Review of the first Zurich Forum for Suatainable Investment

On September 6, the first edition of the Zurich Forum for Sustainable Investment (ZFSI) took place on stage. At this topical conference for the Swiss financial center, Stefan Flückiger, Deputy State Secretary for International Financial Affairs, spoke about how sustainable investments can harness the power of innovation. In his presentation, Flückiger also stressed that the Swiss government is eager to see the Swiss financial center contribute to sustainability. Even more - the country should become the Swiss Sustainable Finance Hub, he said.

Sustainability has arrived at PK

Various workshops were also devoted to current issues of governance and the integration of ESG criteria into all asset classes. Finally, Thomas Vellacott, CEO of WWF Switzerland, asked whether the topic of sustainable innovations is an unstoppable megatrend or just a passing fad.

The high level of participation at the Forum made it particularly clear how much importance financial professionals attach to sustainability and the search for concrete solutions - especially in the context of the challenges currently facing our society.

At the roundtable "Strengthening the regulatory framework in the area of sustainability for institutional investors", Sabine Rindisbacher, Head of Legal and Co-Head of Sustainability at the Pension Fund of the City of Zurich, pointed out that the topic of sustainability has arrived at every pension fund. But implementation is difficult for many, she said. Several speakers stressed the need for more transparency in the real economy with regard to sustainability in order to make it easier for institutional investors to make decisions. Adrian Wittwer, who works as an economist at the Swiss Federal Supervisory Commission for Occupational Pensions, also pointed out that to date No clear obligation to integrate sustainability criteria.

The roundtable also addressed the important issue of risk: It is well known that the majority of institutional investors focus on economic aspects. Silvia Ruprecht from the Climate Policy Section at the Federal Office for the Environment pointed out in this context that the risk of sustainable investments is no greater than that of conventional investments, a fact that has already been proven by several studies. As a reminder: In one study, Prof. Rajna Gibson Brandon and Prof. Philipp Krüger of the Swiss Finance Institute at the University of Geneva compared the return of various institutional investors with the risk they took. The researchers were able to show that investors whose portfolios are more sustainable take lower risks and generate higher returns in the long term (cf. here).

ZFSI focuses on ESG issues

"We are very pleased to be able to offer this first ZFSI edition to the financial community and provide them with a platform for exchange - still in the context of the pandemic. We live in a time when we should reflect on our social responsibility. The ZFSI therefore focused very specifically on ESG issues and was a great success," says Laurent Ashenden, ZFSI founder. The event is the counterpart of the established Geneva Forum for Sustainable Investment (GFSI), which will be held for the 12th time on September 23, 2021, he added.

Organized by Voxia communication in collaboration with Conser, ZFSI 2021 attracted more than 200 participants: independent managers, fund selectors, pension fund managers, family office managers, portfolio managers, chief investment officers, financial analysts and others.

Voxia is the organizer of the Geneva Forum for Sustainable Investment, the Zurich Forum for Sustainable Investment and the Swiss Sustainable Funds Awards. The Voxia communications agency specializes in strategic consulting, investor relations, public relations, media relations, politics, crisis communications and corporate social responsibility.

Source: Voxia / rs