Important Announcement
The Fund EcoMarket database has moved over to SRI Services, click the link below to view the database.
Visit SRI Services
The Fund EcoMarket database has moved over to SRI Services, click the link below to view the database.
Visit SRI Services
the sustainable, responsible and ethical investment information hub
April 3rd, 2023
Time does not permit me to do justice to everything that is happening in and around sustainable investment at the moment, however keeping tabs on what is happening in the regulatory arena is crucial. So… with apologies for brevity, and a promise to look extremely closely at this paper as soon as we can – […]
April 3rd, 2023
On 30 March 2023 the government published its updated Green Finance Strategy. Related papers include: Green Finance Boost for Nature – a framework to develop growth in green finance in UK Green Finance strategy welcomed by FCA A quick skim tells me this important paper is likely to be welcome and useful (both climate and […]
March 29th, 2023
This blog is to flag the importance of the 20 March 2023 IPCC climate report, which you can access in full here. The final section of the media release, linked here, is particularly relevant to the financial services community: …Enabling sustainable development There is sufficient global capital to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions if existing […]
March 29th, 2023
UN delegates reach historic agreement on protecting marine biodiversity in international waters On 5 March 2023 the UN reached an historic agreement to protect our oceans – referred to by some as ‘the High Seas Treaty’. An agreement of this kind has been a long time coming, and is hugely important as our use of […]
March 16th, 2023
The recent Treasury Sub-Committee on Financial Services Regulations (Greenwash: sustainability disclosure requirements) has generated some headlines that could have been more constructive – and risk playing into the hands of those who were never particularly interested in sustainability. The meeting was held on 22 February 2023. It started at 2.17pm and ended 4.33pm The links […]
March 1st, 2023
For those with an interest in putting money to work in ways that make sense for people, the planet and investors there are few more important areas than the pensions, given the size of that market – which I am delighted to flag recent TPR activity… The Pensions Regulator increases focus on climate and ESG […]
February 13th, 2023
‘Finance for positive sustainable change’ discussion paper published by FCA [Download ‘SRI Services response to DP 23 1 (10 May 2023) – Finance for positive sustainable change: governance incentives and competence in regulated firms’ .] === SRI Services is delighted to welcome DP23/1 – the FCA’s latest sustainability related discussion paper, which was published on Friday, […]
February 8th, 2023
Top 100 filter searches on Fund EcoMarket during 2022: The sustainable fund filter searches carried out during 2022 were once again as mixed as they have been previously – indicating that users of the Fund EcoMarket tool unsurprisingly need to consider both financial and sustainability criteria. A number of our SRI Styles labels were again […]
January 31st, 2023
The SDR (Sustainability Disclosure Requirements) consultation paper was, in my view, a big step in the right direction for the FCA and for financial services in general. I can’t claim to be unbiased. I have been discussing what I believe needs to happen in sustainable investment with the FCA since long before the paper was […]
December 14th, 2022
Below is an article I wrote for Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts which was published this week (December 2022). You can download a pdf of the printed version here: p 10-11 SDR What and Why Dec 2022 Please see our other recent blogs for links and our video. SDR: what and why? Last month, the […]
December 7th, 2022
Now live: Below is a link to a new video I have posted on the SRI Services YouTube channel – where I offer thoughts on how and why the SDR (currently at consultation stage) has come about, its main features and the likely implications for the financial services community. The consultation paper, media release (explaining […]
November 14th, 2022
Why SDR should not play second fiddle to Consumer Duty Julia Dreblow 11 November 2022• 4 min read The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels consultation paper may be playing second fiddle to Consumer Duty in some quarters, Julia Dreblow says, but the regulator has made it clear that […]
November 14th, 2022
Published in FT Adviser 8 November 2022 By Julia Dreblow It was a huge relief when I learned the sustainability disclosure requirements consultation would be published on October 25. As a member of the DLAG – the Financial Conduct Authority’s Disclosure and Labels Advisory Group – and deeply committed to improving this area, I had started […]
November 7th, 2022
Here is a link to the World Meteorological Offices 6 November 2022 release showing that the last eight years are the warmest on record. If you are wondering whether or not COP27 is important – this is your answer. We will not be turning this around without international collaboration…
October 28th, 2022
The UN’s (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2022 – ‘The Closing Window’ – was published yesterday. It makes pretty grim reading. The depth, breadth and complexity of the problem is clear – we are all involved – and underlines why there can be no room left for greenwash in financial services. I have cut and paste […]
October 25th, 2022
SRI Services are delighted to welcome the publication of the FCA’s new Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and Investment Labels consultation paper. This paper, CP 22/20, marks a major – and highly positive – turning point for retail sustainable investment. It puts clients’ needs front and centre and in so doing tackles greenwash and trust issues […]
October 24th, 2022
The following videos are from our 2022 ‘SRI Services and Partners Good Money Week’ event. They are published in chronological order & as such are the next best thing to being there on the day! We would be super grateful if you would ‘Like and Subscribe’ as you watch these on YouTube! (ps unfortunately the […]
October 21st, 2022
This post is to share the beautiful image created by Scriberia at our recent annual event. It plots many of the key points made by speakers who were as follows: AGENDA James Alexander UKSIF CEO, on Good Money Week and UKSIF activity Julia Dreblow – SRI Services update and comments on recent developments, including SDR […]
October 14th, 2022
Whilst we await publication of the SDR consultation paper, which we expect the FCA to publish shortly, you may find the article that I wrote for Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts a few days ago useful… The full, final article is linked below. Download here: Foundations for Growth – 10-11 ILP Moneyfacts October 22 […]
August 12th, 2022
The SRI Services & Partners annual Good Money Week event will be back, in person, on 6 October 2022 Sign up here As in previous years there will be a combination of expert keynote presentations and fund manager panel sessions. The main details are: Date: Thursday 6 October Main conference: 10 – 5.30pm Drinks reception: […]
August 11th, 2022
As you may be aware ‘TCFD’ is the climate related disclosure framework the FCA is now using to gather information on how companies are responding to climate change – and specifically the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On 29 June 2022 the FCA published its first review of activities, 12 months after its adoption. […]
July 18th, 2022
