fields (among other fossil fuel investments). SEB has a great set of environmental polices, but it accepts that fossil fuels will remain a strong part of our energy mix moving forward and has invested accordingly.