Martin Clarke chair of UKSIF
Ian Felice
Partner- Hassans & CEO- Line Management Services Limited 57/63 Line Wall Road, Gibraltar
Tel - +(350) 200 79000 Fax - +(350) 200 71966 Email -
ian.felice@hassans.gi Website -
www.gibraltarlaw.com
UK Sustainable Finance
Martin Clarke is the chair of UKSIF, a group of 200 members that range from fund managers, to consultants, IFAs, researchers, and so on, that have an interest in sustainable finance and investment and using it to create a better, more responsible and sustainable world.
It’s a job Martin does on a non-executive pro-bono basis; his ‘real’ day job is as an Executive Director of the Pension Protection Fund, which is a £17bn fund set up to bail out pension schemes that suffer when sponsors go bust and have insufficient assets. PPF invests £2bn every year, and have so far helped 700 distressed schemes and 300,000 people. In that role, Martin represents a very big asset owner.
Can you tell me more about UKSIF and what they do?
UKSIF operates on three levels:
Firstly, it’s a network of people who are interested and passionate about responsible investment, and so as an association, UKSIF tries to nurture that network by putting people in touch with each other through seminars and working groups.
Secondly, we convene our members on specific issues, such as the Kay Review or National Ethical Investment week which is a concentrated period of activities aimed at increasing awareness and understanding.
Thirdly, we are a voice for sustainable finance in the media and with other opinion formers and policy makers.
What is the most important aspect of your work with UKSIF, and why?
As chair, I can’t really say one thing is more important than the other, but I do think that
having a voice in the current environment is an opportunity. Now, more people than ever are looking at how investment and finance might be done differently.
UKSIF aims to ensure that the UK finance sector is the world leader in advancing sustainable development through financial services. How does UKSIF achieve this?
Historically, the UK has been on or near the leading edge of this; as far as UKSIF is concerned we can help nurture the expertise. The ambition we have is to challenge existing practices where appropriate, and at the same time enrich the resources within the industry.
What is green and ethical investing, and why should businesses be a part of this?
Responsible investment encompasses a full spectrum of styles and strategies, from ethically screened and mixed motive or impact investing through to strategies that embed the consideration of economic, social and governance issues into the main investment process.
What are the key issues you deal with on a regular basis?
Key issues are how we can best execute our networking, convening and being a voice when resources are limited. The natural temptation is to try to do everything and achieve nothing. And so our challenge is to maximise our
effectiveness with the resources we have and the leverage we can exercise through our members and elsewhere.
Now, more people
than ever are looking at how investment
and finance might be done differently
Have there been any legislative changes recently (12 – 24 months)? What changes would you like to see?
I would highlight the Green investment Bank and Big Society Capital which are both newly created institutions charged with stimulating investment in environmental and social initiatives respectively. They both seek to intermediate a growing market, bringing demand for and supply of financial resources much closer together.
UKSIF has also been actively involved in the debate stimulated by Professor Kay in his review of the role of equity markets in sustaining enterprise and we will be following the Government’s response to his report very closely in the coming months.
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