Below is a link to an article that I wrote for this month’s Investment Life and Pension Moneyfacts. (Just published – July 2022) My title for the piece was “Sustainable investment: slow, slow, quick” in recognition of the accelerating pace of change in all things sustainable investment, particularly climate change. Their title ‘Putting down roots’ […]
July 14th, 2022
The journey to SDR and how it should help financial advisers
June 15th, 2022
London Climate Week event on 28 & 29 June I happily agreed to become involved with a major London Climate Week event run by Reset Connect some time ago. The event is now only two weeks away. I did so mostly because I am always keen to help and encourage intermediaries to learn about climate issues […]
May 27th, 2022
Earlier this week I set out my initial response to HSBC’s head of Responsible Investment – Stuart Kirk’s – extraordinary presentation on climate risk (see blog linked below). In the interest of understanding different points of view – here is a collection of articles and opinions about his speech that we believe are relevant to […]
May 23rd, 2022
…and has now been rightly suspended by HSBC. There is so much to say on this story, but let me start by saying I have no desire to ‘bash’ HSBC. Big banks are imperfect and have, in my view, propped up the fossil fuel industry for far too long – but that is not what […]
April 28th, 2022
A video recording of the 60 minute presentation M&G climate fund manager Randeep Somel, CFA and I gave earlier this week is now available on the M&G Wealth Platform (previously Ascentric). My main task was to introduce the impact investment fund spectrum – the similarities and differences between funds that focus on generating positive impacts as […]
March 31st, 2022
A similar version of the following text was first published in our March 2022 newsletter. FCA Disclosures and labels (DLAG) – my involvement with the FCA, on their Disclosures and Labelling Advisory Group is proving both interesting and tough. We have had many meetings and the level of engagement has been impressive – but […]
March 18th, 2022
A big thank you to our friends at Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts for publishing – and putting on the front cover – my latest piece on sustainable investment. You can download a pdf of the text here: 16-17 Purpose, Positioning and Priorities The text – as submitted – is below. Sent to Investment […]
March 14th, 2022
Ukraine tragedy highlights need for intermediaries to understand sustainable fund strategies [see summary version published in Investment Week 15 March 2022] SRI Services has surveyed the managers of sustainable responsible and ethical investment funds to ask whether they hold – or held – direct investments in Russian companies. The purpose of this research was to […]
March 1st, 2022
I am delighted to have been asked a few questions by Citywire this week. This link will take you to a piece in this weeks New Model Adviser where I was asked for some quick fire thoughts about sustainable investment and technology (with a slightly alarming photo!) In brief – yes, intermediaries can offer better, […]
February 9th, 2022
For those following the discussions around the all important topic of labelling sustainable investment funds you may be interested in an opinion piece I wrote for FT Adviser recently: You can access the article here. My thanks go to FT Adviser for offering me the opportunity to comment. My original text, as submitted, is […]
February 8th, 2022
I am delighted to report that in line with our core aim of ‘helping to change how people invest’ we have been working with Fidelity to bring key elements of our Fund EcoMarket database onto the Fidelity Adviser Solutions’ platform (previously FundsNetwork) and client (PI) fund platforms. Some of our data has already started to […]
January 17th, 2022
I am delighted to share our response to the FCAs recent ‘Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels‘ discussion paper. Our response was rather lengthy, so you may prefer to focus on the summary of key points below (the text below is ‘as submitted’): Download our response here: FCA SDR DP 21 4 SRI Services […]
January 17th, 2022
Below is a list of the top 50 filter options selected by Fund EcoMarket users during the course of 2021. This shows that, as in previous years, a wide range of filters are used by Fund EcoMarket users, most probably as that is what is required in order to offer advice on sustainable investment […]
December 17th, 2021
ShareAction has just published their 2021 report on shareholder voting. The gist of the report is that many shareholders, most importantly amongst them the largest (because they have the most votes) are not supporting shareholder resolutions on environmental and social issues – even when their proxy advisers are recommending they should. There will doubtless be […]
December 15th, 2021
Net Zero is rapidly becoming part of business as usual in UK financial services
December 10th, 2021
As you are reading this post you may well know that I have spent nearly 30 years working in sustainable, responsible and ethical investment because I believe it can – and will – help deliver a better future. I also believe it makes sound financial sense because there is no real alternative to shifting to […]
December 7th, 2021
If, like me, you have been struggling to keep up with the recent policy developments in sustainable investments you may find the information below useful. The first section is from the body of our newsletter sent today, the table below has additional links. December Newsletter: To my mind this really got started In March […]
December 2nd, 2021
A big thank you to ESG Clarity for inviting me to write a piece on the important topic of sustainable investment fund labelling. The first few paragraphs are copied below. Labels won’t save the planet but they help investors. ‘Words, research and analysis will not save a single tree – only action will’ Let’s start […]
November 11th, 2021
We are currently in the process of upgrading our online presence as we have rather outgrown the design of the sites we launched 11 years ago! We would be grateful if you could drop us an email on julia@sriservices.co.uk or funds@sriservices.co.uk with any comments and suggestions you might have. In particular we welcome your thoughts […]
November 10th, 2021
I have been asked to comment a number of times recently on what I think the recent regulatory announcements might mean for financial advisers. Although I have been appointed onto DLAG the future remains unwritten of course – but I did pull together a few thoughts for FT Adviser recently which I hope you may […]
November 4th, 2021
I am delighted to report that I have been appointed to the FCA’s new ‘Disclosure and Labels Advisory Group’. The ‘Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels’ paper that this relates to was published on 3 November 2021, can be found on the FCA website here, starting with the following text: “We are seeking initial […]
October 29th, 2021
The FCA has (yesterday) published further information on their response to climate change. Information from their recently appointed Head of ESG, Sacha Sedan, reads as follows: Today we have published our Climate Change Adaptation Report. The report sets out our assessment of how we and the firms we regulate are adapting to climate change. […]
October 21st, 2021
This brief blog is to help you bookmark this important document which maps out much of what we can expect to see in the broad sustainable investment arena over the next few years: We are delighted at the growing level of attention being paid to sustainable investment by the UK Government in the run up […]
October 4th, 2021
I am beyond delighted to be able to announce that SRI Services WON the Investment Week award for ‘The Best Sustainable & ESG Support Service Provider or Consultancy 2021′. We have not had the chance to request our winner ’tile’ yet – thanks to our event this Wednesday – but wanted to make this news […]
