Ben Lambert

The aim of the Roadmap is to put forward an investor and solutions-focused perspective on some of the key public policy priorities to boost low-carbon investment in the UK for the next five years. Read more in 'Boosting low-carbon investment in the UK: A Policy Roadmap' 📖 https://bit.ly/40coBaE #LowCarbon #UKEconomy #Policy

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How will gilts react to a change of government in the UK? The Labour Party’s landslide in last week’s general election might well usher in an era of stability, or at least, quell the markets for a while. So what will it do for bond markets? Our Co-Chief Investment Officer Thomas Becket spoke to Emma Wallis at Trustnet about how we are cautious on UK government bonds, but more optimistic on UK corporate bonds. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dKPP8RMn Investment involves risk, and you may not get back what you invest. It’s not suitable for everyone. #gilts #generalelection #government #bonds

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📘As part of our Annual Investor Survey report, Valuing Nature's Capital, we interviewed Mark Berryman, Managing Director at Caprock 📰 In his interview, Mark discusses Caprock's impact journey and long-standing expertise in impact investing, with their first impact investment being made in 2008. Read the full report to understand how impact investors are allocating as well as their views on the challanges, themes and general developments in impact investing. Download the full report here ➡️ https://hubs.li/Q02TXXX10

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What a great discussion at NatureTech Finance 2024 hosted with Vian Sharif and NatureAlpha. My takeaways. 1: Don’t panic from all the exciting and increasingly sophisticated work done by colleagues around Nature - we all have a role to play in our corner of the ecosystem - learn and collaborate. Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress. 2: Get inspired by things outside your direct space - hearing from Emmanuel Merode at the Virunga National Park in the DRC about the powerful example that we can help shift complex socio economic issues through working with nature. Equally wonderful speech by Andy Orchard at Puro Coffe. 3: Don’t keep the nature conversation in the RI space. Translate and help your investment teams. Build curiosity and make it relevant. They are critical! A small room packed with ambition and ideas. We bring it all back to Newton as we keep building insights and ways to help our clients. Oğuzhan Karakaş , Gemma Corrigan,Chris Dodwell, Siobhan Archer

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From my friend Andrew Mitchell, whose commitment to Natural Capital Protocol and accounting for nature goes deeper than anyone else I know. Andrew and I once had an evening conversation on a granite (once coraled) reef on the Ecrehous islands in the English channel about twenty five years ago. Both he and I were bound by a common interest in virgin rainforest in SE Asia, both trustees on orangutan charities which sought to secure land for their habitat against the invasion of palm oil estates, the relentless mono-crop, so destructive in Borneo. Just check out the global mapping data to see the value of biodiversity debit. The world’s first Natural Capital Forum was staged for three days in Edinburgh, November 2015, coinciding with the Paris Agreement. The staging of this advance and statute relating to it is essential to secure the future of our young, those who cannot bear responsibilty, though an increasing tide do, under the age of twenty, a rolling generation. We need decision makers today, boards, NEDs and especially Chairmen and shareholders, to be resolute and ruthless in commiting their organisations to this path. We needmarket players working on the basis sof ethos rather than greed to degrade and punish corporates who are old model, who say they don’t get it, who think “externalities, huh!” Execute or be damned!!

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In a recent article, New Private Markets explore why GPs seeking impact are turning towards ELTIFs and LTAFS. As the first firm to launch a Long Term Asset Fund, hear from Tim Horne, CFA, Head of UK Institutional Defined Contribution, on our decision to make our first LTAF an impact fund. #PrivateMarkets #ImpactInvesting Professional investors only. Capital at risk. https://okt.to/3veChN

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Investing can be like playing chess: we aim to create positional advantages and maximise returns within a given level of risk. ♞ Historically, investors have relied on the complementary nature of equities and bonds to balance risks (the 60/40 portfolio). But complications have arisen in recent years meaning equities and bonds are perhaps not the perfect couple they once were. In our latest insight, Multi-Asset Strategist, Thomas Hibbert, CFA discusses: ♟️How we assess the individual risk-reward of each investment ♟️How we consider a mix of assets in a portfolio, and how these complement one another ♟️Our ability to understand changes and adapt Read now to discover how we consider the mix of different types of assets in a portfolio, and what may be the best risk and reward balance when considering your investing objectives: https://lnkd.in/dQnPFqVR Investment involves risk, and you may not get back what you invest. It’s not suitable for everyone. #investing #investmentmanagement #portfoliomanagement

