Credit Suisse is launching an ambitious push into responsible investing. The move comes as wealth managers eye up a new generation of rich clients, whom they believe want to make money more purposefully.
The Swiss bank wants to manage more than 100 billion francs ($100.7 billion) in line with sustainable investment criteria, by the end of next year, it said in a statement on Friday. The push is championed by Marisa Drew, a high-profile former investment banker who enjoys the trust of CEO Tidjane Thiam.
Impact investing is viewed by wealth managers as a must-have theme to attract a younger generation of clients.
Corralling Assets
Credit Suisse plans initially to corral more than 20 billion francs in funds at its asset management arm into bank-defined sustainable criteria by the end of next month, Drew told journalists on Friday. The goal for the end of next year is 100 billion francs (the unit, managed in Switzerland and wider Europe, the Middle East, and Africa by Swiss banker Michel Degen, manages 414 billion francs in total).
The push comes alongside a similar one from UBS, which recently nabbed Huw van Steenis for a sustainable finance body. The Swiss wealth management giant hired former trader and ex-Robecosam boss Michael Baldinger three years ago to shift its asset management more closely into line with sustainable initiatives and criteria. In January, Drew revamped Credit Suisse's impact investment arm, as finews.com reported.
Welcome Reprieve
Specifically, Credit Suisse will bed environmental, social, and governance criteria to rule out certain investments overseen by Degen, as well as bake the criteria into how it invests and engages with companies. The bank said this ensures impact not only in investment but in risk management. Credit Suisse said it will make the data available to investors, effective immediately.
The asset management push, which complements products and offerings available to wealthy clients at its private bank, represents a welcome reprieve for the bank. Credit Suisse's board is currently struggling with a management spy scandal sparked by the exit of star private banker Iqbal Khan to UBS.