September 18th, 2021
We are delighted to invite you to sign up to our annual event which is being held in two parts this year: an all day Zoom conference on 6 October, and an informal London drinks reception on 13 October. Sign up links for both events are below. 6 October all day event 10 […]
September 9th, 2021
I am truly delighted to be able to announce that SRI Services has been shortlisted for two Investment Week (Incisive Media) awards this year. The two categories we entered & are shortlisted for are: Best Sustainable & ESG Research & Ratings Provider Best Sustainable and ESG Support Service Provider or Consultancy This is particularly […]
August 23rd, 2021
My thanks, once again, to Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts magazine for publishing my article on ‘the future of (sustainable) investment.’ The article is a roundup of the important regulatory developments that are emerging in this area – as well as the need for urgency in switching all investments onto a sustainable footing. The piece […]
August 23rd, 2021
The following table has been kindly supplied by Moneyfacts and is published in this month’s Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts magazine. It shows the performance of (what Moneyfacts refer to as) ‘Ethical’ vs ‘Non Ethical’ funds. In summary, it shows a consistent, and in many places remarkable, picture of outperformance for ethical equity funds over […]
July 19th, 2021
SRI Services welcomes new FCA ESG and Sustainable Investment Principles
July 13th, 2021
This information relates to Fund EcoMarket user activity from 1 January – to 30 June 2021 Key findings: Use of the Fund EcoMarket (retail sustainable investment fund tool) website increased by 15% over the six months to 30 June (from H2 2020), pointing to continued growth in interest in retail ESG and sustainable investment. The […]
July 12th, 2021
[Please see my more recent ‘Principles’ blog as the FCA Sustainable Investment Principles are now live.] As you will know, the focus on ‘ESG’ (environmental, social and governance) has ramped up dramatically recently right through the investment value chain. News is now emerging almost daily from all quarters – from the public facing NGOs (notably […]
June 17th, 2021
CCRA3 makes for sober reading – showing the UK is failing to take the necessary steps to adapt to climate change
June 17th, 2021
Recognising real sustainability and the race to net zero
May 27th, 2021
We all know that climate change poses a massive – indeed ‘existential’ – threat and that things will change rapidly as we work to acheive the goals agreed in Paris in 2015. We also know that renewable energy companies, and related industries, have a bright future – indeed it could be said that ‘they are […]
May 18th, 2021
Our recent ILP Moneyfacts article exploring ESG fund strategies and ‘divestment vs stewardship’
May 11th, 2021
UKSIF Policy Vision On 28 April 2021 UKSIF launched its new ‘policy vision’ at an event convened to celebrate the organisation’s 30th anniversary. The document makes great reading if you wish to explore how sustianable finance may evolve over the coming years. You can download the new UKSIF Policy Vision here. The main elements of […]
May 11th, 2021
On 21 April 2021 the EU published an extensive package of measures to help facilitate the transition to a more sustainable future. The new rules do not relate directly to the UK however it is widely regarded as unlikely that the UK would wish to diverge significantly from their position on sustainable finance – and […]
April 13th, 2021
I am delighted to be able to share our new (A4) downloadable & printable Fund EcoMarket brochure… Download Fund EcoMarket May 2021 brochure via this link. The brochure includes the following: An introduction to the Fund EcoMarket fund database tool A snapshot of the number of funds in each of our ‘SRI Styles’ A […]
March 25th, 2021
During UKSIF’s excellent ‘Ownership Day’ event today I was delighted to hear from their keynote speaker Mark Manning of the FCA, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has formally written to Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive of the FCA, with notification that the government now requires climate change to form part of the regulator’s […]
March 16th, 2021
We have today updated our Fund EcoMarket ‘SRI Styles’ fund classifications to combine ‘Negative Ethical’ and ‘Balanced Ethical’ funds into a single style now called simply: ‘Ethical’. When we created Fund EcoMarket back in 2010 by far the largest proportion of funds in this area were referred to as ‘ethical’ – and focused significantly on […]
March 8th, 2021
infographic showing diversity of retail ESG fund options
February 23rd, 2021
Here is the link to our most recent newsletter – published yesterday. To subscribe to our newsletter please sign up here. This includes information on the new filter options (under the header of the filter field they sit in) that we have added to Fund EcoMarket to reflect recent market developments. An explanation of […]
February 15th, 2021
This month’s Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts magazine has kindly published an article I have writen for them regarding the FCA’s proposed Sustainable Investment Principles which were first aired at our conference last year. You can download the article here: ILP Moneyfacts February 2021 Climate of Change As discussed in the article the principles remain […]
February 10th, 2021
A big thank you to Intelligent Partnership for sending me a lovely, smart version of the brief ‘Thought Leadership’ piece I wrote for them last month. The brief article highlights the relevance of financial services intermediaries considering sustainable investment when discussing estate planning with clients. You can download my article here: SRI thought leadership article […]
February 9th, 2021
Since electric vehicles (EV’s) first came on the market I have been pining for one. For the last few years that mostly involved browsing Autrotrader, but last month, with ever growing concerns about climate change – and looking for something to cheer me up – I decided it was time to take the plunge. The […]
January 6th, 2021
Happy New Year… I very much hope you and yours are well and coping with the situation we find ourselves in once again. COVID, aside (and that is the last time I will mention it) 2020 was another great year for SRI Services. This blog is to give you a quick overview of how […]
November 26th, 2020
On 21 October 2020 Richard Monks – Director of Strategy at the FCA – kindly gave the keynote speech at our annual ‘SRI Services and Partners Good Money Week event’. There is a transcript of his speech available on the FCA website here. We were delighted with the content of the speech and welcome the […]
November 24th, 2020
EIRIS Foundation release new fund market size estimate during Good Money Week. The following information was recently published by the EIRIS Foundation: “Investment in UK green and ethical funds has grown significantly in 2020 to £33.5 billion according to our latest research on the size of the retail market. We were pleased to report this […]
October 28th, 2020
I am delighted to report that we have just loaded the videos from our first ever online ‘SRI Services and Partners’ online Good Money Week event onto our YouTube channel. The sessions are listed in chronological order on a play list – here. 288 financial advisers and others attended on the day and the feedback […]
October 27th, 2020
I am delighted to inform you that our new brochure has been finalised and is available to download. This can be used for learning support, as ‘aide memoire’ or as a ‘sales aid’. Click here to download: Fund EcoMarket A4_Singles Oct 2020 FINAL The above version is 6 x A4 pages.
