Aiming to be responsible

At Pictet Wealth Management, we have adopted the term Responsible Investing, as it represents the breadth of the investment opportunity while at the same time capturing its primary objective: to invest responsibly, regardless of what one’s personal definition of that may be. Responsible Investing presents a broad spectrum of investment options, from Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration, where ESG factors are included in traditional financial analysis, to Impact Investing, where meeting a goal with social benefits is prioritised ahead of financial returns. This responsibility inherently includes the preservation and improvement of the world that our future generations will inherit. A rich life is one with not only financial means, but also family, health, security and stability, and we must ensure that future generations can enjoy life’s richness tomorrow as we do today.

As an active investor, we aim to exercise our voting right, whenever it is possible, in the best interests of our clients. We also strive to engage with companies in which we invest in order to exert influence on company management to pursue the sustainable business practices that we believe are more likely to generate long term value. This happens on multiple levels either directly or in collaboration with others. The paramount objective is to influence a company’s ESG long term performance and to protect or enhance the value of our clients’ investments. We achieve this through our research and in meetings with company representatives but, where appropriate, we may choose to sell the investment.

Active ownership is a concrete step in the journey towards ESG integration and adherence to the UN principles.

Pictet adheres to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and to the UN Principles for Responsible Banking, and partners with organisations that promote sustainability, including Swiss Sustainable Finance, the Swiss Climate Foundation, and the International Energy Agency.