Nigel Green

deVere Launches Fixed-Yield Note for ESG Investing

deVere Group has announced the addition of a fixed-yield note of which the proceeds are allocated to the financing of eligible projects with a clear and defined environmental benefit, such as the reduction of carbon emissions.

The new ESG product aims to help clients benefit from this decade’s “ultimate megatrend” as 44% of the firm’s clients are eyeing exposure to or already have exposure to ESG investments.

Nigel Green, deVere Group CEO and founder, said: “An increasing number of clients want to achieve profits with a purpose by investing in companies that prioritise reducing carbon, protect employees’ and consumer rights, and promote board diversity, corporate transparency and stakeholder accountability.

“As such, we feel it is our responsibility to bring to market financial solutions that can help them do this. At the beginning of 2020 we identified that ESG will be this decade’s ultimate investment megatrend. Therefore, we will continue to develop products with legitimate ESG credentials.

“The ESG trend is set to gain further momentum for several reasons. First, governments and regulators are becoming increasingly pro-ESG which boosts investor confidence. For example, in the U.S. – the world’s largest economy – the Biden Administration is taking a tougher approach to the use of fossil fuels and is promising swift action to tackle climate change.

“In addition, the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. financial regulator, Gary Gensler, is a proponent and is likely to strengthen investment and disclosure rules to help the U.S. catch up with Europe.

“Second, as millennials, who are statistically more likely to seek responsible investment options, become the major beneficiaries of the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth – an estimated $30tn in the next few years – we can expect both retail and institutional investors to continue to pile into ESG.

“And third, the pandemic has focused minds on the fact that the health of our planet directly affects human health which, in turn, affects the way we all live and work”, Green said.

deVere offers free, independent advice to clients on socially responsible investing, with the aim of positioning $1bn in environmental, social and governance investments within five years.

deVere Group’s CEO Nigel Green has come forward in calling for global regulation of the issue since ESG investing “is this decade’s ultimate investment megatrend“.

“There’s been a dramatic increase of inflows into the sector from both retail and institutional investors as it has become clearer than ever that human health is reliant upon healthy ecosystems; that we need to ensure the sustainability of supply chains; and that those companies with robust corporate governance and good business practice fare better in difficult times and are ultimately best-positioned for the future.

“The trend is unlikely to slow down in a post-pandemic world. Millennials, who are statistically more likely to seek responsible investment options, are set to become the major beneficiaries of the largest inter-generational transfer of wealth – an estimated $30trillion over the next few years.”

“In addition, recent research reveals that the majority of environmental, social and governance investments have outperformed their non-sustainable counterparts over the last year and have had lower volatility”, Mr. Green continued, adding that this will only serve to attract more investors.

The regulatory landscape must reflect the situation and catch-up to this megatrend as there remains a startling lack of consistency in definitions and data.

A global regulatory framework for ESG investing would provide greater protections for those investors who are looking for profits with purpose and will also help to reduce ‘greenwashing’ – when an investment or company gives an inaccurate impression over its green, socially responsible or corporate credentials.