October 24th, 2020
I have just been sent the information below by Aberdeen Standard Investments, having recorded a podcast with them recently. I love the title – and really felt I had to share it! Julia Title: The Responsible Investing Podcast, Ep.9: Lessons from The Lorax – with Julia Dreblow Description: Welcome to our latest Responsible Investing […]
October 20th, 2020
As back up & just in case… If you have any issues getting in to our event please email Ebru on events@sriServices.co.uk You will have been issued a link with your joining instructions – so please click the link before contacting us. We have over 400 people signed up so please bear with us if […]
September 24th, 2020
Over the last six months we’ve been working on a number of pretty major changes to Fund EcoMarket. App The first major change, that you may be aware of, was to launch our new, also free to use, App which is available both via Apple and Google App stores (search ‘Fund EcoMarket’). SRI Styles changes […]
September 2nd, 2020
SRI Services and Partners annual ‘Good Money Week’ ‘virtual’ event – 21 October 2020 I am delighted to announce that the FCA’s Director of Strategy, Richard Monks, has agreed to give the keynote address as this year’s SRI Services and Partners Good Money Week event. Sign up to the ‘SRI Services and Partners’ 21 October […]
August 5th, 2020
I’m delighted to have been able to support Which? with their recent ethical investment report (and for both SRI Services & Fund EcoMarket to have earned a mention online and in their magazine.) The report is a good introduction to the sector and one individual investors are likely to find very useful, with quotes from […]
July 26th, 2020
SRI Services is delighted to announce the launch of our new Fund EcoMarket App, which is available for free both in iOS (Apple) and Android (Google etc) formats. This new tool, the first of its kind, allows you to research retail sustainable, responsible and ethical funds quickly and easily so that they can be matched […]
July 22nd, 2020
It is lovely to have contributed once again to ‘Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts’ editor Richard Eagling’s annual SRI feature – entitled ‘Green Power’ . In addition to lots of great commentary the market performance statistics are fantastic, with their analysis showing ‘All ethical funds’ performance outstripping ‘All non ethical funds’ over 1, 3, 5, […]
July 2nd, 2020
Usage of the adviser friendly sustainable investment fund database ‘Fund EcoMarket’ increased sharply over the last six months. Fund EcoMarket welcomed 7.9k unique users over the 6 months to 30 June 2020 – compared to 5.5k over the same period in 2019 (source: Google Analytics). The average session time was 4.31 minutes. Commenting on the […]
June 19th, 2020
Introduction The EU has a raft of consultations ongoing aimed at driving investment to be more focused on sustainability. I am yet to give these the time they deserve, but to help you keep up to date here are some thoughts and links you may like to digest… Although their work on sustainable finance has […]
June 12th, 2020
Newsletter link… Our most recent update with tons of recommended reading and viewing from our wonderful fund partners in these lovely lockdown days… Download our 11 June 2020 newsletter here. (https://mailchi.mp/7adbcf7a374a/pr1jpbda8k) Happy clicking! Julia ps One small gremlin crept in … the link to our updated company site www.sriServices.co.uk is https://www.sriServices.co.uk available here.
May 18th, 2020
In the spirit of #BuildBackBetter this is me sharing a #Sustainable and #ResponsibleInvestment training video I recently put together for some financial advisers’ who’s #ESG training day had to switch format. The learning objectives relate to an introduction & overview of the Sustainable and Responsible Investment market and how to research ESG/SRI funds (using Fund […]
April 24th, 2020
Just published – Justin Cash, Editor of Money Marketing interviews Julia Dreblow of SRI Services on ‘Covid and the future of ESG’ (A ten minute listed.) 24 April 2020
April 14th, 2020
Of 13,007 total events (ie individual clicks on filter options) during Q1 2020 (1 January to 31 March) the list below shows those ranked in the top 50 searches. Once again, this demonstrates the breadth of information sought by financial advisers and others with an interest in sustainable, responsible and ethical investment (SRI) and points […]
April 8th, 2020
In the hope and expectation that some kind of normality will have returned by October I am pleased to say that we are planning our event for this autumn as normal and that our 21 October, London, Barbican sign up form is now open – via Eventbrite – here. We are only able to publish […]
March 31st, 2020
SRI Services & Fund EcoMarket 30 March newsletter now available… No prizes for guessing what it majors on – although we remain hopeful so please ‘Save the Date’ *** 21 October 2020 *** for our annual conference, once again in the Barbican, London. Newsletter link here: March 30 2020 url link: https://mailchi.mp/1804433c1d4e/sriservices-and-fund-ecomarket-news-coronavirus-edition
March 29th, 2020
With the ethical and social aspects of coronavirus being plain to see and markets wobbling horribly we have started to pull together some early comments published by the sustainable, responsible and ethical investment fund mangers that partner with Fund EcoMarket. Su and I will be writing out to all of our partner fund managers asking […]
March 27th, 2020
This has undoubtedly been a memorable (and pretty miserable) week, month and indeed quarter. My first thoughts, when the horrible seriousness of Coronovirus started to become clear, may however have been a little different from some in that they were not entirely negative… Aside from the fears about relatives – my mother-in-law is recently bereaved, […]
March 23rd, 2020
Sustainable Finance Taxonomy report ‘Financing a Sustainable European Economy’ Technical Report published 9 March 2020 On 9 March 2020 the EU TEG (Technical Expert Group) on sustainable finance produced their final report which sets out a ‘taxonomy’ of sustainable business activities. This significant development will help investors to recognise those business activities that should be […]
March 3rd, 2020
Once a year we gather ideas about what we could usefully add or alter on the Fund EcoMarket filter options – ahead of doing our annual research update for all funds. As always there were dozens of options that we could have added, but in the interest of not letting the fund tool become too […]