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The latest Impact Lens research from Pensions for Purpose, sponsored by Jupiter Asset Management, outlines universal DE&I best practice applicable across asset owner organisations. Although the recommendations vary in complexity, our report offers institutions a roadmap to enhance their internal and external DE&I initiatives. #Diversity #Inclusion #PensionsforPurpose https://ow.ly/4FRV50RpULV

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What is the impact of a US election on UK markets? In this video, Charlie Buxton, Head of Investment Consulting, delves into the relationship between long-term elections and market performance, discovering why a focus on fundamentals rather than political cycles can lead to better investment decisions. #USElection #Election #StockMarket #Investing

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I read today's article in the The Guardian (see link in comments below) with interest. The dawning realisation and indeed policy endorsement to promoting the continued usage of #naturalgas in the #UK's power system, demonstrates a level of common sense from the incoming #Labour administration - though let's not pick bones about the fact that the previous administration's decision to extend usage of #CCGTs met with widespread criticism from across the chamber at the time.  The idea that greater penetration of renewables in the system requires greater #flexiblepower provided by natural gas #powergeneration, is clear - at least until and unless it is displaced by #nuclear, or indeed #longdurationstorage, which can recycle green #electrons. The jury's currently out on the latter from a commercialisation perspective, and new nuclear build is years ahead. So natural gas continues to be the #decarbonised transition fuel of choice. But here's the kicker, with #carboncapture #technology attached to gas generators, we can deliver #netzero flexible power into the #grid. And why only #sequester the #CO2? Why not create a further revenue opportunity by scrubbing or reusing the CO2 in products such as food grade #industrialgases or #carbonblack products, or indeed #methanol? In doing so, a real opportunity exists to invest without the dependence on #subsidy. At Victory Hill Capital Partners LLP, our thematic approach to investing in the #energytransition foresaw such an #evolution, hence our investment in a UK programme which provides #gasfired flexible power combined with carbon capture technology which scrubs the CO2 into #foodgrade CO2 to be sold into the industrial gases market where there is a structural short in the UK, creating a #sustainable value chain, with our partners, Landmark Power Holdings. Moving forward, we believe the picture of the #demandsidedynamics are likely to be further skewed by the emergence of generational #AI technology in #datacentres. With the amount of energy required for AI technology tasks being 10x more than the equivalent Google tasks, the demand for dependable energy is expected to spike to historically higher levels in the next 10 years in #Europe, the #US and beyond. And within this context, the conversation will likely be, is natural gas a #transitionfuel? Or will it be here to stay? In which case the question arises of: who understood ahead of time the benefits of carbon capture technology, and is there sufficient policy initiatives and #privatecapital to support this? Interested? #letstalk #sustainableinvesting #unsdgs #victoryhill #gseo Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Fiona Harvey #victoryhill Emily Revess #sustainableenergy Louis Taylor John Flint Emma Floyd Valerie Hamill Victoria Seabrook Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Peter Kyle Lord Philip Hunt

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Five priorities for the next government ✅ The next government will need to prioritise #economicgrowth if it wants to reverse the UK’s budget and social issues. For too long, the focus has been on what is going wrong over what is going right. The UK is a leader in #sustainability and has a strong ecosystem for growth capital - support and investment in both of these areas can generate good financial returns. Let’s get over the public versus private market obsession and create a stable policy environment for tomorrow’s growth. If the victor in next month’s #election wants to restore London’s reputation as a global financial centre, it will need to leverage the UK’s strengths and refresh its capital culture. This will mean mobilising institutional and private capital to support energy transition, sustainable infrastructure and growth companies, and encouraging entrepreneurialism and investment for positive impact across the UK. 1. Focused commitment to growth Entrepreneurial ventures and sustainable transition businesses need to be supported by both public and private capital markets. A commitment not to raise income tax will facilitate reinvestment and additional incentives would foster growth and innovation that drives growth. 2. Supporting the UK’s growth businesses Work with private capital to fill the funding gap holding growth companies back across the UK. Abolish the sunset clause for Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and incentivise investment from institutional investors to support high-growth companies that drive job creation and innovation. 3. Reinvigorating the UK’s capital markets Encourage and rewarded entrepreneurialism and enable investors to allocate capital where it is needed on the basis of outcomes rather than structure or governance. Get over the obsession with public versus private markets and focus on creating depth of liquidity for growth capital in general. 4. Leveraging #pensionfunds for regional growth Build on the Mansion House reforms and revive the levelling-up agenda by facilitating pension fund investment in sustainable new infrastructure to support job creation and business expansion in regional areas. Many well-funded LGPS are still cash flow negative and need income-generating investments that can be found across the UK in sustainable infrastructure that will make a real impact. 5. Mandatory sustainability commitments Establish mandatory regulatory frameworks to encourage more private and institutional capital investment in supporting nature recovery. Investors want certainty and stability that can’t be found in voluntary commitments. Building on the Environment Act 2021, will attract international capital, meet demand from UK institutional investors, and promote a more sustainable economy. 

