ADVISER INVESTMENTS MATTERS
Recent years have brought environmental , social and governance ( ESG ) issues to the centre of attention , including in the asset management industry . The key challenge for an asset management firm is how to differentiate itself from its peers when everyone is promoting their ESG credentials . At Carmignac , we have been investing in ESG for a number of years and we endeavour to approach it with humility , as we focus on the trajectory and journey ahead .
“ Sometimes we hear a lot from people talking about how they are going to change the world but , at Carmignac , we are a boutique , there are 300 of us managing approximately € 40 billion so we have to be humble and that is important at this stage .”
– Maxime Carmignac
We have decided to take a focussed approach to become experts in some parts of ESG and so we launched a thematic range of funds responding to each distinct component of ESG . For the E , we are focused on climate change and energy transition . The S for us represents empowerment of employees and also investors and customers . Lastly , we have a similarly specific approach to corporate governance : we think about leadership . Given that everyone supports ESG , one of the risks we are running is that the industry is engaged in box-ticking . There is so much regulation , there is a risk that we could lose our entrepreneurial spirit . However , at Carmignac we are a family business owned by the family and employees which gives us the luxury of being able to think long-term . We need to always try to remember that our convictions and our leadership made us a successful boutique business , whilst staying agile to monitor new regulations and adapt our governance with time . Diversity and inclusion is also a key theme at Carmignac . The asset management industry cannot afford to tick boxes on diversity and run the risk of seeing it as an objective as opposed to a means . Thinking about the long term , the industry is witnessing a huge push towards diversity but we have to be careful to ensure that women are not being promoted simply because they are women . We have to be sure not to compromise on quality . Indeed , we need to put our clients first and do the best for them .
“ If you have this pursuit of excellence you have to have as large a talent pool as possible and the asset management industry ’ s biggest asset is people , which means men and women of all the different socialeconomic backgrounds , as well as geographical diversity .”
– Maxime Carmignac
At Carmignac , we pay careful attention to gender diversity – 65 % of our assets under management are co-managed by women and we also feel that men have an important role to play in the promotion of equality in the workplace . However , we should not overlook the socio-economic diversity and geographical diversity which are also very important . As George Herbert Mead said : “ Society is unity in diversity ”. Another issue is much of the diversity agenda has focussed until now on engaging women more effectively at work , but we also think there is another important chal-lenge . Indeed , we talk a lot about women in the workplace , but we are ignoring the elephant in the room : women as investors . The asset management industry is all about the end clients and there has been progress within firms , but in our opinion , we are not giving enough attention to women as investors and clients . As a matter of fact , there are studies that suggest that in four decades women will account for 70 % of the total wealth because of their higher participation in the workforce and education , and the gender pay gap starting to close , as well as the fact that 68 % of women outlive men . Considering this fact , women are becoming wealthier , but women are totally under-addressed by the financial community . Women have different needs to men regarding finance but there are very few products on the market that can help them achieve their long-term goals . In reality , women are in need of more simplicity and transparency in financial products . It is our belief that the financial industry has a big role to play to adapt communication to target and convince more women investors . At Carmignac , we try to help raise awareness among women about how to invest early in their life to benefit from compounding and then to provide them with easy , sustainable and purposeful investment products . It is notably with this in mind that Maxime Carmignac founded the Carmignac Library in 2014 to test new fund ideas before making them available to our clients and to assess if they would meet their needs . We have nurtured product diversification over recent years and that is positive because it makes Carmignac more sustainable and has enabled us to provide more solutions to our clients , including women investors .
Our OIEC range of funds in the UK offers a number of diverse investment solutions , in addition to our diversified riskcontrolled model portfolios bringing innovative and tailored solutions to meet our investors ’ needs . To find out more about our UK investment solutions , please visit Carmignac ’ s website : carmignac . co . uk / en _ GB / model-portfolio-service
This is a marketing communication for Professional Investors Only . Source : Carmignac at 20 / 05 / 2022 . This document may not be reproduced , in whole or in part , without prior authorisation from the management company . This document was prepared by Carmignac Gestion and / or Carmignac Gestion Luxembourg and is being distributed in the UK by Carmignac Gestion Luxembourg UK Branch ( Registered in England and Wales with number FC031103 , CSSF agreement of 10 / 06 / 2013 ). It does not constitute a subscription offer , nor does it constitute investment advice . The information contained in this document may be partial information and may be modified without prior notice .
FP Carmignac ICVC is an Investment Company with variable capital incorporated in England and Wales under registered number 839620 and is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority .
The information contained in this document is provided to professional advisors for information purposes only and must not be communicated to any other person . It does not constitute personalized investment advice and must not be treated as a recommendation or an offer or solicitation for investment
Investing involves risk . The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise , is not guaranteed and your clients may get back less than they invest . The market value of , and the income derived from , the model portfolio may fluctuate in accordance with the values of the investments held by the portfolio , exchange rates between sterling and the currencies in which underlying investments are denominated , and other market conditions .
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