January 17th, 2020
BlackRock founder and CEO Larry Fink has been making headlines this week with the announcement on Tuesday (14/1/20) that BlackRock are making major changes to their business, putting sustainability – and in particular climate change – at the heart of their business operations. This is a welcome and important development. Some commentators have pointed out […]
January 6th, 2020
The following list is of the top individual filter searches carried out on Fund EcoMarket from 1 January to 31 December 2019. This information is derived from Google Analytics, which recorded 34,087 filter options having been selected over the twelve month period. This information showed the breadth of different issues people were interested in as […]
January 3rd, 2020
Fund EcoMarket use doubles in 2019 2019 was a great year for Fund EcoMarket, the SRI Services’ fund tool! Not only were we joined by many new sponsoring partners (see image) who make it possible for us to keep our intermediary support site free to use (and ever expanding), but user numbers also grew rapidly […]
December 6th, 2019
I am delighted to announce that our event videos are now live on the SRI Services YouTube channel. Each session was recorded – so for anyone who was unable to attend this is the next best thing. (nb The event was CPD accredited so you may like to keep a record of the sessions your […]
December 6th, 2019
Just a brief note to let you know about some of the changes we have made to Fund EcoMarket recently. Changes to functionality You can now… Use the new map on our ‘Find an Adviser’ area – which enables potential adviser clients to find local advisers more easily. You can now use the Search ‘recently […]
November 18th, 2019
The Investment Association’s long awaited Responsible Investment framework launched today (18 November 2019). Although I am yet to digest the detail, this looks entirely constructive to me. The IA team have differentiated between different fund options sensibly {thereby avoiding the ‘binary thinking trap’) and recognised the relevance of both individual funds and fund management companies. […]
November 13th, 2019
Recent media coverage, generated in part in response to a recent report by SCM*, indicates that greenwash fears are growing apace. This is of course a huge shame as when we talk about funds that focus on environmental, social and ethical issues we would all much rather be talking about their benefits relative to their […]
November 8th, 2019
Although this fund tool is intended mainly for use by financial services intermediaries you may be aware that we have had a ‘Find an Adviser‘ page on the site since launch, so that people can find a financial adviser who offers advice on this area if they so wish. To make finding an adviser even […]
October 18th, 2019
FCA statement on climate change and green finance
October 17th, 2019
The news that a third of XPS pension schemes either have an IFA or are likely to be looking for one is important news for the ESG/SRI community – and I’d like to thank Mike Clark (Ario Advisory), who spoke at our event last Wednesday, for bringing the following to my attention. This, to […]
October 14th, 2019
With another Good Money Week just ended I am delighted to share the news that our event last week appears to have been viewed as a big success. The videos will be with us shortly, but in the meantime here are a few highlights: Our SRI Services and Partners event was held at the Barbican […]
October 4th, 2019
For those of us who love a good list – here are the top 100 searched carried out on Fund EcoMarket from 1 January to 1 September 2019 … once again highlighting the need for a combination of ‘conventional financial’ and ESG / SRI policy and strategy information! These resulted from a total of 21,219 […]
September 10th, 2019
SRI Services is delighted to announce that we have been working with interactive investor in the development of their ‘ACE’ list of ethical, sustainable, ESG, impact and responsible investment funds. The list, which is now live on their website, shows all the funds in this sector (none are excluded) alongside ‘jargon free’ classifications. Each fund […]
August 30th, 2019
If you are a financial services intermediary who would like to know more about retail ESG, SRI, sustainable and ethical funds this is for you… If you are a UK financial services intermediary who would like to learn about ESG, SRI, Sustainable, Responsible and Ethical investment this free to attend, absolutely unique event is for […]
July 22nd, 2019
Here is the link to our latest occasional newsletter – sent out on 18 July 2019. This include comments on and links to information on recent developments in the ESG / SRI market – as well as ‘in house’ news. Also – a big welcome to Aberdeen Standard Investments our newest supporter! … And a […]
July 12th, 2019
For a great overview of the SRI / ESG / Ethical fund market you might like to take a look at this month’s Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts deep dive article – that you can access here – which I am delighted to be quoted in, alongside our good friends at EdenTree, King & Shaxson […]
July 9th, 2019
Media release 9 July 2019 Use of the Fund EcoMarket (SRI) fund tool has trebled over 12 months – with users indicating growing interest in both sustainability and ethical issues. Figures released today by SRI Services point to rapidly growing interest in environmental, social and ethical investment in the retail (individual) investment market. Use of […]
July 3rd, 2019
The ever increasing flow of activity in our area has accelerating further this week with the launch of the Government’s Green Finance Strategy ‘Transforming finance for a Greener future’ and the launch of the BEIS and Corporation of London supported ‘Green Finance Institute’. (2 July 2019). Both are greatly welcome initiatives and we look forward […]
June 13th, 2019
Women in Financial Advice Awards 2019 I am delighted to have been informed that I am a Finalist in this years ‘Woman of the Year Award – Adviser Support Services’ category. This is much welcome recognition of many years spent helping advisers to bring environmental, social and ethical issues into investment planning… Onward & upward! […]
June 10th, 2019