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I’m looking forward to speaking at #RIEurope2024 tomorrow, sharing thoughts on how investors can make a start on nature, based on our own experience at Scottish Widows, including: 1. Understand exposure to nature related dependencies and impacts in your investment portfolio 2. Develop engagement priorities based on the outcomes of that analysis 3. Explore nature related investment opportunities across different asset classes (suitable for pension funds…) 4. Assess what meaningful nature related data is available from data providers and asset managers - and what you are going to do with it (action beyond reporting) 5. Look at tangible sub-themes such as water, waste and deforestation which may be easier to start with than a complex biodiversity footprint

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As part of London Climate Action Week, Ben Palmer, Senior Portfolio Manager, took part in two panel discussions at the Reset Connect conference this week.   The first discussion focused on the four new FCA Investment labels, looking at how these can be incorporated into the advice process and the longer-term benefits that the new label regime will bring for investors and advisers.   The second panel discussed the FCA’s new Sustainable Investment Fund Rules with a focus on greenwashing regulations. Topics emphasised the need to understand nuances in sustainable investing when discussing with clients and how the rules will help financial advisers, wealth managers and clients alike in ensuring clarity.   #ClimateActionWeek #SustainableInvesting 

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Last week, we proudly launched our first Schroders Impact Report, marking an important step forward in our journey in impact investing. Read the full report here: https://okt.to/4hsnIU #ImpactInvesting #SchrodersImpact #Schroders

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Ahead of tomorrow’s election here in the U.K., Paul Drummond and I have been looking at what the likely Labour government will mean for climate risk and opportunities in the U.K. Our View: 🟢 We expect more positive messaging on climate action from a Labour government but translating that ambition into policy action remains dependent on fleshing out the detail on high level policy promises and having the fiscal space to take action. 🟢This means the initial focus is likely to be on low (or ideally no) cost, quick wins or actions that can boost growth. Think easing planning restrictions, aligning the U.K. ETS with Europe’s, building out the carbon border adjustment mechanism and transition plan requirements for large firms. 🟢 Great British Energy, a National Wealth Fund and the Warm homes plan are all light on detail and potentially heavy on the public purse so more challenging in the near term and potentially subject to downscaling in the medium term. 🟢 Paul’s analysis is clear that achieving the mission of “net zero electricity system by 2030” is extremely unlikely even with ambitious action so a redefining of the goal as a guiding ambition rather than a target seems likely. #ukelection #climateaction #renewables #investment

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UK ELECTIONS ARE UPON US I do love my radio, especially Bloomberg News radio. From our Forvis Mazars in the UK Monday commentary on the #UKelections with Lizzy Burden and Stephen Carroll. In a nutshell: Brexit was not discussed in the campaign. But markets have quietly been assuming that a Labour victory will see the UK developing closer relations with its biggest trading partner, Europe. Next week we will learn whether they were right or they have been setting themselves up for disappointment. Forvis Mazars Group, Forvis Mazars US, Jeff Layman #markets #economy #politics #wealthmanagement

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In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at the Labour Government's Autumn Budget, and its likely impact on UK alternative asset managers. Read or listen to the latest issue: https://lnkd.in/edWpaM5m #AlternativeAssetManagement #Budget2024 #Tax

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Watch now: Future Trends in Investment Trusts webinar James Thom, Co-Manager of abrdn New India Investment Trust PLC joined Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff, Investment Trust Research Analyst at Kepler Partners, to discuss the performance, strategy, and outlook of the abrdn New India Investment Trust. Capital at risk. Watch here: https://ow.ly/ikE250U7GG0 #ANII #Kepler #India

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Watch now: Future Trends in Investment Trusts webinar James Thom, Co-Manager of abrdn New India Investment Trust PLC joined Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff, Investment Trust Research Analyst at Kepler Partners, to discuss the performance, strategy, and outlook of the abrdn New India Investment Trust. Capital at risk. Watch here: https://ow.ly/ikE250U7GG0 #ANII #Kepler #India

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