May 2019 saw the increase in use of Fund EcoMarket continue, with 1200 ‘unique users’ carrying out 3177 ‘clicks’ on the various filter options. Pointing, once again, to the importance of being able to combine ethical/sustainable investment & ESG related information alongside core product and conventional financial information in one place the top 50 […]
May 24th, 2019
This has been a long time coming, but happily ESMA has recently (3 May 2019) published the reports that start the process of bringing investment markets into line with the EU’s Climate Action plan through the integration of sustainability and ESG factors throughout the investment chain, including financial advice. The following is ‘cut and paste’ […]
May 7th, 2019
In a month when climate change was constantly in the news it will surprise few to see that Fund EcoMarket users regularly searched for fund options listed as: ‘sustainability themed’, ‘environmentally themed’, ‘environmental policy’, ‘climate change policy’, ‘avoids coal, oil & gas majors’, ‘invests in clean energy / renewables’ . The high ranking of ‘animal […]
May 2nd, 2019
For a quick round up of our activity (Feb – April 2019) and other SRI related news (that will hopefully be of use to financial services intermediaries!) here is a link to our latest ‘inSRI’ Newsletter. This includes a big ‘welcome’ to EdenTree our most recent sponsoring partner! https://mailchi.mp/c28ca44c4068/sri-services-and-fund-ecomarket-news-april-2019
May 2nd, 2019
On 1 May UKSIF celebrated its annual ‘Ownership Day’ with an event at the London Stock Exchange and the publication of a fund manager survey that looks into how different managers view the oil industry ‘Oil Pressure Gauge’ . Its focus is around ‘responsible ownership’ or what many now call ‘stewardship’ and the role it […]
April 18th, 2019
A growing number of funds are now marketed as being ‘sustainability themed’ or having sustainability related themes (often in addition to ethical, ESG or other SRI strategies). These funds employ many different strategies, methods and ‘lines of thought’. For most, sustainability is demonstrably central to their investment proposition (via various policies, themes and research criteria). […]
April 14th, 2019
After working out that recording ‘live’ videos is not in fact a walk in the park… I am delighted to say that we now have three brand new introductory SRI training videos on YouTube. Before you click through can I please ask you to help us by clicking ‘Follow’ when you go on to the SRI Services […]
April 8th, 2019
If your role involves understanding what financial advisers and others are looking for in the SRI, ESG or impact investment market the following list of ‘Top 50 Fund EcoMarket searches’ for Q1 2019 (January to March) will be of interest to you… (These are of a total of 4849 ‘events’ according to Google Analytics.) 1. […]
April 5th, 2019
The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (the international network of SIFs, that includes friends at UKSIF and Eurosif) has this week published its biennial global market report covering the period 2016-18 The report shows substantial growth in sustainable and responsible investment assets under management across all areas – with the exception of the EU as a […]
March 22nd, 2019
Source: FCA website 12 March 2019 First meeting of the PRA and FCA’s joint Climate Financial Risk Forum Press Releases Published: 12/03/2019 Last updated: 12/03/2019 On Friday 8 March, the PRA and FCA hosted the first meeting of the Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF). The objective of the CFRF is to build capacity and share best practice across financial […]
March 12th, 2019
Below is a list of the top 50 filter searches carried out by users of Fund EcoMarket during February 2019. These are from a total of 1,726 ‘events’. If you are looking for evidence of growing interest in this area and the diversity of things people want or need to know about here it is! (I […]
February 21st, 2019
SRI Services was delighted to have had the opportunity to respond to the ESMA Consultation Paper ‘On Integrating sustainability risks and factors into MIFID II’ earlier this week (even though it did seem a bit strange doing so given Brexit…) In brief, the paper (European Securities and Markets Authority – ESMA35-43-1210) proposes ESG/Sustainability related fact […]
February 15th, 2019
Thanks to some fancy footwork from our IT support team we are now able to report on the top filter searches people have used on Fund EcoMarket. Of just over 1000 searches conducted during January 2019 the following were the ‘top 30’ most clicked on options: 1. OEIC/Unit Trust 2. Equity 3. Sustainability Themed 4. […]
February 4th, 2019
The Investment Association announced last week that it is to consult members on Sustainability and Responsible Investment. Their launch release is copied below. The deadline for this consultation is 1 March and although we have already spoken with the IA on this SRI Services plans to respond also. You can download the IA Consultation document here. […]
February 4th, 2019
SRI Services submitted a response to the FCA’s highly welcome consultation on Climate Change and Green Finance (DP18/8) last week. You can read our submission here. Alternatively – here are our 12 key points that we would like the regulator to formally recognise and act on. The role of investors is central to our ability […]
January 20th, 2019
The timing may not be ideal, but it is none the less welcome that the EU (ESMA) is consulting on bringing SRI fact finding into the financial advice process following their consultation last year. You can download their paper on this here. Deadline 19 February 2019.
January 16th, 2019
As mentioned in my blog in October last year the FCA is consulting on climate change and green finance. SRI Services plans to respond to this important paper – both by welcoming it and by responding to those questions that fall within our area of expertise. DP18/8: Climate change and green finance DEADLINE – 31 JANUARY […]
November 30th, 2018
Following on from a rather busy few months here are some news highlights and links to recent activity, published this morning in our SRI Services & Fund EcoMarket newsletter (click this link for formatted version or see text and links below.) ====== SRI Services & Fund EcoMarket news (and beyond!) (For UK based Financial […]
November 8th, 2018
I am delighted to share the videos from our ‘Sustainability and Suitability’ SRI event for those who were unable to attend on the day. Keynote speaker Lord Deben’s climate change speech was a particular highlight.
October 25th, 2018
We were absolutely delighted to welcome Lord Deben (John Gummer) to our SRI Services and Partners event on 3 October 2018. Lord Deben spoke elequently and passionately on ‘Why Climate Change Matters to Investors’ – his speech can be viewed here, on the Fund EcoMarket YouTube channel: (And yes, we concur with the view that […]
October 15th, 2018
SRI Services welcomes today’s announcement, which reads as follows: FCA opens a discussion on the impact of climate change and green finance on financial services Press Releases Published: 15/10/2018 Last updated: 15/10/2018 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published a Discussion Paper on climate change and green finance. The effects of climate change and the associated transition to […]
September 30th, 2018
The Bank of England has taken a leadership position on climate change for a number of years. Governor Mark Carney’s ‘Tragedy of the horizons’ speech in 2015 set the scene for how the Bank viewed the issue of climate risk. Their subsequent work on the FSB TCFD framework has put climate change on the agenda for […]
September 30th, 2018
I am not close enough to say whether or not the specifics of this article are correct, yet none of it really surprises me… The financial services community has a reputation for audacity and struggles to earn trust. Reading this article makes the risks associated with the SRI market ‘going mainstream’ very clear. The piece […]
September 12th, 2018
The article below my ‘preamble’ is reproduced with kind permission from ‘Responsible Investor’ – published yesterday (11/9/2018). But first an introduction… Executive summary for retail professionals: In brief, the DWP has announced that they will expect pension trustees to consider ESG risks and opportunities – and specifically reference ‘climate change’ as an area they should […]
September 4th, 2018
Good Money Week 2018 – SRI Services & Partners event ‘Screened, Themed and Engaged 2018 event: Sustainability & Suitability’ We are currently getting ready to celebrate the 11th Good Money Week, putting the final touches to our annual event for financial services intermediaries. Details of the event are below: When? 3rd October 2018 Where? The Mermaid, Puddle Dock […]
July 20th, 2018
I am running rather late with blogs at the moment as there is so much happening – but felt it important to flag the news that the FCA is looking into the area of ESG/SRI in Q1 2019 – as part of their response to the Law Commission’s review of Pensions and Social Investment. None […]
July 12th, 2018
For those wishing to respond to the current DWP Pension scheme trustee consultation, which will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the way DC schemes view SRI/ESG/Impact investment, here is the link to the current consultation: ‘Consultation on clarifying and strengthening trustees’ investment duties’. Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment and Disclosure) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 In brief, […]
July 12th, 2018
Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts magazine’s front page piece this month is devoted to ‘sustainable, responsible and ethical investment’. The editorial, which you can read here focuses on the shifts in regulation that have been a lightbulb moment for investors – who are increasingly recognising the importance of environmental and social issues. The article includes a […]
June 18th, 2018
This morning, 18 June 2018, the Government published its final response to the 2017 Law Commission report on pension funds and social investment. The following information was published today by UKSIF (whilst I was working on our MiFID2 response*!): “The foreword is written by Guy Opperman MP, Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, and Tracey Crouch MP, Minister for […]
June 8th, 2018
EU proposals to include ESG as part of investment and advice processes. 20 June 2018 Update: Our published response can be found here. ===== On 24 May 2018 the EU published draft recommendations proposing the inclusion of ESG within the obligatory advice process as part of their ongoing work supporting the growth of Sustainable Finance. Their draft […]
May 25th, 2018
Yesterday was a big day for those of us who care about how investment and financial services impact the world we live in. The following is a direct ‘cut and paste’ version of a press released issued by the European Commission, complete with links. The potential implications of this are very significant for all in […]
May 22nd, 2018
The issue of plastics is never far from our screens at the moment and the public outcry following Blue Planet 2 last year was pretty much unprecedented… Addressing this challenge will take time and needs the support of fund managers and other investors if we are to encourage companies to change what they do within the […]
May 17th, 2018
My newsletters seem to be becoming increasingly rare … however one was eventually finalised and issued today! You can read about Fund EcoMarket updates and SRI news via today’s newsletter here. Topics include recent article links, news and the date of our next Good Money Week event! Happy browsing!
April 10th, 2018
The Green Finance Taskforce published a highly significant (100 page) report on 28 March 2018. The report, which aims to help accelerate ‘green finance’ in the UK , can be downloaded here. The government landing page introduces the report as follows: “In September 2017, the government asked leading finance expert and former Mayor of London Sir Roger Gifford to chair […]
March 15th, 2018
The FCA issued a discussion paper today on ‘Transforming Culture in Financial Services’ – DP18/2. I have written and spoken on this topic many times – as I too believe that retail financial services would benefit from a cultural shift. My concern is that the financial services system as it stands is not particularly conducive to recognising the importance […]
March 15th, 2018
On 8 March 2018 the EU published its response to the Sustainable Finance HLEG (High Level Expert Group) report issued in January. Go to the new EU Sustainable Finance information here. The report is accompanied by an action plan and an event which will be live streamed on 22 March. I am yet to digest the report, however […]
March 6th, 2018
With rapidly growing interest in the area of how investments can have a positive impact I was recently asked by FTAdviser to write a brief article on this topic. In case you missed it amidst all the weather inflicted chaos last week you can view the full article here, or read the text below. ===== Ethical/SRI February […]
February 15th, 2018
The EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance published by far the most welcome document I have seen in a very long time (if ever) at the end of January this year. The HLEG, which comprised 20 experts (6 of whom were from the UK) has brought together a range of proposals that relate to the […]
January 31st, 2018
Our long overdue inSRI newsletter which was sent out today is available here. It includes a range of information, tips and links on the following: Government reviews that are relevant to SRI Industry developments Fund news Fund EcoMarket updates and reminders, downloads Event information (Quilter Cheviot and Transparency Taskforce) A request for comment on how we can improve […]
January 16th, 2018
As readers may already know the government has said it is committed to supporting the hugely diverse (and essential) area of ‘Green Finance’. Part of the process of developing this area involves calling for input in the form of a government inquiry. Written responses were requested for submission by 3 January – they can now be found here. […]
December 19th, 2017
My latest article in Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts looks at some of the key messages from UKSIF’s Good Money Week 2017.
It also talks through some of the very different ways investors can offer ‘good’ options for investors, the changing SRI/ESG regulatory backdrop, some thoughts on ‘impact’, the UN SDGs and the great ‘labels and taxonomies’ debate.
December 18th, 2017
Pension funds and social investment: interim (government) response – 18 December 2017 SRI Services welcomes today’s report, which we view as taking pension schemes a step closer to being better able to meet the ‘Big 3’ (very different, but none the less important) ‘sustainable, responsible and ethical’ client/member aims, which believe are: to better reflect personal ethical values, to make sound […]
December 13th, 2017
12 points from our response to the DWP consultation into ‘where DC schemes invest’
The following points are a boiled down version of our response to the DWP’s recent consultation on the topic of: ‘Where DC pension schemes invest’
November 27th, 2017
A major new report (the Corley Review) has been published considering how the UK can increase investment in ways that have positive social impacts. This welcome report includes 53 recommendations – calls to action for government and the investment community. The report was prepared by an independent advisory group chaired by Elizabeth Corley, Vice Chair Allianz […]
November 21st, 2017
DWP consultation: Disclosure of costs, charges and investments in DC schemes In October the Department for Work and Pensions issued the above consultation. Although focused on costs and charges this consultation is relevant to sustainable, responsible and ethical fund options as it also discusses making it easier for members to find out a bit more about where their schemes invest (both those using […]
November 3rd, 2017
I am delighted to share an article that Libby Ashby from Citywire has kindly written about our ‘Screened, Themed and Engaged 2017’ event which she attended. This article was published in Citywire’s Wealth Manager magasine today (3 November 2017). Libby Ashby asks: When will ESG be fully integrated into mainstream investing? Last month […]
October 26th, 2017
Last week we held our annual Good Money Week event at the Museum of London. The event was a great success, well attended and well received. Formal proceedings included presentations from Simon Howard (UKSIF), Guy Turner (Trove Research) and myself (Julia Dreblow) as well as five round table sessions with fund managers (listed below) and a panel […]
October 6th, 2017
With Good Money Week about to start now seems like a fitting time to mention some of the positive work taking place in government and beyond that are likely to drive progress in SRI – sustainable, responsible and ethical investment – over the coming year. (In the interest of sanity I will stay away from commenting on wider political […]
September 1st, 2017
I am delighted to announce that Fund EcoMarket has been shortlisted as a finalist for the following award: The Investment Week (Incisive Media) award category is ‘Sustainable Investment’ – Award for Innovation (Non-Fund). Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 17 November. Further details about the award ceremony, (now in its 10th year!), can be found here.
August 7th, 2017
This month saw the publication of two SRI/ethical investment articles in ‘Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts’ magazine. One was written by Moneyfacts editor Richard Eagling, the other by myself. See here for the ILP Moneyfacts annual ethical and SRI fund survey – Ethical Funds Survey July 2017 See here for my climate risk article (and in particular […]
July 28th, 2017
I have Raj Thamothram of Preventable Surprises to ‘thank’ for bringing this shocker of a story to my attention. In brief – this is a tale of the investment markets rewarding a company for turning its back on green issues and attempting to turn back the clock. There is much to say and many questions to ask – including how […]
July 28th, 2017
I am delighted to announce that Fund EcoMarket is a finalist in the ‘Best ESG/SRI Research’ Investment Week Awards category 2017. As much as we would love to win … given my knowledge of the quality and commitment of CDP, EQ Investors and EdenTree I truly don’t envy the judges! Taking my Fund EcoMarket hat off, for just a moment, I can […]
July 19th, 2017
The EU has recently published its High Level Expert Group (HLEG) Sustainable Finance interim report. This ambitious and significant report covers issues ranging from financing greener infrastructure to the labelling SRI funds. Although mainly aimed at institutions the implication is that the final recommendations will also impact individual (retail) investors. The EU plans to start implementing changes at the start of 2018 […]
July 6th, 2017
Reports in the FT and elsewhere today announce the important news that SwissRe now integrates Environmental, Social and Governance issues across all their equity and fixed income investment assets. They are doing so by using benchmarks based on the highly regarded MSCI ESG methodology. The first section of the SwissRe media release (from their website) is reproduced […]
June 29th, 2017
The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure has today issued its much heralded final report the purpose of which is to establish a framework for company reporting that will enable investors to better assess and manage climate risk. The Financial Stability Board, chaired by Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney set up the TCFD (Task Force […]
June 28th, 2017
Following the success of our ‘sold out’ event last year we are currently work on the plans for ‘Screened, Themed and Engaged 2017’ . This year’s Fund EcoMarket & sriServices ‘Good Money Week’ event for financial advisers and industry professionals will be held in Central London on the afternoon of 19 October. Attendees will hear from – and have the […]
June 27th, 2017
We are delighted to welcome the Law Commission review of ‘Pensions & Social Investment’ published June 2017. This important review, whilst not fully digested yet, appears to support and even advance the view that social, as well as other related ethical and environmental considerations should form part of our pensions investment landscape and decision making. You can […]
June 16th, 2017
Actuaries sent risk warning by professional body (IFoA) regarding material risk of climate change for pension schemes and other clients.
May 3rd, 2017
Earlier blogs by Julia Dreblow of sriServices can be found on the www.sriServices.co.uk website, accessible directly via this link.
February 3rd, 2017
News: from SRI Services & Fund EcoMarket Our most recent blogs can be found in the blog area of Fund EcoMarket HERE. For blogs between 2011 and 2017 see: www.sriServices.co.uk/news For Financial Services Professionals only Author: Julia Dreblow
Time does not permit me to do justice to everything that is happening in and around sustainable investment at the moment, however keeping tabs on what is happening in the regulatory arena is crucial. So… with apologies for brevity, and a promise to look extremely closely at this paper as soon as we can – […]
On 30 March 2023 the government published its updated Green Finance Strategy. Related papers include: Green Finance Boost for Nature – a framework to develop growth in green finance in UK Green Finance strategy welcomed by FCA A quick skim tells me this important paper is likely to be welcome and useful (both climate and […]
This blog is to flag the importance of the 20 March 2023 IPCC climate report, which you can access in full here. The final section of the media release, linked here, is particularly relevant to the financial services community: …Enabling sustainable development There is sufficient global capital to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions if existing […]